Harborough Town Fall to Holbeach United in Appalling Conditions
10th November 2018
Harborough Town put in a tremendous away performance that ultimately deserved far greater than was achieved!
Against high-flying Holbeach, who had gone 10 games undefeated, the travelling fans were expecting a tough afternoon and were looking for the team to build on their positive performances following the previous 2 games against Pinchbeck and an FA XI representative team, that had shown real glimpses that the Bees were finding their feet.
Under the crashing of thunder, the opening few minutes of the game were played in the air – the number of headers outnumbering that of passes. As the game settled, Harborough grasped control, playing some excellent football in atrocious conditions. Alex Morris was the most desired outlet of the half, with his pace causing mayhem against his marker Tom Smith; on the 8th minute, Morris was threaded through and found himself 1-on-1, albeit at an angle, he unselfishly looked to tee up Aaron Preston in the box whose effort was struck with venom and was well saved by a diving Ricky Drury, who managed to stick out a trailing leg to divert the ball wide for a corner. It was possibly one of those moments were a slight ‘scuff’ on the shot would have reaped a better outcome. Undeterred and only moments later, Daniel Forbes looked like he would be the man to put The Bees in front when he rose above the rest, but his headed effort rebounded agonisingly off the post and as has been Harborough’s fortune so far this season, bounced to a Holbeach defender rather than an oncoming Harborough forward. Holbeach had one of their only chances of the half following this, when James Tricks looked to bring the ball down in the box, but Glen Giles swiftly pressured and the ball was cleared. Morris was in the centre of it all again, a smart 1-2 with Tony Bartlett cleared him some space; a wall of Holbeach players blocked the path to goal and his left-footed effort, in the end was tame. Holbeach’s Jay Wayatt was limited to a speculative effort by the Harborough defence, as his long range effort drifted past Giles’ upright. 20 minutes in, a smart free kick routine by Harborough saw the ball fly out wide, before Henbury drilled in a low cross that found Forbes, but his connection smashed it over the bar. Henbury was in the action again, with a smart run switching wings and Morris seeing it and playing him in, but Henbury’s effort was dragged across the face of goal and wide. Just before the half ended, Harborough seemed to have got their well-deserved goal; Henbury checked inside his man with some smart footwork, before bending it beautifully into the far corner. Unfortunately, the linesman had his flag up for an offside in the penalty box, a decision which the referee upheld to the amazement of all inside the ground. The ball clearly travelled all the way in to the far corner without anyone else making contact, what was even more amazing was that the referee did not even consult with his linesman to ask why he had put his flag up, as if he had done then the goal would have clearly stood! Disappointing to say the least and typical of the luck which has been deserting the Bees so far this season. A dominant first half display and with the wet and rainy conditions subsiding on the referee’s half time whistle Harborough could count themselves unlucky to not be leading by 2 or 3 at the break.
It was no surprise that Holbeach came out in a more determined mood in the second half and for a team with ambitions for promotion, some harsh words from their Manager would have been expected. Yes, Holbeach started the second half better but caused no real problems for a resolute and very well organised Harborough defence, marshalled superbly by Captain Ben Williams. Although the rain had stopped the pitch was becoming heavy, the early encounters of the second half saw Holbeach dominate possession for the first 10 minutes but they had no cutting edge and could not create any chances of note. Harborough as they did in the first half, came into the game and with the willing running of Morris and Henbury out wide continually caused the Holbeach full backs problems. Preston up front was holding the ball up superbly and giving the Holbeach defenders a tough afternoon, holding up play and bringing Forbes into the game at every opportunity. Steer and Taylor in the middle of the park, although outnumbered on occasions, tackled and headed everything that came their way, setting a solid base. Chances were at a premium for the first 20 minutes of the second half with neither goalkeeper being tested. The only real chance Harborough had was through another Forbes header, but this time Drury got down quickly and held well. Holbeach introduced Will Bird on 60 minutes and changed their formation, but Harborough kept their shape and looked in control until a near post cross by Bird was well defended by the impressive Traynor, although a corner was conceded. It was from the resultant corner that Holbeach got their piece of luck, something that seems to happen for teams at the top of the league.
A chaotic scene in the box after the corner as there was an up-in-the-air scramble, seeing the ball bounce back off the crossbar before falling to Josh Ford whose header just sneaked in under the bar to give the lead to Holbeach. 68 minutes on the clock and the Bees trailed 1-0.Holbeach seemed happy with this slender lead and sat deeper and deeper as the game crept into the final 15 minutes. Harborough kept pushing for an equaliser and Ibrahim Jalloh was introduced up front to give Preston a partner to play alongside. New signing, Taras Petranyuk was also introduced for the tiring Morris, out wide and both looked lively. Forbes dropped in alongside Steer as Taylor was sacrificed for an all-out assault on the Holbeach back line. The Holbeach faithful were cheering every clearance and tackle from the home defence. One last chance came Harborough’s way when Petranyuk was fouled just outside the penalty box but Henbury could not find the accuracy to create a chance that the travelling team deserved and Holbeach played out for the win, one which they celebrated from the pitch to the dugouts to the stands and one that they knew was probably not deserved.
Harborough dominated the first half, and were unlucky not be leading at the interval, but Holbeach came out better in the second period in a more even half and responded, taking their chance when it was presented to them. Harborough will take a lot from this performance and off the back of the Pinchbeck game and the FA XI game they are certainly starting to put the performances together that should, ultimately see them start to climb the league table. High performance levels have now been attained by the players that need to be taken into every game and if they are, then positive results will surely follow.
The Bees return home next weekend with Northampton ON Chenecks the visitors.