Hempnall FC

Another dodgy weather forecast saw it pouring with rain all morning rather than ‘showers clearing’, and a few of us decided to brave the journey to local rivals, Poringland, for this bottom of the table clash. A ‘must win’ for Hempnall to stand a good chance of avoiding relegation, and the same applied to Poringland, so we knew it was going to be a fierce struggle.

Andy Talbot was brought in from the Reserves to bolster a defence missing players, and this proved to be a very wise move, with the defender having what can only be described as a ‘storming’ game, and were it not for his injuries, he would undoubtedly be a first team regular, such was his excellence. Alongside Everard, Pointer and Lambe, he slotted in, and formed a good understanding with all three, and the defence looked more secure than of late.

Poringland started the stronger, with Hempnall limited to hitting them on the break, and it was no surprise when Poringland scored first, the defence caught out, the ball bouncing to a Poringland player to slot home.

After that, for much of the rest of the half, Hempnall were getting stronger and started to look like the team more likely to score.

Dimsey, standing in as centre forward in place of Mulley, still suspended and a great miss to the team, would be disappointed not to score when in a ‘one on one’ with the keeper, managed only to poke the ball straight at the keeper. He made amends, though, a few minutes later with a cool finish to make the scores level.

The second half saw Hempnall strangley subdued for a while, and both teams were finding it more difficult to keep their feet on an increasingly wet surface.

Hempnall brought on their talisman, Nobbs, who despite still being injured, was determined to help the team out, and his introduction brought immediate returns, with more potency up front, and a good move saw Nobbs turn and score with a beautifully placed shot, to make it 2-1.

We thought Hempnall were looking good, with the rampaging Kelly and Etherington, ably abetted by Bellingham, who had his best game for a while, causing the Poringland defence problems.

The referee, Ian Selwood, had a very good game, and despite it being a highly important game, the players all kept cool, and bookings were very limited; well done to both the players and the sensible referee.

On the sidelines, the Hempnall supporters were disappointed that the team couldn’t hold onto their lead, but in truth, a draw was probably a fair result on balance of play.

Secretary’s MOM today is Andy Talbot. Supporters of the day were Emily and friends, who were, as usual, highly vocal in support of the team.