Holyport vs VWFC
03/10/2017 Holyport 1 - 1 Virginia Water
Hellenic Division One East
Report by Ceri Jones
For Virginia Water it was a most unwelcome hat-trick, as they squandered a 1-0 lead to concede a 1-1 draw for the third successive league match. But that is not to take anything away from Holyport, who deserved a win perhaps after hitting the woodwork twice, however, Waters will rue missed opportunities to bury the game when 1-0 ahead.
The away side dominated the first half, with their passing and movement the better on the night.
This said, Waters only had a Ryan Curtis goal to show for their efforts, after he was put through with a goal bound shot by Josh Guichard. Chances to increase the lead fell to Adam Mills, Adam McNamara, Joe McBride, Curtis and Guichard but Waters failed to increase their lead.
At the other end, the away side struggled to deal with Holyport’s direct play, maybe a hangover from Saturday, possibly also due to missing a couple of players, and others returning from injury and not quite up to speed.
Waters were lucky not to concede when Holyport’s striker hit a post from close range.
The second half should have belonged to the away side, and they had a few near misses and a number of set pieces, but a close range shot from Sam Devoil was the nearest they came to score.
The home side pushed hard and bombarded the penalty area, and got their deserved equaliser when, from a deep free kick, Waters somehow allowed one of the Holyport team to ghost through unmarked and head home from six yards.
It could have been worse for Waters as Holyport hit the bar late on and Finn Evered headed off the line.
On balance it was probably a fair result, but Waters know they have work to do to maintain a position in the upper part of the league table.
Waters wish Holyport well for the season ahead.
Team:
Matt Jones
Adam Mills
Finn Evered
Marc Lansdowne
Louis Sanders
Josh Guichard
Liam Hill
Joe McBride
Sam Devoil
Ryan Curtis
Adam McNamara
Subs:
Dan Whatford
Richard Bond
Steve Williams