It was the night before Christmas, oh wait, wrong story.
It was the 14th of December 2024 and the Stags were fresh off the back of a victory against old rivals and bogey team Potters Bar. There wasn't much to say about the game and we definitely didn't score 3 of our goals whilst the opposition had only 8 players on the pitch. However word has it Nick Downer is still raving about his 2 early goals... straight down the middle... with no goalkeeper between the posts.

Anyway, Hertford hosted Saffron Walden who were also struggling down the bottom end of the table and Hertford knew that 3 points would help them secure mid table mediocrity moving into the Christmas break, not quite the 'Top 3 finish' mentioned in Captain Goodsons Hertford Mercury article a few weeks ago (definitely worth a read...).

The squad were ready together and fully up for the game during the post match chat, with Holman taking charge thanks to his undefeated record as captain, move aside Goodson, go and fix that hamstring. It was a different story as the boys stepped out into the wintery conditions, facing what Tom Smith described as a 'pleasant breeze' whilst his kit blew half way across Hertford during his kit up.

The weather was truly atrocious but there wasn't time to complain as the game begun and both sides began playing with pace on the counter to try and catch the cold defenders off guard. It wasn’t long before Hertford took the lead through James Rollins, the stats man on the side couldn’t see the build up but it is claimed Ian Dunnett times a jab tackle to perfection allowing Rollins to nick the ball and elegantly finish.

Unfortunately it was Saffron Walden who scored the second goal of the game to make it 1-1 with 12 minutes played.

The hosts could feel their number 1 slot on Match of the Day slipping away so turned it up a gear before the half time whistle scoring 2 quick goals to end the half 3-1. Again, it is claimed that ‘someone drove down the base line and laid it back to Rollins. The enquiry resulted in a unanimous vote that this person must have been Archie Akers.

Within a minutes of scoring their second, Hertford had a third and this time it was Gary Brown who scored it with a Rob Holman assist, that’s all the WhatsApp enquiry could gather for this one…

The lads enjoyed a happier fines night this year after this victory. Despite Alex Metcalfe being unable to make an appearance, the duo of Jonny Goodson & Oliver De Roeck helped provide the entertainment.

Merry Christmas to all, and see you on the pitch for an almost certain feisty clash against Havering on the 11th January 2025.