Havering 2s vs Waltham Forest 2s

Havering benefitted from the sideline coaching from Club Chairman and Men’s Upper Section coach, Jack Barlow, who was present due to the postponement of the Men’s 1’s fixture.

Havering entered the game with a new system and a gameplan and executed it to perfection in the first half. It was a high pressing, high tempo approach that led to countless turnovers deep in the Forest half and the pressure to them was palpable.

Havering took the lead thanks to a good finish by Greg Carolan, but a number of other chances were thwarted by the Forest Goalkeeper, who showed magnificent form and saved at least a further two certain goals for his team in the first half.

The teams went in level, Havering buoyed by a much improved overall performance from the previous Gameweek. The question was, could HHC overcome the mentality issues shown at the start of the second half that had been present in previous weeks?

No and yes was the answer. Havering immediately gave Forest the impetus from the Pushback, a sloppy pass setting the tone for the first 10
Minutes of the second period. Centre midfielders Richard Cast and man of the match Sam Green did some very tidy digging in and settled the Havering ship.

As the half wore on, it was clear that the new Havering system, whilst effective, was very dependent on high stamina, and the lack of Havering subs led to a reduction of the effectiveness of the Havering press. Suddenly Forest were finding players with passes that were previously cut out and they grew in confidence and surged forward in numbers.

The equaliser came from an overload in the D and whilst the keeper at full stretch and spread made an initial save with the glove, there were no defenders close enough to clear and the rebound was tapped in.

Far from breaking Havering, the equaliser spurred them on and they secured a number of short corner opportunities, including one that commenced after the final whistle. This was narrowly stopped by Forest, but illegally, for a second, post full time short corner.

After hitting the woodwork twice, Havering just narrowly failed to convert as Lucas Afteni got his stick to the ball, only to see it go agonisingly wide of the post.

Whilst a draw was disappointing, Havering could take heart from a much improved performance against a team relegated from the league above last season, with what could easily have been a win on another day.

HHC Men’s 2’s 1 - 1 Waltham Forest Men’s 2’s