v Hampton Wanderers Away 27/01/08 Won 2-4

Feltham played their tenants from Hampton this morning at a sun drenched Blenheim Rec on an almost perfect day for football. Lee and Paulo were missing from the squad today which meant a debut for Josh who stepped up from the Blues and had an impressive first game.

  Feltham attacked the Bedfont Lane end in the first half and were a bit sluggish after a two week break since the last match. Hampton seemed a yard quicker to the ball in the first half and the Whites struggled to get their usual fluency of passing going. Chances were few and far between as the game centred on the midfield areas. Turnell used his pace at the mid point of the half to race through and score the opener. However within two minutes Hampton were level. Five minutes before half time Feltham were ahead again when a defensive error let in Turnell for a tap in. On the stroke of half time The Wanderers forced a corner which has taken short and some sloppy defending saw the ball driven home for a deserved equaliser.

  Half time saw the Manager deliver a stern talk to the troops about work rate and commitment and this seemed to have the desired effect as the Whites were a lot better in the second half. Matt came close with a header however the game seemed to be heading for a draw when eight minutes from time Turnell reacted well to score his hat trick firing home after Anthony’s shot came back off the bar. In the dying seconds Turnell scored his fourth goal outpacing a tiring defence to give Feltham a hard fought victory.

  We were not at our best today and we played a lot better against Ashford and Hayes yet lost both games. What we did show today was a lot of character especially in the second half and the boys can be well pleased with their efforts. We are slowly making progress in our journey which for some of the boys who have been with me for 3 years started in Division 2 of the Hayes League and now finds us in the top half of a very strong WSYL Premier Division.

  Thanks as always to our merry band of supporters who come and watch the boys through thick and thin. Thanks to Steve for running the line and Dan for a good Refereeing display. Also thanks to the parents of both teams for assisting in taking the posts down at the end. Finally thanks to Dave and John and all the Hampton boys for a sporting and evenly contested match.

Squad – Ryan , Lewis , Ben , Leon , Charlie , Matt , Anthony , Nathan , Daniel , Jack , Turnell , Ryan , John Jo , Josh

Scorer – Turnell 4