Strong display away earns 3 points

Havering were looking forward to a tough fixture away to Waltham Forest after a gritty win vs Loughts last week. However, with a whole section of the M11 closed off, the Havering players had massive difficulty getting to the venue. The Havering keeper, Paul Afteni, decided not to follow Google Maps and arrived at 15:23. Saffron Walden graciously delayed PB. This was very generous of them and Havering very much appreciated it.

After a lack of warm up and pre match team talk due to the reasons mentioned above, Havering started off very strongly. They let the ball do the work and had a surprisingly good structure going forward - maybe turning up with 8 players and delaying PB by 30 minutes should be the norm for the 2's?! It only took 10 minutes until Havering were awarded their first short corner. The ball came out to captain Ryan Lee where his first shot on goal was deflected up in the air off the defender's stick. Ryan then controlled it well and slotted it into the bottom right corner. This was to be Ryan's first goal for the Havering 2's, about time! Havering kept the pressure up but after a questionable call on Billy Wilson just outside of the Havering D, Walden converted the free hit into a well drilled goal.

Havering didn't let the equaliser dismay them however, they continued the sustained pressure which led to a counter attack. James Walker, who was awarded man of the match on his return to the 2's, executed a brilliant pass into an open Greg Carolan who was at a very unfavourable angle to goal. The ball bobbled up to him and he struck it perfectly into the back of the net. 9 times out of 10, Greg would usually miss the ball, so the 2's were shocked it was converted, but it was a lovely goal. Havering were buoyed by this and continued to attack impressively.

The 2nd half saw more of the same from Havering and another short corner was awarded. Unfortunately, the injection went awry from Matt Kennedy, but Walker controlled the ball and passed it to Sam Green. Sam then decided to limply push the ball where a defender saved it on the line and cleared it straight back to him. Green wasn't going to make the same mistake twice and then hammered his 2nd shot into the back of the net.

Havering were cruising now and after some good 1 on 1 play from Walker up top, he ran it into the D and slotted it past the helpless Walden keeper. Havering had a plethora of chances after this and easily could've put 8 in the net, but both Walker and Green decided to miss open goals. Despite the scoreline, Havering keeper Paul Afteni and Richard Cast decided to have a moan at the whole team and tried their best to dampen the spirit of the 2's. But with Havering playing so well and with intensity, this was hard to do. Walden scored a late consolation goal and Havering walked away with all 3 points where their hectic journey up north was rewarded.

Havering move onto Waltham Forest away next Saturday, where they need 1 point from 2 games to guarantee safety.