My latest pre season fare came on the 3G of Mabley Green, Homerton, Hackney, East London as Hackney Wick hosted AFC Southgate.
Now Wick were entering their third season as a club but this season has seen them take over Essex Senior League outfit London Bari so this will be Wickers first season in Senior Football after two years in the Middlesex County League. They should be groundsharing with Clapton at the Old Spotted Dog too.
AFC Southgate themselves are entering their first season with a senior mens football team and they will be playing in the Spartan South Midlands Division Two for this campaign and will be groundsharing at Hadley FC in North London.
So two sides entering the unknown this season making pre season all the more important. Wickers had a decent first outing, defeating Olympian Premier side Canning Town 5-1 on Saturday, whilst AFC Southgate’s first outing didn’t go so well, ending in a 9-1 drubbing at the hands of an ArsenalCommunity XI.
Both managers decided that the game duration should be three thirty minute periods, as is sometimes the way in pre season matches, in order to try out new players and tactics etc etc.
After a twenty five minute delay to the original kick off time of 7pm the first period got underway and after both teams had missed an early chance the hosts got their noses in front after eight minutes when after the away keeper had gone on walkabout, it left the hosts a simple cross and tap into the empty net.
It looked like Wick would take control thereafter however it was the visitors who began to find their feet and as the first period came to a close they were more than in this contest it has to be he said.
And sure enough five minutes into the second period of half an hour the visitors levelled when a mistake allowed AFC in and they duly slotted home and in my eyes had themselves a deserved equaliser.
But the term ‘you at your most vulnerable when you have just scored’ rang true for the visitors as barely a minute later the hosts regained the lead after a drilled effort went under the keepers grasp and into the net.
To AFC Southgate’s credit they came steaming back again though and four minutes later levelled the contest again as their striker was played in and he showed good composure to slot beyond the home keeper for 2-2.
But yet again they fell behind almost immediately when a free kick was rifled into the top corner brilliantly and then five minutes before the end of a crazy second period Wick increased that lead as a ball played through saw the Wickers forward get to the ball just before the keeper to loft beyond him and into the net.
So five goals in a mad fifteen minute spell and it looked like the hosts were now beginning to take control of the contest in the last few minutes of the period and of course had that two goal cushion.
However in keeping with the contest AFC Southgate kept plugging away and with twenty minutes left grabbed a decent goal back when a cross was volleyed into the roof of the net although the hosts should then of added a fifth on two occasions but failed to do so.
The visitors then missed a chance for 4-4 before the home side did manage a fifth with fifteen minutes remaining with a great team move ending with a cross from the left being converted first time beyond the keepers dive.
Wickers did manage to score a late sixth to round off another pre season victory, although they were made to work very hard by the plucky visitors who will no doubt get better and better with the more games they play. It was no doubt a good workout for both sides though with plenty of good attacking football on show.
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