the Magnificent Seven strike again

With the rest of the squad awol it was left to the six stalwarts to travel down the M3 to take on Southampton. With the timely return of Richard Backhouse to boost the numbers and two players from Southampton we knuckled down to some serious hardwork. Despite the numerical advantage Southampton made hard work of hitting the target. Some stalwart defending from Kevin and Paul, timely tackles from Dave and some superb saves from Goalie Phil including a P flick, ensured that Southampton struggled. But the attacking was not one way and the Hornets came close to scoring on numerous occassions through Richard and Seb but for the sharp saves from the Southampton Keeper. in midfield Phil, Nigel and Graham kept up the pressure and Hornets were disappointed to go into half time 2 goals down.

Heads went down when Southampton got their third shortly after halftime. But Hornets kept plugging away and got their rewards with a solo effort from Graham thumping the backboards. Revitalised Hornets then showed teamwork with a goal from five quick passes down the left for Phil to plant the shot into the bottom corner. Suddenly Southampton looked nervous. But not for long as tiredness kicked in and Hornets struggled to keep possession. Southampton's numerical superiority soon showed and they punished the errors with a number of breakaway goals. Hornets kept fighting and Phil and Kevin defended valiantly but without reward. Despite that a very enjoyable game played in the right spirit.