Sunday 20th May saw the Hurricanes take on Teddington for their last match of the season…….
Hot conditions, bobbly pitch, tired players (before they had
even started), bare 11 players so no subs….and against a full team from
Teddington, desperate for the win to try to stay up in the Premier for
next season!!
From the kick off, Teddington were
pressing hard and forcing mistakes. The normal confident Hurricanes were
looking anything but that. There was an early let off when a bouncing
ball created an open goal, but the Teddington player hit the post. This
seemed to put some life into the Hurricanes, and they started to take
the game to the opposition. The midfield was crowded out and Finch
struggled to maintain possession under the pressure. There were Finch
chances from long balls including a 1-on-1 with the keeper, but we
couldn’t hit the target. And the continuous attacks and pressure from
Teddington got the first goal.
The half time talk
was a rocket, not what was wanted for the last game of the season but it
had to be done, the hurricanes were just not at the races. And it got
the desired result in the second half, with Finch pressing and
maintaining more possession, moving the ball around quicker. And with
the pressure the chances started to come. Adam pouncing on a goal mouth
scramble when their keeper spilled the ball from a corner, 1-1 and game
on. Finch almost got the second goal straight away but their keeper made
the near post save and they cleared the subsequent corner.
From
then on the game was in the balance, both teams battling across the
pitch. Both keepers kept the score level with saves, Ben A a little
busier from longer range shots. The physicality was there, the passing
was there, the shape was there….but they were struggling for composure
on the ball and not creating enough options. Teddington broke the
deadlock with some high pressing on the edge of the Finch penalty box
and got the tap in with 5 minutes to go. Although they were trying to
rally each other, by now the lack of subs and conditions were taking the
toll, and the Teddington were doing enough to foil Finch attacks. 2-1
to Teddington.
On another day they would have got the lucky bounce and got the result, but thats football.
After the elongated season, the Hurricanes finish 5th, bang
in the middle of the table. 7 wins, 2 draws and 7 losses (23 points).
The league table shows just how close it was across the division with
3rd to 6th places separated by just 4 points. 4th place Haslemere on 25
points and 3rd place Abbey on 26 points. Even 2nd place Claygate were
only on 28 points. When you consider just 2 seasons ago we entered SPL
in Division 1 (4th tier) and are competing really well against the top
of the Premier and even Premier Elite teams, thats quite an achievement
for our lads!! They have thrilled and excited us throughout the season
and we couldn’t be more proud of this team!!