Pitching In Southern League Premier Division South
Tuesday 2nd January 2023
Hanwell Town 1 Beaconsfield Town 1
Powerday Stadium - Attendance 319
Ram of the Match – Callum Webb
Beaconsfield Town took a Sixth-minute lead but for the second game running, they could not protect the lead and had to settle for a point from the visit to the Powerday Stadium.
Styles make fights they say but here, up and at 'em Hanwell and a Christmas pudding of a pitch combined with The Ram's passing style to produce a competitive, committed but largely untidy encounter.
The home side began well and should really have been ahead after 3 minutes. Conrad Lucan, whose pace and direct running created problems for the Ram's back Four all afternoon, burst into the area on the right and bore down on goal. Before, for reasons best known to himself, electing to step across the ball and attempt to steer a right-footed effort back across Ravan Constable and into the corner, rather than accepting the straightforward option of shooting along the line of his run. His somewhat overcomplicated and careful finish went well wide.
A minute later he broke in off the opposite flank and this time chose the more straightforward option but his effort flew high and wide.
The Rams punished the home sides' wastefulness with their first cohesive passage of play after Six minutes. Sam Granville fed Nathan Minhas whose cross-shot nutmegged and deflected off Ben Kaninda, wrongfooting Joshua Strzovic in the Hanwell goal rolling gently into the path of Elliott Buchanan who fired home from close range at the far post.
Moments later Kyel Reid thought he had made it Two but his effort from 20 yards crashed off the bar and the Rams settled in to their best spell of the first half. Strzovic saved well from Elliott Buchanan stretching to tip over the strikers dipping header. Buchanan and Toby Little had goal-bound efforts blocked by desperate defending.
The home side were not without chances of their own as they sought to exploit the pace of Lucan and Isaac Olorunfemi on the counter and capitalise on long throw-ins and set pieces. Beaconsfield just about kept them at bay but the defending was not always exactly convincing.
As halftime approached The Rams felt a little hard done by when Nathan Minhas got the better of last man in Olorunfemi on half way. As The Rams' leading scorer eyed a forty-yard run on goal Olorunfemi grabbed two handfuls of shirt and hauled Minhas down.
Notwithstanding that he accepted the likely outcome was a Minhas shot on goal and the challenge did not approach a genuine attempt at playing the ball Mr Smith was persuaded that the offence, though clearly a professional foul, was worthy of only a yellow on the basis of the distance from the goal.
Moments later, on the stroke of halftime, Beaconsfield's afternoon went from bad to worse as yet another long throw was kept alive before eventually reaching Dwanye Duncan who sent a looping back header over Constable and in under the bar.
Half Time 1-1
At the break, Gary Meakin withdrew Buchanan, who was feeling a tight hamstring, and introduced Luke Neville into the back four allowing Sam Togwell to add some solidity to the midfield.
The second half followed a similar vane. The Hanwell bombardment continued as they forced successive corners and long throws but although they fought for everything and excited the holiday crowd Ravan Constable was not extended beyond regulation claims and catches.
At the other end Sam Glanville, Aaron Minhas, and Max Bustamante had goalbound efforts blocked and Glanville saw a low effort saved well by Strzovic but neither side was able to fashion a winning chance.
In the end a draw was probably a fair result.
Eyes now turn to Saturday and selection issues for the visit of Hayes and Yeading Utd. Callum Webb will miss the game with his one-match ban for the red card against Bracknell and Skipper Toby Little begins his Three match ban for his Red in the same game. Charlie Smith limped off here early in the second half with a suspected Hamstring strain and Olly Sprague is still recovering from illness.
If you're attending the game, bring your boots. You might get a game.
Beaconsfield Town :
Ravan Constable, Charlie Smith [Sub Aaron Minhas 48], Callum Webb, Luke Neville, Sam Togwell, Keano Robinson, Sam Granville, Toby Little©[Sub Max Bustamante 67], Dan Bradshaw, Nathan Minhas, Elliott Buchanan [Sub Luke Neville 46], Kyel Reid.
Subs Not Used - Kai Allsop, Oliver Sprague
Hanwell Town : Joshua Strzovic, Daniel Carr, Ben Kaninda[Sub Kain Adom 74], Harry Rush©, Calum Duffy, Dwayne Duncan, Isaac Olorunfemi, Matthew MacKenzie, Daniel Rowe, Sean Moore[Sub Mark Water 60], Conrad Lucan
Subs Not used - Lewis Cole, George Nicholas, Adam Laaref.
Referee - Michael Smith
Assistants - Colman O’Meara - Dan Atkinson
All images ©2023 Neale Blackburn Photography