League

Weir Stadium
Spectators: 7524 (Terracing: 5644, Seating: 1730, VIP seats: 150) Sawbridgeworth's Sebastien Rotherfield started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. An unexpectedly hard shot by Sebastien Rotherfield in the 11th minute of play forced Hardly Athletic's goalkeeper Marc Harkness to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Marc Harkness showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Jools Tyson, who was totally free with the ball in the 13th minute. Ashley Dobson received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 17th minute. Felix Bourne tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Felix Bourne showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ashley Dobson in the 22nd minute of the match. Kirk Tomlin received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 26th minute. Felix Bourne tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Ashley Dobson sent away a hard shot on goal in the 31st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The supporters of Hardly Athletic booed when Sawbridgeworth was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 34 match minutes in a wonderful position. Nicholas Falkingham didn't get a good kick on the ball. After a defensive mix-up in Sawbridgeworth's zone, Kirk Tomlin stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Felix Bourne came out of the goal and Kirk Tomlin tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpected shot in the 39th minute by Kirk Tomlin got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Kirk Tomlin was the one to do the kick off. In the 51st minute Sebastien Rotherfield shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marc Harkness saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Hardly Athletic's Ashley Dobson got a good chance for a goal in the 55th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 56 minutes into the game, Kirk Tomlin cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 2-0. Felix Bourne was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Felix Bourne showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Pat Sykes, who was totally free with the ball in the 60th minute. The supporters of Sawbridgeworth booed when Hardly Athletic was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 62 match minutes in a wonderful position. Pat Sykes didn't get a good kick on the ball. Felix Bourne took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ronnie McRobbie, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 67th minute the ball was on its way in behind Hardly Athletic's goalkeeper Marc Harkness, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Felix Bourne showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ronnie McRobbie in the 70th minute of the match. 71 minutes into the game, Hardly Athletic's Ashley Dobson nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Felix Bourne made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 3-0. When Ashley Dobson came up free with the goalie in the 78th minute, the Hardly Athletic fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Ashley Dobson couldn't finish the play. Marc Harkness showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Sebastien Rotherfield in the 79th minute of the match. In the 81st minute Sawbridgeworth were awarded a corner. Gareth East went to the cornerflag to take it. The corner ended in Gareth East almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but Hardly Athletic's Marc Harkness did a great save. In the 84th minute, Kirk Tomlin left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Hardly Athletic fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 4-0. A collision led to Hardly Athletic getting a freekick after 90 minutes play. Chaz Wardle hit a great ball. Kirk Tomlin recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 92nd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Ashley Dobson blasted a shot towards the goal in the 94th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Felix Bourne having to make a save. Ashley Dobson struck a weak shot in the 96th minute. Felix Bourne didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Hardly Athletic. When the referee ended the match the Hardly Athletic players were able to celebrate. They had won a fair victory and recieved the ovations of their fans.