The Hawks face Needham Market in a mouth-watering top of the table Ryman Premier League clash at Westleigh Park between 2nd and 3rd as the race for promotion starts to hot up. In this article I will be looking at the tale of the tape as Bradbury and Molesley prepare their troops for battle.

This game is more about Needham Market than it is the Hawks. They have played two games more than their opponents and lost on Tuesday night against fellow title rivals Bognor Regis Town at Nyewood Lane, so a slip up at Westleigh Park could be fatal.

Needham Market added extra names in the January window, but the Hawks have also been getting active, signing ex Gosport player Mike Carter on Thursday, as well as Ben Swallow going to Margate to get some minutes under his belt.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

RORY WILLIAMS

For the Hawks Rory Williams has been instrumental towards their surge towards promotion at the first attempt due to the sheer consistency of his performances.

Rory who transferred from Gosport in June is the joint most capped player along with ‘keeper Ryan Young and although his presence has sometimes gone unnoticed to the naked eye, it is performances over the past few months which has seen him become one of the most influential players and the first name on the team sheet come 2pm on Saturday.

He is also the centre half who bangs in the goals, vindicated with his 37 goals in 77 apps for Gosport and has started to hit the back of the net again this season with goals against Grays and on Tuesday night against AFC Sudbury.

ALFIE RUTHERFORD

At 18 years of age, Alfie Rutherford is the hottest properties at Westleigh Park and one of the hottest in the Non-league. The footballing maturity and his infectious cheeky chappy personality could see Alfie go high up into the professional game in the future.

Alfie despite being a late bloomer this season has hit the league with aplong with more braces than a dentist this season topped off with a hat-trick against Grays before Christmas. However as a young man and someone who is wanting to impress can see experienced centre-half’s trying to push his buttons, however of recent weeks he’s shrugged that off his back and became the thorn in the Ryman defence’s side.

THE GAME

The game is at Westleigh Park, Havant, so please drop by and support the Hawks, if not Hawks Radio has full commentary with myself and Les Hyson at the mic calling the action from 14:35.

 

It has been a busy afternoon for the Hawks at Westleigh Park as Lee Bradbury, signs, keep hold and loans all within the space of 24 hours. The first major news was that Mike Carter had joined the Hawks from Gosport Borough. A man who has a pedigree for the game having won the FA Vase at Wembley for Sholing in 2014, has been at Privett Park for 2 and a half seasons before moving over the other side of the PO postcode divide. Lee said that he will “add extra steel and determination along the middle of the park along with experience and hunger” he went to say that “he is a little different to what we’ve got and he’s signed until the end of the season with a view of going forward from there.”

 

That on a normal day is big news alone, but Lee had more tricks up his sleeves for Hawks fans, as if he forgot about Christmas last month as he told us that he had renewed Jason Prior’s contract with the Hawks until the end of next season. Commenting on that Lee said “It’s doesn’t matter what league he’s in, Jason Prior is more than capable of scoring goals and he’s been a great signing for the club.”

 

Finally, Lee Bradbury announced that Ben Swallow will be joining up with Margate for a month’s loan move to get him some minutes. Lee said “he wanted to play some games, he’s been a victim of our success and will come back a sharper, fitter player and will benefit us towards the run in at the end of the season”.

 

So then a busy day for the Hawks gaffer to ponder and an exciting one for fans alike. We wish Ben Swallow all the best of success in his loan spell at Margate and await his return whilst we also look forward to seeing Mike Carter join the ranks on Saturday for the big top of the table clash V Needham Market, which is at Westleigh Park.

Henry Deacon

Long trip worthwhile as Hawks pick up all three points as race for promotion hots up.

Havant and Waterlooville have strengthened their claim to be one of the key contenders for this seasons Ryman Premier League title following a 2-0 win at Lowestoft Town.
The Hawks made the long trip following a barren run of 1 win in four matches, but Lee Bradbury’s men were wanting to put that to bed and that showed from minute one to ninety and from one to eleven. It started with the Hawks having the upper hand in the game, having a number of attempts in the opening exchanges, the best of which came from Matt Paterson who’s shot which looked like going in only hit the side netting.

However, if it wasn’t for the stubborn Jake Jessop in the Lowestoft Town goal the Hawks could have been out of sight. He was frustrating the Hawks as he was making save after save from shots, especially when the ball was being pin balling into the penalty area as it was on many occasions.
Him and influential centre back Harry Barker could only keep the Hawks at bay until the 27th Minute when Bradley Tarbuck crossed into the penalty area for a Alfie Rutherford shot which was blocked only as far as Theo Lewis who then turned and took a shot from 20 yards out which rippled the back of the net. Nothing less than the Hawks deserved for the opening half hour of dominance.

Lowestoft were not lying down and were not giving up without a fight and was making sure that Lee Bradbury’s side had to force their way up front with Ed Harris and Brian Stock being influential in the middle of the park with balls being put to Rory Williams and Bradley Tarbuck who from there were supplying into the penalty area where either Rutherford or Paterson were being a nuiscence, but it would be Harry Barker and Adam Smith who would stop the pair adding to the Hawks account in the first half.

HALF TIME: LOWESTOFT TOWN 0-1 HAWKS (Lewis 27’)

The Second half saw the 40 strong Hawks contingent who made the trip from as far as South Korea to make the trip get into the dry of the shed end for the second half in a wet and mild Suffolk afternoon. They were also to be warmed up with some more quality Football by both teams as Lowestoft Town came out the traps for the second half much better than they did for the first period and gave the Hawks a few questions to answer which was answered impressively by the Hawks, with Ed Harris being influential throughout the half.

It is a mark of a good side that when a team starts growing in confidence to shut it down in a single attack as they did to gain their second goal of the afternoon as Alfie Rutherford gets the better of Jake Jessop going past the shot stopper shoots but the original effort hits the post but then taps the ball into the net to double the Hawks advantage and in celebration shaking hands with the Hawks fans to show his appreciation of their long travels.

This seemed to take the wind out of Lowestoft’ sails, but in testament to them they didn’t give up but it was a strong 3 man Hawks backline that kept them at bay. In the closing exchanges, Lee made his first and only sub of the game as Wes Fogden got some more game time under his belt replacing Alfie Rutherford who got an astounding reception by the Hawks faithful.
The Hawks had a few more chances towards the end including a free kick in the 87th minute by Bradley Tarbuck into the penalty area but nothing came from it and the Hawks grabbed all three points and as the faithful sang the club anthem ‘Under the Moon of Love’ the players and management alike applauded the fans who made the long trek.

FULL TIME: LOWESTOFT TOWN 0-2 HAWKS (Lewis 27’; Rutherford 63’)
Post match Lee Bradbury said that he was pleased with what was a “professional performance from one to eleven” and said a massive “thank you to all the Hawks fans who travelled a long way to get behind the side”.
The result sees the Hawks stay third in the Ryman Premier League following 2-1 wins for Needham Market and Bognor with the latter winning by a stoppage time penalty and with Leiston winning 6-0 it is still all to play for at the top. Next up is Burgess Hill next Saturday at Westleigh Park.

Henry Deacon 2017

The Hawks are looking to become the Christmas number 1 as they face Grays Athletic in the final game before Christmas at Westleigh Park. Lee Bradbury’s men are looking to put right their 2-1 defeat away to Merstham at Moatside last Saturday against a resurgent Gravelmen.

Speaking to this website pre-match he said that “We have a chance to put it right this week against Grays, this is a dangerous match for us, they are having a mini resurgence, they won 4-0 on Tuesday night their 3rd victory in a row, so we must respect them. It will be a tough game they are a hard-working team that have a bit of confidence now, that’s always a danger. We have to be careful playing the teams in the lower part of the table, we have slipped up a couple of times so we need to be on our game.”

There is plenty of optimism within the Hawks camp. First, Alfie Rutherford is scoring goals for fun having notched in each of his last 4 starts for the side, including a hat-trick against Staines a fortnight ago. Ryan Woodford should be fully fit for the encounter after a few weeks out of the side following an injury sustained in a 5-0 Trophy against Billericay on November 12.

However, Wes Fogden is facing another spell on the side-lines following coming off in the first half of the 2-1 defeat at Moatside last Saturday with Lee Bradbury stating in the local press that ‘Wes is a big player and it is a concern that he is only dipping in and out of the side.

Henry Deacon

 

This is the final home game before Christmas so if you can get down to Westleigh Park where admission is £12 for Adults, £9 Concessions and for Portsmouth season ticket holders just a FIVER!

LET’S GET BEHIND THOSE HAWKS

 

Defending PDC World Champion Gary Anderson breezed through to the second round of the PDC World Darts Championships at London’s Alexandra Palace after a 3-0 win over Mark Frost otherwise known as ‘Frosty the Throwman’. Anderson looked ordinary in the first set averaging just 77 to take it by 3 legs to nil, finishing on double 1 just to emphasis the scrappiness.

However, the second set was more the Anderson that has taken the last two World titles as he blitzed his way through another set whitewash with an impressive 112 average. Then in the first leg of the third set Mark Frost won his first leg, cue the milking of the crowd from the Potter and from then was continuing the antics including in the final leg of the match bursting into fits of laughter before throwing. But it was Anderson who made his way into the post Christmas second round.

The final game of the evening session saw two of the quickest players go head to head as Michael Smith and Ricky Evans stepped up to the oche and the game lived up to Evans’ nickname “Rapid”. Evans was so quick that he hit a 180 in a staggering 2.16 seconds. He also took the first set with the darts and then after Smith pulling level he went in front yet again 2-1 in a race to 3. But Smith, quarter finalist last year then put on a spurt at the right time, pulling the tie from the brink to a second round birth for the St. Helens thrower.

 

The opening game of the championships Kevin ‘The Artist’ Painter won his first televised Darts match in nearly two years to defeat Jamie Caven by 3 sets to 1. Painter spoke after the game about how “the support of people kept me going, being out of the top 32, you have to work hard on the Pro Tour”. He went on to say that “You wouldn’t recognise me on the Pro Tour at times, you’d only know because I have my shirt on”. He also spoke about his upturn in from recently that “Over the last few months I’ve surrounded myself with good people”.

Painter could now face Phil Taylor in round 2 in what could potentially be a rematch of the 2004 final, which is argued to be one of the best World Championships finals of all time. He lost that game in the last leg and has not beaten the 16 time World Champion on television including a defeat in the second round last year.

The other game saw Jamie Lewis beat Irishman Mick McGowan 3-2. The Welshman Lewis has not been in the best form in 2016 and will be looking at this competition to turn his form around.

Henry Deacon

 

The final rights of passage into both respective World Darts Championships are being sorted out with the PDC finalising their qualifiers on Monday Afternoon, however players playing in that tournament will be at the Lakeside on Wednesday to try their luck with the BDO. However, it seems to be a controversial issue within the sport and one that is escalating on social media.

Where should loyalties lie:

 

The Tomlin order following the bitter court battle in 1997 meant that Dart players from both the PDC and BDO can play in each codes tournaments with the exception of the World Championships. This meant that players from the BDO played in PDC majors without having to commit to the Professional Darts Corporation and visa-versa was done.

The 1998 World Matchplay saw BDO’s Ronnie Baxter face PDC’s Rod Harrington in the final and with a number of BDO players making the final stages of the tournament. However this changed in 2002 when the PDC stopped BDO players playing in its ‘majors’, which saw six players change code, known as the ‘Skol Six’, the Tomlin order remained in place for BDO tournaments until 2007 when two PDC players were refused entry into the BDO Dutch Open championships.

Why am I telling you this? well I think you need the background as in these Lakeside qualifiers, there selected players who will try to qualify for Lakeside who failed to qualify for the PDC World Championships two days prior. This is controversial as the PDC have a Tour Card system where players enter a Qualifying School to win cards to play on the PDC circuit for 2 years, whilst in the BDO unless you are fully PDC, can just turn up to an event on a Sunday.

I think personally that we are whether PDC or BDO, we are all one thing and that’s the most important thing of them all, DARTS, the order which we had from ’97 to ’02 worked perfectly and created a little PDC/BDO rivalry, such as those you see in measures at the Grand Slam and means that the argument of the best of the best is truly sorted along with the fact that such issues over should players in this tournament then play in that is completely quashed. Those years between 97 and 02 saw the standard between both codes nigh on the same and considering the talent on show in the BDO could see Darts rise into a new era.

Surely it must be like Football where you can go on loan from one club to another. They’re not allowed to play against their parent club, but can play against all the rest. Just like what we did for those years and what can still be manageable in the future such as a player needs to state their eligance at all times and with the exception with the opposite codes World Championship and PDC Premier League can play in whatever tournaments that they wanted on either side.

This will be a debate that will simmer on into the future and don’t forget Wednesday is World Qualifiers and the World Masters stage finals are LIVE on Premier Sports this weekend.

The Hawks are on the road, try and get to these grounds and “let’s behind those Hawks”

Facebook: Havant and Waterlooville FC

Twitter: @Hawks_FC  #COYH

 

 

Darts Legend Eric Bristow has divided Twitter after he sent tweets calling those who abused young footballers as ‘poofs’. The comments occoured when he was tweeting in response to the Football Abuse scandal. He said in full that “might be looney but if some football coach was touching me when I was a kid as I got older I would of gone back and soughted this poof out”.

The comments has led to Bristow, who won the World Darts Championship 5 times in the 1980’s, to be on the recieving end of Twitter users anger, with people asking Sky Sports to terminate his contract with him and even a removal of his MBE.

Among the ‘Crafty Cockney’s’ comments he said that “Dart players tough guys, footballer’s wimps”. He further went on to say that “bet the Rugby boys are ok hahahaha”.

Twitter’s response:

Among those to react was Ricky Gervais when he said he “would be on the next series of Celebrity Big Brother” as well as Radio 2 DJ Jeremy Vine saying that Eric Bristow was a different stereotype to other stating “c) Eric Bristow” along with the list of tweets he sent out on Monday Night.

Further uses of Twitter said that Bristow was “out of touch” and was also labelled as a “F*ing disgrace”. His comments have even been forwarded to the Police by the Suriviors Manchester group who are a group supporting Boys and Men who have gone through any such incidents.

 

The Hawks have been busy today as two of their young starlet’s Marley Ridge and Charlie Searle will be moving to AFC Totton on loan. They move to the Testwood Stadium to gain more first team minutes in men’s football.

 

Both players have featured in the Hawks’ FA Trophy campaign so far. Charlie Searle started the first qualifying round tie away to Cirencester Town, whilst Marley Ridge have come off the bench in both ties, including scoring the fifth goal in the demolition of Billericay at Westleigh Park last Saturday.

 

Neither player either have been strangers to loan spells this season. Marley went on loan earlier this season to Winchester City and Charlie Searle spent a few months with Chichester City and on return both players were evidently better for first team minutes.

 

AFC Totton are under a new project with Louis Langdown appointed manager earlier this week and have made 3 signings ahead of their game tomorrow against North Leigh at home.

 

Everyone at the club would like to wish all the best to both Marley and Charlie in their loan stints and look forward to their returns to Westleigh Park soon.

 

Henry Deacon.

Following a meeting at Portsmouth FA HQ Gosport Borough have been removed from the Portsmouth Senior Cup. The meeting which took place last night and resulted in Gosport being found guilty of rule 13e, being unable to field a side against the Hawks on October 25th.

 

Gosport didn’t even give representation at the meeting, only stating their case of staying in the competition by an e-mail sent to the committee. This came about after Club Secretary Trevor Brock received an email from Gosport stating they could not fulfil the fixture on October 25th and stated a date of November 1st, which at the time was unplayable for the Hawks as then they have a game with Tonbridge Angels which was subsequently called off due to Tonbridge’s cup commitments was the only date available to the ‘boro’.

 

Rule 13e states that a team must fulfill a fixture on a date agreed by the two teams unless the team have a fixture in a competition of more importance on that matchday. However the club had no game to fulfil on that day and that only their development side faced a game against Winchester City the next day.

 

The withdrawal of Gosport from the competition means that the Hawks make their way to the Quarter Finals without playing a match and will find out their opponents in due course.

 

Henry Deacon

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