Hempnall FC

It was another one of those weeks where late call offs, call ups to the first team and work commitments meant that the Reserves were again down to the bare minimum; 11 players and no subs.

With the normally dependable 'Jordan's dad' doing the right thing and helping his wife with the Christmas shopping, we were struggling for a linesman (sorry, assistant Ref), but one of the local lads not yet old enough to play adult football, stepped in and helped out – and what a good job he did under the guidance of the experienced referee, Mark Riches, who was his usual helpful self.

The lack of players meant that the 'long in the tooth' joint managers, Oakley and Talbot, had again to show the youngsters how it is done, both on and off the pitch, despite aching hips, knees, backs and several other parts of their anatomies best not spoken about!

Oakley was also complaining he had to play for the Veterans the next day, and Talbot probably would play for his Under 19's side as one of their over-age players.

But both showed Freethorpe no mercy with their ferocious but fair tackling, and their skill on the ball, with clever dribbling and good distribution, showing the youngsters a thing or two.

Oh that they were still spring chickens.......... What an asset to the Club these two lads are.

This bottom of the table clash did go Freethorpe's way, though all of the Hempnall lads, including those brought in at a moment's notice, gave 100%, and in the very windy conditions, we had a very decent game.

Starting the game with the wind, Hempnall were disappointed not to score a couple, but the Freethorpe keeper was rarely troubled before half time.

Having his best game of the season, Millican was making good runs and troubling the Freethorpe defence, but Hempnall were unable to finish off good moves, whilst the defence, marshalled by the timeless management duo, were making last ditch tackles.

The problems of not being able to field a settled side were evident in the first half, and Freethorpe did take advantage to go into half time 2-0 up.

The closest Hempnall came to a first half goal was a speculative 60 yard effort by Robins, which drifted past the upright – shades of Beckham and Rooney, just not quite as accurate.

We thought perhaps we would be in for a torrid time in the second half as Hempnall were temporarily down to 10 men – a hamstring strain to Harry Bridges seemed to finish his day, but no, he came back limping but able to fill a hole in defence, typical of the spirit of this bunch of lads.

Hempnall played much better against the wind, the football flowed, and a fine finish by Millican saw the BRF light up with hope, but then Freethorpe managed a third to effectively seal the game.

Despite this, Hempnall should have come back into it, but somehow, Freethorpe escaped when the ball hit the crossbar, then just wouldn't cross the line.

Discussion afterwards with the Managers saw them disappointed but not downhearted – their players gave everything, and on another day, would have been rewarded, but when your luck is out, the half chances go begging.

When injured and working players return, the squad should easily be able to compete in this division.