Hard Luck Hanwell, Job Done Jets

The clubhouse has a daytime existence as a nursery school - hence a signed pic of Charlie George next to the policies for Special Needs and Child Protection!

Only three Duffys playing for Hanwell, but Jets have a Killer on the bench

 

The world needs more candid hosepipe photography

 

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 16 October 2012 at Reynolds Field
Result	Hanwell Town 0 Oxhey Jets 1
Competition	FA Vase 1st Round Replay.  Both sides play in the step 5 Southern Midlands Premier League.
Hopping	Number 485 on the lifetime list
Pre-match preparation
Hanwell equalised in the last minute of normal time to force a 1-1 draw at Oxhey in the first game, as there was no further scoring in extra time.  The Jets are higher in the league at the moment, in third place compared with the Town’s mid-table position.
This match in one sentence
Oxhey took just one of many chances and Hanwell spurned all of theirs in a hard-fought game played at a high standard of skill and commitment.
So what?
Oxhey Jets go on to a home tie with Cockfosters in the next round.
The drama unfolds
Having worked on the patch for several years, I was a closet Jets supporter this evening.  the game started at a good pace with both sides serving up a passing game on a decent surface.  I took a couple of clips to set the scene.  Hanwell are in black-and-white. Jets' Lewis Putman, wearing 10, looked lively and a cross from the left almost got the touch it deserved as the home defence missed it.  Then Lee Inch made a burst from midfield and nearly scored as the visitors began to look more threatening.  However, Oxhey couldn't find the final ball and Hanwell had moments of their own.  The match was too close to call.  Regular readers will know that I often defend officials as my neutrality gives me the foundations, but I have to say tonight that I understood the players' frustration with a bewildering number of corner-kick decisions that went the wrong way (at both ends).  Clip2 above was one of them. That third clip was just before half-time as I am edging towards the coffee.  No goals, but a very, very good game and technically one of the best that I have seen at step 5 in a while.  Every bloke on the upper decks of the passing buses watched for a few moments - it is clearly a tradition in these parts.  0-0 at half-time In a rare moment of forward planning, I placed my immediate hopping future in the hands (or feet) of these players and tweeted accordingly, while Putnam had been given leave of absence from the changing room for a half-time ciggie.  My fourth clip is another one of those disputed corner decisions.  Hanwell started the second half brightly and a goalline clearance (Chris McIntyre, I think) was needed as the Jets keeper was out of position.  Lewis Ochoa had a half-chance for Hanwell. Danny Tilbury almost laid on a goal for Putnam as Oxhey continued to look patient in the buildup.  This was good stuff, and again Hanwell were threatening occasionally too.  Lee Inch was unlucky again, seeing a shot stopped by a goalkeeper backpedalling into position.  The next clip gets distracted by a 'bus but shows how Hanwell could and perhaps should have taken the lead as we entered the final quarter. Here's the goal which settled the game, credited to Ian Bywater.  I'd say Jets just about deserved it on balance.  0-1 I had one more clip but it turned out to be unsuitable for family viewing as a Jets player let rip at the lino for one more corner decision.  The player was right but I can't defend him - everyone had long since been playing and appealing for whatever they could get, and the decisions evened out on the night.  The ref tended to support his linos' decisions whereas what he should have done was prodded them with a rolled-up programme.  At least.  Jets spent a fair few of the stoppage minutes trying to run the ball into the corners.  Hanwell had one more chance in the closing seconds, and I imagine that Orlando Rodrigues still has the marks of the heroic block that he made in his own area.  Final score 0-1 Fair play to both teams - I thoroughly enjoyed that while the rest of the world was being rude about TV pundits filling time at the Poland-England washout on Twitter.  Win for me, I feel, especially as I now know where I am going on Saturday too.
The programme
Something random
I decided at half-time, with the score at 0-0, that these teams might as well decide my hopping fate for the weekend.  I have four FA Cup ties at “unvisited” grounds to choose from – Fylde, Hastings, South Park and Yate Town.  I tweeted that the number of goals in the second half (not including any extra time) would decide.  0,4,8… would be Fylde, 1,5… would be Hastings,  2,6.. would be South Park and 3,7… would be Yate.  Hastings it is!
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Just the one goal to add to the tally – I am averaging 3.95 goals per game, very much in line with start-of-season predictions.
What Next?
Maybe something else local in midweek but certainly Hastings United v Blackfield & Langley on Saturday.