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Hitchin Hawks v Austen Arrowheads

Saturday, January 26 2008

Well after the monsoon weather of the previous weeks it was back to business for the Hawks with the first of three home fixtures.

The Hawks started strong and immediately put pressure on the opposition with a long shot from Tyler that was just wide of the right post. There was some real quality passing between the front three (George R, Ben & Tyler) which kept the Austen defenders on their toes. In the 2nd minute a Tyler cross found Ben with his back to the goal, a superb spin and shoot action saw the ball nailed into the top left corner of the goal [1-0].

The Hawks continued to dominate the first ten minutes of play with shots from both George F and Tyler. Zac was subbed on for George F in the 12th minute as the Hawks continued to dominate. A break in the 15th minute by Austen managed to force a save from Ali. The Hawks immediately responded and pushed forward, a Tyler cross was picked up by Zac who managed to chip the approaching Austen keeper to bury the ball in the back of the net to make it [2-0].

George R made a nice run down the wing and played a beautiful diagonal ball to Zac who‘s shot was just left of the goal. The final minute of the half saw a shot from Ben which sailed over the right post.

The second half continued as the first had finished with the Hawks continuing to pass well. Austen had a free kick just past the half way line and the shot was struck well but was just wide of the left post. Tyler continued to dominate the midfield and seemed to be able to supply a constant supply of crosses into the forwards. George Fitter managed to get on the end of several Tyler crosses with shots at goal going wide of both posts.

The Hawks defence managed to spend much of the game up towards the Austen half fending off the occasional push forward by Austen. However on one occasion as Austen pushed forward an unfortunate hand ball by Ollie in the area gave them a penalty. The penalty was well struck but had too much height on it and sailed over the bar.

A cynical tackle by George F which may well have resulted in a red card (had cards been available), gave Austen another chance with a free kick just outside the box. The shot was on target and Ali had to tip the ball over the bar to avoid giving Austen their first goal. As the Hawks continued to push forward Austen conceded a corner in the dying minutes of the game. A perfect corner from Tyler was stopped dead by George F in the area and placed straight past the keeper to make the final score [3-0].

It was a good solid performance by the Hawks with some excellent midfield play and strong defending.

Hawks: Alistair Moatt; Ryan Cafferkey; Oliver Garner, George Fitter; Tyler Gray; Ben Wilmot; George Rodger; Ed Routh; Zac Laycock.

Result: Hawks 3 – Austen Arrowheads 0