Havering 2's vsThurrock 1's

With 28 men unavailable across the whole of the Havering men's section, it was difficult to field a good side across the board. The 2's had to rely on double up's from the 3's (who played brilliantly considering they just had a 70 minute game in the 30 degree heat beforehand) to get them across the line.

The heat continued into the 1pm slot where both Havering and Thurrock elected to use water breaks every quarter, this was a much welcome relief considering the heat was relentless.

Havering had gotten off to a fast start in the first quarter, pinning back Thurrock in their own half with some neat play down the sides and towards the t spot. Unfortunately, much like last season, the 2's had trouble being clinical within the D and wasted some good chances.

Havering began to tire and Thurrock struck first in the 2nd quarter with a reverse shot from the top of the D. This allowed the flood gates to be opened with the 2nd Thurrock goal coming from an aerial and the 3rd from a penalty corner.

Havering got to half time 3-0 down and Roger Hiett sustained an injury which meant they were down to bare 11. After a inspirational half time team talk, Havering came out fighting and managed to win a penalty flick. Sam Green stepped up but unfortunately scooped the ball over the crossbar.

As the 3rd and 4th quarter went on, Havering were exhausted and it showed. Thurrock scored 1 more to seal the win and it was not to be for Havering.

A massive thank you to the players from the 3's who stepped up, they played immensely considering how tired they were. There were definitely some good points to take away from the game.

Availability needs to be a lot better if the 2's stand a chance to stay up this season and hopefully they can prove this next week against Chelmsford away.