After a horrendous 4 hour trip and a kick off put back to 4 o'clock, Hastings contrived to produce by far their best performance of the season against run away leaders Walton.
The first half was a tight and cagey affair with few chances at either end but Hastings certainly looked the strongest and most composed team and dominated possession. Sam Adams slammed the bar from a 35 yard free kick and there were half chances for Irish and Bailo, whilst at the other end Josh was left fairly untroubled.
The 2nd half was certainly a different affair and Hastings dominated throughout and took a deserved lead when Irish slammed home from 5 yards after he won the original header. Hastings continued to pour forward and really should have been 3 or 4 clear after some amazing goal mouth scrambles and poor finishing whilst at the other end Josh made his one fantastic save from a Bobby Traynor volley.
So a magnificent result and performance which well and truly buries the shambles at Merstham and John Maggs must be congratulated for lifting the players. Sam Adams and Timmy were magnificent today along with the back 5, but stand out for me was Matt Darby who was immense, what a find he is! Bring on Leatherhead
Great performance and the mood with the players on the coach home was fantastic ( thankfully a swift journey home! ) could have had 3 goals but very happy with a win regardless! Agree Matt Darby MOM, great performance but Sean Kelly again great not even counting the goal
Made up with this result and for Irish to get another goal is excellent - mustn't start relying on other areas to score goals though. I think my job might be at risk from Johnw, whose mini-match report made the game sound very exciting!
Great couple of results this week and all the more remarkable having seen the Merstham farce.
JM is certainly trying to do what we hoped he would do.....bring in some new faces to strengthen the weakest areas.
I'm sure there will be some more hiccups along the way but surely no-one can doubt that we currently have a very capable man in the driving seat.
I'm a firm believer that every team in every level bar none has a poor patch during their season, its a matter of when they have it. A poor patch at the start of the season obviously isn't as bad when you're fighting for something towards the end. I know we'll loose more games this season but let's hope that they're few and far between and that the 3 straight loses were our poor patch and we can push on and take advantage of the games in hand we have to get us to top spot.
Pretty much agree with all John has said. We looked strong in every department. Of course we are still a bit shy of putting chances away and we could have won by a lot more, but apart from one Bobby Traynor effort, i didnt see our defence or keeper troubled at all. They dealt with everything that came their way. The midfield took control of the game well and I couldnt really think of the last time we looked so together as a unit. Probably FA cup as John says. Horrid journey - great result
Good to read all the encouraging posts from supporters who have been to the last 2 matches. I have missed some of our poor performances away but have been impressed with the effort put in by the present squad. I have also enjoyed the performances of Sean Kelly and Matt Darby who have, in particular, been outstanding after stepping up from the County League.
I agree Tim and Matt Darby in particular is improving so quickly he has the potential to be one of the best midfielders we have had over the past few years, in my opinion.
