Hempnall FC

Hempnall welcomed top of the table Norton to Bungay Road, having had Davis calling off earlier due to illness, and the same issue with Ringer who also couldn’t make it. Cawdron came in to replace Davis.

The game started brightly, Hempnall looked the better team overall, and they got their reward for some excellent play after 10 minutes, the Norton keeper fumbling Marjoram’s shot  for 1-0. 

Hempnall kept going forward, and looked the team at the top, rather than the opposition who were being overrun. The supporters were being treated to some of the best football seen at Bungay Road this season, and it was no surprise when Marjoram pressurised the keeper and when attempting to clear, the ball ricocheted off Marjoram, and straight into the back of the net. 2-0 after 30 minutes.

Herbert then had a shot saved, and Norton reacted and responded well, forcing the Hempnall keeper into a comfortable save. Hempnall kept pressing, and a Marjoram run and cross saw a simple tap in for Dale and Hempnall were 3-0 up.

Deep in injury time free kick Norton came close but Hempnall held out and we were thinking of a good victory.

If only the half hadn’t ended , as this was the classic game of two halves.

Norton were a different team in the second half, but regrettably, so were Hempnall. The good first half movement and decision making were lost, and Hempnall went into their shell. Rather than good play from the opposition, Hempnall gifted them two goals in 30 seconds, and heads went down.

Further pressure from Norton saw an inadequate response from Hempnall, and when the excellent Dowling, who had been winning everything in the air, went off through injury, Norton could not be held, the pressure told and their fourth goal came about following more sloppy play.  

Hempnall did retaliate, and forced two corners, both of which were eventually cleared, but Norton broke again, and the Hempnall keeper was called into action with a couple of very good saves. 

To their credit, Hempnall never gave up, forcing another two corners, neither of which could be converted.

Another game where a crazy couple of minutes and poor decision making were crucial, saw Hempnall snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, leaving us scratching our heads as to what went wrong. 

It is difficult to pick a man of the match – there were a number of  very good first half performances  not replicated in the second half, though all of the players put in a really good shift and probably ran out of legs. A word though for the Hempnall keeper who really played his part in the first half scoreline, and was very unlucky to see four goals go past him in the second.

This week, after a lot of deliberation, I feel Hayden Marjoram probably deserves it for his first half excellence.

Once again we had a referee who managed the game exceptionally well.