JV Comes Up Short Against Londonderry, Loses 2-1

Fall was nipping at our heels, but the boys in home whites didn’t seem invigorated by the cooler weather. We came out flat against a good Londenderry team that returned most of their 2013 squad, and their experience carried them to a 2-1 win. In what has become a bit of a pattern, the opposition had their way early on, and moved the ball freely throughout the first 20 minutes of the game. They kept the ball moving through and past our back line, and only a nifty sliding save from Owen Brooks kept the game scoreless. Harry Olszewski kept the slate clean. Late in the half, Casey Starr ran the ball downfield and just missed on a hard shot off the right post, which seemed as if it would get us going. Instead, it was followed shortly thereafter by the Londonderry striker converting from the right side at 28 feet for a score that put us down one at 1 – 0 at the intermission.

 Then, as the second half moved along, Griffin Johnson fought his way around and through two defenders, and gave himself just enough space to launch the tying goal towards the right side of the net.   Later, Owen Brooks went high for his second strong save, pushing the net bound ball over the high post to keep things tied. Our combination of defenders, led by Jack Pattison, Jack Hazard, and a host of others, while not playing their best collective game, still kept the visitors from getting good chances. 

The game seemed like it was Hanover's to win, until a high floating shot that froze the defenders near the goal as well as the keeper, was called a score after dribbling off the crossbar to the right post and away. With what appeared to be 7 minutes to play, the game was called, as the official timekeeping referee had apparently  let the clock run down during an explanation to the visiting coach, leaving very little time to re-tie the game. Sour grapes? Maybe, but it was an odd ending. Regardless, Londonderry deserved the win more than our boys in home whites did, as they consistently beat us to the ball and showed higher intensity than our fellows on this day. If the drive back in this writer’s car with one disappointed player was any indication, we will see a more focused group when we take on Nashua South at their place this Saturday at 2:30 p.m.. See you then!