Old Meads Remain In Pole Position Amateur Football Combination Premier Division - Old Hamptonians 1 Old Meadonians 1
The situation at the top of the Amateur Football Combination remains as flaky as ever. Although Meads remain in pole position, they are just about leading a pack of five teams covered by four points all in with a chance, only one of which, H.A.C., now third placed, won to become a threat to those above. The Old Hamptonians’ pitch was, without the aid of a sprinkler as hard, unyielding and bumpy as any, but, from the opening, the remnants of Meads’ minute squad was as tested by their hosts as by the surface. A twenty minute power play and series of corners accurately put in kept keeper Gary Robinson and his accompanying flight of defenders, Liam Palmer, Lawrie Pointer and Ali McCombe at full stretch but the nearest Hampton came to success was when a header wrapped the ball round the bar. In circumstances in which neither side seemed able to tame the ball long enough to cause problems it was not surprising that the deadlock wasn’t broken until the sixty-fifth minute or that Meads’ opener came from a Kevin Quinn viciously swerving in-swinging corner which caused chaos. The source and method were less predictable as centre-back McCombe reacted quickest and his cheeky back-heel outfoxed all-comers. Ten further minutes of attrition ended with the hosts level from a lightning break down the right and a special cross shot which gave Robinson no chance. The insertion of the pace of Peter Eguae up front stirred the pot somewhat but to no avail. Meads’ next match next Tuesday evening against H.A.C. is likely to be crucial in deciding the destination of the league title. Team: Robinson, Pointer, Palmer, McCombe, Rhone, Gerrish, Thompson, Quinn, Mantel, (Eguae), Hawkins, (A. Jones), Glover. April 20, 2011 |