FOOTBALL: Lifeline Victory For Battling ‘U’s
1 March: Cray Valley PM 1, Hastings Utd 1
4 March: Chatham Town 2, Hastings Utd 0
8 March: Hastings Utd 2, Hendon 0
HUGH SULLIVAN
Davide Rodari on the ball for Hastings in earlier game
Hastings United chalked up their first victory in eleven Isthmian Premier League games when they beat Hendon 2-0 at the Pilot Field last Saturday. The win still leaves them mired in the drop zone, seven points adrift of 18th place (or better) that they need to finish in to keep their status. But with none of the other eight lowest-placed teams winning, and only Dulwich Hamlet managing to draw, it was a good day all round for manager Danny Searle’s men.
The previous Saturday they had come away from promotion-chasing Cray Valley PM with a creditable draw, having led for much of the second half. Harvard graduate Taner Dogan scored the opener on his debut for the ‘U’s. The Kent side equalised ten minutes from time and pressed strongly for a winner, but Searle said afterwards that he felt Hastings had fully deserved their point and might well have come away with all three. They got none three days later, however, when they were beaten 2-0 at Chatham, the home team scoring a goal in each half.
Hendon arrived in Hastings on an even worse run of results than their hosts. They had won the reverse fixture in North London on 23 November by a 9-0 scoreline when Sean Ray was at the helm as the ‘U’s’ interim manager, and followed that annihilation with a further victory over Whitehawk three days later. But they hadn’t recorded a single league victory since, suffering 12 defeats and achieving just five draws in the following 17 matches as they plummeted down the table to 19th position, one above Hastings. If either of the teams was to halt their slide, this was surely the game to do it in.
PHYSICAL BATTLE
On a dried out pitch where the ball bounced high, bobbling and wobbling, Searle picked a team that was up for the physical battle. Of the players in the United line-up for that November defeat, only keeper Louis Rogers, full-back George Walker, midfielder Adam Lovatt and forward Davide Rodari retained their places. Teddy Perkins and Ollie Black reprised their recent partnership in central defence and gave very solid performances; new recruits Reece Grant and Dogan, both playing their first games at the Pilot Field, added strength in midfield, and Si Ligendza showed adventure in attack that’s been too often missing this season.
Rodari scored early, a poacher’s goal bundled in from a corner. For the rest of the half, Hendon had more of the ball and territory, but Rogers made a couple of smart saves to keep Hastings ahead. After the interval, it was Ligendza’s sparkling run down the right and cutback from the deadball line which enabled Grant to score from close in. From there on it wasn’t pretty, but the visitors were held at bay fairly comfortably.
The attendance figure was a little disappointing – less than 800 compared to the season’s average of over 1,000, despite the fine weather and importance of the game – but the team received fervent support throughout from their committed followers behind the goal. With six of United’s last ten matches to be played at home, more of that will be required.
The ‘U’s were due to host Wingate & Finchley on Tuesday evening after this newspaper went to press. They’ll play away at second-placed Dartford tomorrow (Saturday) before two further home games against Chichester City on 22 March and, crucially, 18th-placed Canvey Island on the 25th.
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