After all the tension and excitement of Super Saturday, it was left to the 7s to close off HHC's 2024/25 men's league program with a low key outing against bottom of the table St Albans, in a game of very mixed quality but loads of fun. Thanks go to our occasional guests Josh, Matt Earle and Will Collier (home from uni) for topping up our numerically thin regular squad.
Uncharacteristically we made a disastrous start, conceding in the first minute and again after 10, as StA's crop of useful kids gelled together and we didn't. After the 2nd we kicked ourselves awake and played sublimely for 25 minutes, with Dominic and Will dominating midfield and repeatedly feeding or running the ball through midfield and Geoff, Tom Q and the Norman boys passing sweetly right up to the final touch.
Their keeper played a blinder and several balls flew untouched across the goal mouth, but we still managed 4 goals. Matt Norman's first was the pick, edging his way along the top of the D and finding the far corner with a bit pinpoint hit. Tom Q and Tom N followed on, Matt had his 2nd before half time.
St A's fought back after half time in an increasingly tetchy game (we had a record 3 green cards) and Nick and the backs got their chance to show what they could do, we had plenty of chances on the break but only managed one more from Tom Q. They deserved a third and came uncomfortably close to more in the last 10 minutes but we rode our luck and marked up our 12th league win to round off a very enjoyable season.
We just failed to pip Saffron Walden for 4th place (1.895 pts per game vs 1.90 pts per game) but still the best season for Hertford's bottom team that I can find records for!
Finally thanks to the Rawlinsons for another excellent veggie Chili.
A retrospective review will follow in the next week or two.