With some heavy rain overnight and a number of games throughout the South being called off, I decided to leave the choice of game until lunchtime. After assisting Paul on his travels to find a game, I consulted the Wessex League site and decided to take in the match between Laverstock and bottom club Hayling United as it meant I could be back home in time to watch non league Crawley take on Manchester United in the FA Cup 5th round.
I was pleased to see the carpark by the side of the pitch was in use when I arrived as it meant that I could use the car as a temporary stand if necessary! The pitch looked fine with no evidence of water on the surface and after the traditional handshakes the two teams were ready to start the match.
Laverstock started well but their control seemed to be lacking at times and this allowed Hayling opportunities to win the ball back. When they got into a good position to cross in the 5th minute after a well worked move down the right, the chance was wasted by a poor cross that the Hayling keeper gathered with ease. Laverstock had a half chance when a shot went just wide of the left post.
Hayling were working hard to close down play and managed to close down the keeper twice in quick succession as he tried to clear the ball from a back pass. They conceded some free kicks in dangerous areas as a result of being too keen to win the ball back but Laverstock continued to be wasteful and overhit the ball to the keeper or out of play.
By the 20th minute play was flowing from end to end. Laverstock were using a long throw specialist to put Hayling under pressure but they managed to clear the ball out of danger. Laverstock put a shot over the bar and Hayling had two shots blocked by last gasp challenges when the ball fell to an unmarked player in the box.
In the 23rd minute the ball was played to the edge of the Hayling area. It looked too far away from the Laverstock striker to reach but he decided to slide towards the ball and ended up colliding with the keeper. The Hayling bench were furious as the keeper came off worse from the studs up tackle but the referee was content to award a free kick and book the Laverstock striker.
Hayling had another chance to score in the 26th minute but the player took too long to set himself up, allowing Laverstock to clear the ball. They went up to the other end of the pitch thanks to a great throughball that found Perrett unmarked and running through on goal but he scuffed his shot wide. It should have been on target and he looked disappointed to miss.
Hayling broke down the right in the 39th minute and their player cleverly dribbled into the box and took the ball round a couple of players before crossing and earning a corner from the clearance. The corner was wasted as it was played too close to the keeper but when they won the ball back and crossed in the 40th minute the result was different. This time the ball was kept out of the 6 yard box and reached a player in the middle left of the area with his back to the goal. He leapt up and hit a superb overhead kick into the net to give Hayling the lead.
It looked like that would be the last action before the end of the half until the Hayling 9 tried to win the ball in the corner in a tussle with a Laverstock defender. He reacted badly to the challenge and appeared to kick out as his opponent was on the ground. Another defender reacted to this and started to square up to him. The referee was quickly over to the corner and after calming the players down gave the Hayling player a straight red card. The player stormed off the pitch and then got into a shouting match with one of the spectators behind the goal. Hayling's players lost their heads and their number 8 was booked shortly afterwards. It was perhaps a relief that the half time whistle came to give the manager the opportunity to calm the players down.
Hayling didn't seem to be affected by going down to ten men and had the first opportunity of the second half, a shot over the bar after 47 minutes. There was a pause a couple of minutes later and the assistant on the far side waved his flag for the referee's attention. The referee walked over and after a brief discussion called the Hayling 10 over and booked him, presumably for something he had said earlier when the play was on that side. Laverstock may have had the advantage of the extra man but their touch was still letting them down.
That advantage didn't last for long. In the 63rd minute a though ball caught out the Laverstock defence. As a Hayling player raced towards the ball the Laverstock keeper came out of his area and handled the incoming shot. He fell to the ground clutching his face but the referee wasn't taken in by this. After a short delay for treatment the referee produced the second red card of the match and sent the keeper off.
Hayling won a freekick in a good position as a result and hit a low shot just past the left post. Their next chance came five minutes later when they won the ball in midfield. A couple of runners headed over the halfway line but the pass was delayed until they were beyond the defence and the flag went up for offside as soon as the pass was played.
In the 70th minute Hayling extended their lead. A long ball over the top of the defence allowed one of their players to run into space, pick up the ball and then guide a shot low past the substitute keeper. They almost picked up a third goal shortly afterwards from a corner. The ball was headed out but straight to a Hayling player who leaned back at the wrong time and hit the ball over the bar from the edge of the area when he should have done better.
While Hayling had the upper hand in goals, they were also taking the lead in bookings to the dismay of their bench. One of their subs was booked for arguing with the officials and one of his team mates was soon in the book for an accumulation of poor challenges.
The game was all Hayling now and were unfortunate with a low freekick that the Laverstock keeper spilt at his near post. The ball bounced up and was knocked just wide of the goal. When the ball was hit back into play by the keeper, Laverstock gave the ball away in midfield and this allowed a Hayling player to run into the area, take the ball around the keeper and then hit the ball into the net from a tight angle for their third of the afternoon.
Both teams had a final chance in the last five minutes to score. Hayling had a shot just wide while Laverstock had a rare attack from a high long ball that dropped just before the area and bounced up. The Hayling keeper waited for the ball, allowing a Laverstock player to head the ball over him. The ball didn't have enough pace to reach the goal line before the keeper and covering defender and it was cleared away. There was just enough time left for another booking, another Hayling sub received a yellow for kicking the ball away.
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