Tonbridge Invicta Hurricanes 4 – New Beckenham 2 (Sunday 18 November 2007)

Shield

Hello. It’s me again. Trevor Hine’s impersonator’s impersonator. Our intrepid boys took to the pitch today in sub-zero temperatures, playing a team from the league above them, in a sea of black and white, as both teams were wearing very similar strips. Meanwhile, the supporters bravely battled hypothermia and frost-bite.

It was a fast moving game, with both sides battling hard. Hurricanes had lots of corners this time. Sam Greehy very nearly scored from an early one. Luke Bohanan and Sam were playing well in defence, clearing the ball and tackling with determination. Keiron Matthews and Will Clark were also playing solidly. Up front, the forwards were putting on pressure, with the Beckenham goalie making a save from one Hurricanes corner and Kane Joseph having several chances. Gabriel Russell and Henry Partridge were having a good game in mid-field. Hurricanes were tenacious and corner followed corner, with some fine kicks by Elliott Checkley. A fierce shot from Will was just tipped over the bar by the keeper. A couple of minutes later, the action was at the other end of the pitch and Will made several excellent defensive tackles. Hurricanes were playing really well together as a team, with some fine passing and communication between the players. They were unlucky to go 0 – 1 down just before half time, when Beckenham managed to score in a goalmouth melée.

Almost as soon as the second half began, Hurricanes scored from a Ryan Hine free kick, the ball soaring over the goalie’s head and into the goal: 1 – 1. This was followed by lots of to-and-froing but no real chances for either side. One Hurricanes attack was stopped by the Linesman’s flag. Will Clark was, yet again, a safe pair of boots in defence, with Stanley Hill reliable in goal. The score was 1 – 1 at full time. As it was a Shield match, it would have to go to extra time and then penalty kicks, if necessary.

Almost as soon as extra time (10 minutes each way) started, Kane scored but it was disallowed. Minutes later, George Jones scored, to the delight of the supporters, to make it 2 – 1. This was followed in short order by another George goal, a header this time, making it 3 – 1. Mutters were heard from the supporters, now barely able to move with cold, “Why couldn’t they have done this in full time!” Further pressure from Hurricanes followed, with Elliot hitting the cross-bar then, a few minutes later, tapping another shot which the goalie fell over the line trying to save: 4 – 1. The final goal belonged to Beckenham, with the score after extra time being 4 – 2.

Hurricanes had an excellent game and deserved their victory. All eleven of them played the whole game and extra time, with no substitutions as Tom Mair was injured. Today I learnt that “He’s off!” doesn’t mean “Look how fast he can run!” Thank you to Becca for this insight.

Everybody played well today but the Man of the Match, as voted by the supporters (now an interesting shade of blue) was Will Clark, who was like a human dynamo.