England Hockey League

Men’s Conference

HARLESTON travelled away to Wimbledon looking for their first points on the road since the Christmas break.

Early exchanges in the game saw Harleston have good possession without really penetrating the home side. When Wimbledon got the ball they were looking to break quickly. After an even start the home side took control creating a lot of pressure in the Magpies half without really creating large numbers of clear cut chances.

However on around 15 minutes they did have a penalty corner which was cleared of the line from Tristan Baynes. As the half went on Harleston came more and more into it passing the ball around well. This soon lead to chances for the away side first from a penalty corner, then Andrew Hipwell forged his way into the Dee before laying the ball to younger brother Simon Hipwell who delightfully reverse stick slotted the ball home.

This made it 0 -1 to the away side on 27 minutes. Magpies were not finished here as they continued to dominate the end of the first half as Pete Bale created more chances but on this occasion they were not taken. Harleston went in 1-0 up at half time.

In the second half Wimbledon made the early running as they pushed to try and get back in the game. Harleston absorbed a lot of pressure but still managed to carry a threat on the break going forward. Wimbledon continued to push throwing more and more men forward leaving themselves open at the back. Wimbledon did manage to break through on a few occasions but if needed Marc Lloyd in the Harleston goal was always there to clean up.

There were also good chances for the away side with the best falling to the Andrew Hipwell who was just unable to convert on this occasion. Wimbledon frustration grew as the half wore on and soon boiled over as one of their players received a Yellow card. This stopped their momentum, allowing Harleston to take control of the game once again passing the ball around well like they’d done at the end of the first half.

Wimbledon restored to 11 for the final five minutes but Harleston seem to be able to keep Wimbledon at arm’s length through good defensive work. As the game drew to a close Wimbledon found one more surge forward penetrating the Dee but this time they managed to win a penalty corner on 70 minutes. Wimbledon’s slick corner routine saw Seb Malti score in the 70th minute to take the three points out Harleston Magpies grasp to share the spoils.