Prior double sinks Farnborough
Havant and Waterlooville continue their pre-season with a fine 2-0 win against Farnborough at Westleigh Park. Hawks boss Lee Bradbury was looking for a reaction to the 6-0 defeat that Pompey handed out last Saturday. George Barker’s re-signing for the Hawks helped his cause as he went straight into the starting lineup as Mike Carter pulled up in the warm up.
The first half lived up to the normal pre-season encounter with the game being a test of fitness and a run out for legs more than any other objective. Lee Bradbury admitting that in that period “we wasn’t at the pace that we should be at”. The Hawls did come close however in that opening half as Theo Lewis and Jason Prior both having chances for the Hawks to go a goal to the good. The closest Farborough got to breaking the deadlock was a free kick from former Hawk Nic Ciardini with his effort just hitting the top of the crossbar but over and it would end 0-0 at the interval.
The second half the Hawks came out much better, with a word or two being said in the dressing room seemingly being the remedy for the rest of the game. And it paid dividends within 5 minutes of the second half restarting as Jason Prior heads home after receiving the ball from Rory Williams following a short corner into the area. The Hawks would then double their lead as George Barker would go to ground with the referee pointing to the penalty spot. Jason Prior took the spot kick and he cooly puts it into the bottom right hand corner for a 2-0 lead. That would also be Barker’s last action on his Hawks return before being substituted.
However Lee Bradbury did not get through the game unscaved as the injuries start toting up for the Hawks as Bradley Tarbuck came off worse following a challenge on the edge of the penalty area. The 21-year old who after medical attention limped off the field and was substituted.
The Hawks would end up 2-0 victors against a Farnborough side who will fancy a decent season in the Southern Premier League. After the game Lee Bradbury said that “after a little poke at half time we got going a little bit in the second half, moved the ball better, although saying that we could have been 2-0 up at half time, hitting the post twice but we were a little bit of the pace for me. It was like a pre-season game in the first half, I thought the second half was a bit more competitive and we moved the ball a lot sharper.”
Next up for the Hawks is a game against AFC Totton at the Testwood stadium with Alfy Whittingham potentially being one of the players in which Louis Langdown will out against the Hawks on Tuesday night at 7:30.
Henry Deacon
Henry Deacon Media 