Havering 3s vs Braintree 3s

The Men's 3s hosted 3rd placed Braintree this weekend knowing that only the best performance could produce a result against opposition in the top half of the table. With confidence high from recent performances however, the boys fancied an upset on the cards.

The team also welcomed back Taylor Ahmad to the squad as he took to the field at left back, often producing a number of solid tackles, bringing the ball out of danger and distributing it across the pitch to turn defence into attack

It was a solid start for the boys in black, who managed a fine high press against the opposition who struggled to string together many passes. A particularly switched on team were able to snap out any passes from the back and keep the ball in the opposition half with the home defence rarely called into play. Havering crafted a number of well organised attacks, albeit lacking that final flourish in producing a goal, with James Downey coming close and Leo Yang's short corner shot saved well by the visiting goalkeeper. Braintree gradually grew into the game winning a few short corners themselves, although few attacks troubled GK Lonnie Yang.

The first half remained even after a dominant display with the Havering 3s knowing that it was arguably theirs to lose. A focused 2nd half would surely produce goals.

And the constant persistence eventually paid off, with a short corner being blocked on the line by a Braintree foot resulting in a Havering penalty flick. Will Tang stepped up and cooly converted to the keeper's left with an unstoppable flick

Despite further chances and a number of squandered short corners, Havering were unable to add to their one goal lead and would rue their lack of cutting edge. With only 3 minutes to go, a Braintree reverse hit from the top of the D left the home GK flat footed, with the away team firing into the bottom left of the goal. Unstoppable.

Havering heads did not drop however, with the boys trying to rally in the dying embers of the match and stringing a further few attacks, although it was too little too late as both teams shared the points.

Ultimately, a somewhat disappointing result as the team felt they deserved more, but a reminder that they went in as underdogs against 3rd in the table and to walk away with a result, a good performance and most importantly a great attitude towards the match is something they should be proud of. Onto the next match!

FT Havering 3s 1-1 Braintree 3s