Vital point seized in thrilling 3-3 draw

Henley 3rd team travelled to Amersham & Chalfont 2nds, their closest league rivals, in an enthralling encounter which sets up an exciting final phase of the season, which will decide which two of Henley, Oxford and Amersham & Chalfont gain promotion from MBBO division 4.

With two games in hand over Henley, Amersham knew that three points would enable them to overhaul the visitors in the league table if they win their remaining matches. Equally, Henley had to come away with at least a draw to maintain their slender lead.

Unphased by the pressure, Henley started at a brisk pace, quickly developing the fluid movements which characterised the previous weekend’s victories. Amersham presented a tight defensive unit, though Henley’s strong ball pace and crisp passing put them under threat.

The opening goal came from a superb individual goal from James Baker. Baker picked up the ball at the top of the Amersham area, kept two defenders at bay and turned on his reverse side, unleashing what looked to be an impossible shot into the bottom corner.

Buoyed by this early strike, Henley continued powerfully with the midfield working hard to starve Amersham of possession. The industrious Jack Draycott created the next goal, threading a lifted ball directly into the Amersham area, with striker Timothy Herbert intercepting with a deflection to defeat the goalkeeper.

At 2-0, Henley looked in control. However Amersham were creating dangerous counterattacks, and with skilful and pacey forwards, always looked in with a chance of scoring. The home side drew the scores back to parity with a sharp penalty corner strike, and another following a desperate goalmouth scramble.

Baker again took Henley into a 3-2 lead with a powerful penalty corner shot, but Amersham struck back quickly from a fast break to take the scores to 3-3 at the interval.

As both sides started to get the measure of each other, the second half became a more attritional affair. However, as space developed across the pitch, Henley gained more control of the game and regained composure to create some excellent attacking moves. Several chances went unconverted, one shot hitting the post, several penalty corners wasted, and a lightning ball from defender Mike Woolfrey somehow evading the attentions of three attackers.

Though Henley pressed for the win, knowing that a draw would also be a good result, the visitors also introduced a measure of caution into the game and focused attentions on nullifying Amersham’s attacking threat, closing out a thrilling and hard-fought draw. Henley will reflect that with the goalscoring opportunities in the second half, they probably could have won the match, but instead remain satisfied with the single point.

This weekend sees the amber and blues take on Oxford in another crucial encounter at Jubilee Park at 3pm.