Danny Carr stars, as the Met narrowly edge past a strong Hanwell Town side

Macpherson named five changes to the side who edged past Corinthian in the FA Cup in the previous gameweek, with Tom Read, Rudy Allen, Charlie Wickam and Bernie Tanner returning to the starting eleven, as well as a returning familiar face in shot-stopper Liam Beach.

The Met started brightly from the off, with Allen seeing a speculative effort fly just high of the crossbar early on. This early Blues pressure continued, as in the fifteenth minute an effort from Read, inside the penalty area, was well kept out by Hugo Sobte, before Ollie Knight saw his subsequent strike deflect narrowly wide of the post.

The remainder of the first half saw minimal chances for either side, with the onslaught of rain on the night leading to many sloppy passes on the night.

As the game got back underway for the second half, it was the hosts who looked most likely to pull in front, being able to possess much of the ball with Macpherson’s side, at times, unable to get out of their own half; it was on the counter where the Met enjoyed much of their success throughout the second period.

This Blues success on the counter proved decisive in the 70th minute, as following a good stop by Sobte to deny Read from close range, the marauding Danny Carr was able to convert the ensuing rebound, giving his side a late lead.

Following Carr’s strike, Hanwell proceeded to pile on the pressure in search of an equaliser, looking particularly promising from a number of dead-ball situations. Fortunately for the Met, the Blues defence stood stern, with the home side unable to truly test the returning Liam Beach on the night, proving to be wasteful in the final third. As the referee called the game to a close, Macpherson’s Met were able to celebrate a hard-fought narrow 1-0 win, with an ensured defensive display an optimistic sign of what could lie in store for Macpherson’s side in future outings.

Match Report By Alex Gardner