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The
second game at the MBM Services McCarthy Industries
Triangle Community Stadium saw Farhall giving debuts to
4 new players as a mixture of injuries and personal
problems saw his squad decimated less than 24 hours
before kick off. Mike Fletcher dropped to the bench with
a knee injury, while youth team product Ashley Wells
came in at the back for his first start. Former
Cuckfield Cosmos United captain Doug Lane joined him in
the back line, as both Nic Sparasci and Matt Cooper
missed out through personal reasons. However, the big
news was the return of the all-time Marle Place great
Bert Lloyd, and scoring legend Peter Chapman. Both
signed on this week, and were given starts as Farhall
looked to maintain the Hamsters winning run.
The
fans had returned in their numbers for the appearance of
2 greats, and both posed for photographs and gave
autographs before the kick off. The new look side took
time to gel though, and it was Handcross who started the
better, with captain McCarthy being called into several
good saves. However, Mac Industries held firm, and hit
Handcross on the counter attack, as Farhall fired in the
opening goal. Despite more Handcross pressure, debutant
Ashley Wells was having a fine game at the back, and the
experience of both Lloyd and Lane helped him through it.
Gary Harding was looking back to his best in the
midfield, taking on players and releasing the ball with
inch perfect accuracy. Farhall showed what a good
striker he is though, as he netted his and Mac
Industries second of the game to make it 2-0. Handcross
continued to push though, and the Hamsters defence
looked shaky, as they pulled it back to 2-1. Farhall,
despite netting 2 goals was not fulfilling his midfield
role, and it meant there was a lot of space on the
right, allowing Handcross to get the goal. It was
short lived though, as Mac Industries restored their 2
goal advantage. You just knew it had to happen, and it
did, as Bert Lloyd finished a good passing move to
delight the fans on his return, and restore the Hamsters
2 goal advantage. Some lackluster defending again saw
Handcross get a goal back, as one of their players was
allowed to run unchallenged through the defence, and
score a goal that had even Mac Industries fans
applauding. The home side realised this wasn't going to
be the walkover of last week, and moved up a gear. Not
wanting to be out-done by Lloyds goal scoring return,
Peter Chapman marked his return with a goal to make it
4-2. Mac Industries kept the momentum, as Jamie Farhall
rounded of a first half hat trick to make it 5-2.
Handcross' were starting to become disillusioned, but
McCarthy was still kept busy keeping them at bay, while
Wells defended well on his debut. The Hamsters added a
6th just before half time, as the mouth-watering
partnership of Farhall and Chapman yielded another goal,
this time Chapman added his second after another good
team move involving Gary Harding. Mac Industries went
into half time 6-2 up.
As
the second half started, the Hamsters obviously thought
they had the match wrapped up, as lapses in
concentration and poor passes saw Handcross, obviously
given a harsh team talk at half time, come out and take
control. They were soon back in it, as Mac Industries
defence fell apart, making it 6-4. The warning was
there, and the home side realised this match was not
dead and buried, and pushed forward into the attack.
This looked to be a bad move though, as a serious lack
of defenders left the inexperienced Wells alone at the
back, as Handcross pulled it back to 6-5. It was obvious
Mac Industries were starting to tire, so after
consulting with his captain Scott McCarthy, manager
Jamie Farhall withdrew Ashley Wells, who had slotted in
well on his debut, and replaced him with Mike Fletcher.
The change paid off, as 2 goals in the space of 2
minutes came from Mac Industries. Farhall netted his
fourth goal of the game, before Chapman celebrated his
return to the club by wrapping up his hat trick, leaving
the game at 8-5. It was not all done and dusted though,
as Scott McCarthy had one of his famous lapses in
concentration, when he tried to dribble the ball away,
got tackled and ended up being nutmegged to allow
Handcross to pull it back to 8-6. Mac Industries
obviously wanted to hold on, and sat back. McCarthy made
up for his earlier mistake with a breathtaking one
handed save at full stretch, tipping the ball around the
post. Fletcher had come on and done well, helping
restore a solid back line along with Lane and Lloyd,
with Harding now sitting in front of the back 3. Despite
this, Farhall was giving the ball away too easily up
front, looking to shoot when he had better options
available. The Hamsters kept pushing, and both Chapman
and Harding when within inches of adding to the goals,
as they both slid in, only to marginally miss the ball.
The still attacking policy of Mac Industries left holes
at the back, and a long ball exploited this, as a
Handcross attacker found himself in on goal, one on one
with McCarthy. The Wanderers captain saved the first
one, only for the Handcross player to net the rebound to
leave it at 8-7 Mac Industries with 7 or so minutes to
play. Not wanting to draw or lose on his return, Peter
Chapman gave up his attacking role to play in the back
line for the last few minutes, and McCarthy was kept
busy right up until the final whistle, when the Hamsters
celebrated another victory, and the return of 2 greats.
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