East Anglian Counties Championship match
at County Ground, Letchworth ~ 13/03/08
At the start of this match there was a 3-way tie at the top of the table, with Suffolk, Herts and Cambs all on 7 points - Suffolk with a game in hand and better goal difference. Suffolk and Cambs had already secured their places in the final of the National County Cup, so Herts had this their final league fixture to give themselves an opportunity of silverware – only victory would be good enough for that.
The visitors started brightly on a miserable and wet evening, and Douglas created a chance for Gammon in the 2nd minute – defender, Waryszniuk, did well to block the effort and divert for a corner. 4 minutes later, Ross had to look lively in goal at the other end to turn away a deep cross from Finlay at full stretch. Not to be outdone, Herts keeper, Plumb, did the same a minute later – tipping a deep cross from Ward for a corner. It was end to end football, and Rathbone came close twice for the home team. First he latched on to a through ball, slipped it under the keeper, only to see centre-half, Smith, retrieve the situation, as he somehow got back to scramble the ball off the line. Then he reached a cross from the right only to see his close range shot blocked by Ross.
Half-way through the first half, now, and surprisingly no goals, despite so many opportunities. Douglas was a thorn in the side of the Herts defence with his penetrating runs down the right and from one of his crosses Gammon headed wide. A Suffolk free-kick – awarded for a handling offence - was turned away for another corner by the defensive wall. At the other end, Squires-Adams did well to hold the ball up in front of the box, before playing in Randall, but he drove wide. Back came Suffolk, and Seaman struck the foot of the post, after carrying the ball for 30 yards, beating the offside trap, before shooting under the diving Plumb onto the woodwork.
In the 31st minute, the deadlock was broken by the visitors, who were awarded a penalty after a surging run by Ward had taken him deep into the Herts defence, before being halted by a trip. Seaman duly found the net with the penalty, and soon after this, he provided a cross for Douglas to head over the bar. With 2 minutes left until half-time, Herts equalised, when Baronet met a fine cross from the right and headed in unchallenged – the Suffolk defence being caught out by the quality of the cross.
Suffolk started the second half by taking the game immediately to their opponents and in the 1st minute, Douglas beat the full-back and drove in a low cross which was met by Gammon. His shot was scrambled off the line by a defender, but a minute later he did find the net after a surging run by Bloomfield took the ball into the heart of the defence. Confusion reigned with Read taking advantage to knock the ball up and over the defenders for Gammon to head over Plumb in the Herts goal.
A few minutes later it looked as though Herts had equalised when Baronet shot wide and onto the back of the net from the outside – when it looked like it had gone in! Then Squires-Adams also hit the side netting, when a slip by Smith allowed him space for a shot. Herts had now recovered from the loss of that early goal, and were playing their part in an entertaining match. Randall fed Squires-Adams and his cross from the right just evaded Rathbone in front of goal, and it came as no real surprise when Herts equalised again in the 62nd minute; a speculative lob from 20 yards by Rathbone deceived Ross and dropped just under the bar with the keeper stranded.
Shortly after this, Seaman tried the same trick for Suffolk, but his lob from the left wing was well caught by Plumb. Mid-way through the second half, with the score still tied, Gammon missed a great chance to put Suffolk ahead – he failed to make a good enough contact on the ball when he met a cross from Seaman. Both teams used substitutions as players tired in the heavy conditions. With 20 minutes left, Ross did well to keep the ball out after a finely placed free-kick by Bickerstaff went over him and he stretched to punch the ball out before it was scrambled to safety by a defender.
In the 73rd minute, Suffolk took the lead again, and again it was a penalty, and again it was Ward who was tripped in the box and again the penalty was converted by Seaman. With the clock ticking down, Suffolk lost the services of Middlebrook who apparently used inappropriate language to the referee when complaining about a decision. Suffolk now had 12 minutes to protect a single goal lead with 10 men. 3 minutes later, it was a 2 goal lead after a Seaman free-kick was headed home by Marsh.
So, 9 minutes to hold a 2 goal lead … no make that 8 minutes to protect a 3 goal lead. This time a brilliant solo effort from Douglas who ran the ball down his usual right wing beat, before cutting inside and taking the ball along the face of the penalty box to wrong foot the defence, then turning and passing the ball into the net from 15 yards. Herts had 1 final opportunity near the end, when Stokoe met a free-kick from Stewart but placed his header just wide.
So a thoroughly entertaining match was finished in fine style with a final 20 minutes of even greater entertainment – especially if you supported the visitors. To be fair, however, the final score of 2-5 rather flattered them. What it did though was ensure only 2 counties can win the championship – Suffolk and Cambs – who also meet in the County Cup Final. Suffolk, holders of the championship, need a point from their final fixture against Beds to retain the title – possibly for the first ever time. Cambs need to win handsomely against Norfolk and hope that Beds beat Suffolk. And after these final league fixtures, the final at Portman Road, Ipswich on the 19th April.