Amateur Football Combination Premier Division

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Amateur Football Combination Premier Division

Old Meadonians 2 Old Hamptonians 2

 

 

This result was described by Old Meadonians’ joint coach Paul Rumley in his usual mild tone as disappointing. Although both Rumley and his partner Rory Vermeulen admitted that Saturday’s visitors to Riverside Lands, Old Hamptonians, thoroughly deserved their point, with Vermeulen adding that the visitors were the more committed of the two sides, Rumley stressed that once again this was a story of missed chances with the hosts creating on a basis of three to one and converting less than one in three.

The duo also reluctantly accepted that even this early in the season there may have been too many points dropped for Meads to claw back and the time might have arrived for some of the young reserve players to be blooded after their team had come off a three match run which had yielded over twenty goals.

However, as hors d’oeuvres, it was Meads’ defence who erred after just ten minutes, for the visitors’ first goal as Hamptonians’ influential mid-fielder, Chris Heritage, cut in from the left, was allowed to run unopposed twenty yards to the edge of the area whence he delivered a cracker into the far corner for a memorable goal. Meads’ immediate reply was to scorn three one on ones in the next ten minutes but, following sustained pressure, on the half hour mid-fielder, Jordan Mace, beat the visitors’ defence to the punch to tuck in a cross for the equaliser. Meads’ were rewarded for their perseverance when with five minutes to half-time Craig Jones robbed a sleepy defender to have a clear run-in on goal.

The second half saw the visitors level after ten minutes and once again it was a ‘Heritage’ moment as the mid-fielder supplied the cross for striker Tony Boto to tie the match up. Meads then had to show their mettle and repel a thirty minute onslaught to survive.

Squad:Robinson, Quinn, McCombe, Pointer, Shea, Mace, Thompson, Gerrish, Mantel, Glover, C. Jones, Allen, N. Jones, Chapman.

 

October 31, 2012