Hatfield Town FC Vs Arlesey Town Reserves

Hatfield Town finally got their Spartan South Midlands Division One campaign underway on Saturday with Arlesey Town Reserves visiting Gosling Stadium. Hatfield Town had previously attempted to kick off their season on Tuesday against Brimsdown. With 20 minutes of the game played and Hatfield leading 2-0, the match was abandoned when Town Striker James Millard suffered a horrible injury.

The game kicked off in lovely weather at Gosling and unfortunately the opening stages of the game did not replicate the weather. It was a very nervous start from Hatfield and they struggled to take control of the game. They did however find a breakthrough on 23 minutes. Left winger Ryan North was sent clear and he managed to get to the ball before the Arlesey keeper and stab home to make it 1-0 and that was the score going into the break. Hatfield picked up the tempo in the early stages of the second half and was denied a clear penalty when an Arlesey Town defender handled a Ryan North cross. Moments later the referee did award Hatfield a penalty when Harvey Coleman had his shirt pulled in the box. Up stepped Jimmy Cook who dispatched the penalty to make it 2-0. Hatfield were now in complete control and playing with confidence. With 63 minutes on the clock Tom Mardell sent Terry Caswell clear and he slotted home for 3-0. Six minutes later it was 4-0. Once again it was Terry Caswell who had caused Arlesey problems all afternoon, this time with a cool one of one finish. Hatfield saw the game out, Arlesey were reduced to 10 men for a kick out on defender Charlie Payne. There was time for one more goal. With three minutes left on the clock, Bruce Tahon picked up the ball on the edge of the Arlesey box and curled a lovely effort in to complete the rout. 5-0 to Hatfield Town and a perfect start to the season. After the game, Hatfield Town coach Bowler Brandon said "the first half was completely unacceptable by our standards. We looked nervous and struggled to get into any rhythm. Kev Pearman made his feelings very clear in the dressing room at half time. We asked the boys for a response and we got one. The second half display was much better. It was a good start to the season after a very frustrating evening on Tuesday with the injury to James Millard" everyone at Hatfield Town wishes him a speedy recovery .