Hempnall FC

Hempnall welcomed fellow mid-table team, Aylsham Reserves to Bungay Road, expecting a close game.

Hempnall were missing Way, Edwards and Davis from their squad, and welcomed Ryan Cullabine from the Reserves, and the return of George Watts, back from his exotic holiday, nad both were on the bench, and Lewis Bailey came in between the sticks.

With the wind frequently appearing to change direction, and the pitch bobbly in areas, the players were a little lacking in their close control, and Hempnall, in particular, seemed to find the conditions more challenging. 

From the off, though, it seemed clear that the teams were evenly matched though Hempnall were tending to give the ball away more often than Aylsham who didn’t really take advantage of the opportunities, largely due to excellence of the Hempnall back four.

The play was end to end, with Billy Kelly, Marjoram supporting Womack, the final ball was probably the main issue and neither team really looked like breaking the deadlock in the early stages.

Hempnall had more of the early chances, though neither goalkeeper was tested to any degree and when they were threatened, both were off their lines to snuff out the threat.

The closest Hempnall came was from a good Billy Kelly run, his near post shot being parried by the keeper, and a couple of corners amounted to nothing.

Half time came with a clean sheet and we were increasingly thinking a single goal might settle the matter, and the second half largely followed the pattern of the first, with plenty of decent football, and few threatening attacks, and both keepers were forced into excellent saves to keep the match even, sub Cullabine rueing his luck, though Bailey will be pleased with his photo on our website!

Overall, a fair result between two competitive and equally matched sides.

There were again several decent performances, notably from the back four, and Billy Kelly had another threatening game, but overall, I felt that Leather was very good both defensively, and when he was able, going forward, so this week, he is my MOM.