Harleston 3 Haverhill 0

NE14HOCKEY East Men's League

Premier A

Harleston Magpies 3 Haverhill 0

Harleston Magpies put in a controlled and disciplined performance to see off Haverhill on Saturday.

Facing a Havering team with a track record of frustrating, the match turned into an unspectacular affair where the usual flowing hockey seen at Weybred never appeared.

In the first few minutes of the game the visiting team were putting all their attention and effort on breaking down the game, but despite this Harleston kept the ball well and the back four of Sitch Snr, Ling Jnr, Sumner and Bedwell moved the ball confidently, allowing increasing pressure to be placed on the Havering defence.

The breakthrough came halfway through the first period when a clever and well-worked short corner was emphatically scored by Gill after a cool pin-point pass from Baines.

This goal spurred Magpies on and the next ten minutes saw Havering having to defend mercilessly.

Despite this, another two goals were added by the home team.

The first of these was a text book goal scored by a Hipwell deflection after a well struck free hit from the ever present Gill.

The second of these was a carbon copy of Harleston's first, giving Gill his deserved second of the match.

Harleston could also have had the chance to add another after a good combination from Sitch Jnr and Hipwell set Barber clean through, only for the defending keeper to seemingly foul but only concede a short corner.

The last five minutes of the half saw the only real pressure from Havering as Harleston took their foot off the gas and play some sloppy hockey.

A well-struck Havering short corner looked like it would provide a way back into the game but for Gill showing his steel on the line to deflect the head height ball over the cross bar.

The second period saw Harleston completely dominate, but a combination of good goalkeeping and disruptive tactics resulted in a period where territory could not be converted into goals.

Despite of this, Ling Snr, Wheeler and Fanger caused Havering consistent problems in the rare moments where play was allowed to continue long enough for their pace to show.

The end score line of 3 - 0 will disappoint Harleston as a game allowed to flow could have resulted in a much superior outcome.

Even though a first clean sheet of the season for mature keep Martin and the defence will increase confidence as Harleston go into a difficult set of fixtures before the winter break looking to keep up their excellent run and stay as the only team in the league with a 100% record.