Harrow Way 2 –  John Hanson 2
 
Having only played in the district tournament this year, the Harrow Way Year 9 and 10 team arrived at John Hanson to face the more experienced Year 10 and 11 team in their first 11-a-side match.
John Hanson started off the stonger team and forced a number of fine saves from keeper Ella Howells.
However, Harrow Way tightened their marking in midfield and defence and started to put pressure on their players, forcing mistakes and attacking well from these opportunities.
Harrow Way broke the deadlock early on in the second half, where a cross from the left met Kelly Butler completely unmarked to slot the ball past the goalkeeper.
John Hanson re-started strongly and pressurised hard again, however excellent defending from Holly Guiver, Lydia Moulding and Laura Jones restricted their opportunities. Atlanta Wilson had a strong opponent on the left, but she kept composed and channelled her player wide to force mistakes.
With 8 minutes left, Ella Howells was forced to come off with a shoulder injury, and with no substitutes, Annie Brookes bravely stepped into goal.
Playing 10v11, John Hanson started to take advantage of the situation, but Annie kept goal strongly until a well executed lob beat her reach. However, in the case of “anything you can do…”, just minutes later Reyanne Richards put Harrow Way back in the lead with a superbly taken long-range lob off the keeper. Sadly the one man advantage took its toll and despite some fraught defending, John Hanson managed to score again to make the score 2-2 at the final whistle.
 
A fantastic result by a younger team, Harrow Way should come away proud of their efforts. With continued commitment to the extra-curricular football club, they should look forward to more matches and success next year
 
Team
Ella Howells, Lydia Moulding, Annie Brookes, Kelly Butler, Maddie Douch, Laura Jones, Clara Franklin, Reyanne Richards, Atlanta Wilson, Abby Wheeler, Holly Guiver