By Joe Murphy
Hampton’s U12D team beat St Paul’s 3-2 after an extremely close match which culminated in an exciting finish. Hampton started strongly with lots of possession and many chances, and James Maloney quickly opened the scoring with a shot out of the goalkeeper’s reach.
St Paul’s were eager to level, but Henry Forster scored a second for the home side to put Hampton 2-0 up at half time.
There were chances at both ends of the pitch after the break but Hampton extended their lead when Ben Taskis won a free kick from just over the halfway line and wanted to try his luck. His brilliant shot curled into the top corner with so much power that the goalkeeper couldn’t get near it! 3 – 0 to the home side.
St Paul’s were down, but most certainly not out, and they responded to the goal with a goal of their own, which gave them hope again. As the game progressed, St Paul’s became stronger and Hampton were defending as hard as they could but the St Paul’s attack was too strong for Hampton as they pegged another one back. The score was 3-2 and St Paul’s were determined to score the equaliser.
In the dying moments St Paul’s had a shot which was brilliantly parried by Asa Jennings in the Hampton goal. The ball then came back off the post and was rolling over the line, but Jennings quickly dived on the ball with brilliant reflexes. The final whistle blew to the relief of the Hampton players, after such a hard fought and exciting game.
