Newbury Forest 3 Hashtag United 4
Thurlow Nunn Eastern Senior League Division One South
Tuesday 18th September
Hashtag United moved up to second after coming back from behind to beat a Newbury Forest side that looked to have the game wrapped up when they went in at the break 3-1 up. But then the club famed for its presence on social media put in a second half performance that must have had their Twitter feed buzzing.
The game was pretty much end-to-end right from the opening whistle, with the hosts settling into their attacking rhythm very early on when Tyrell Holder was able to slip into the Hashtag box and unload a shot that Jamie Jackson blocked. The visiting keeper had little time to dwell on that, as moments later he was diving to tip away an Enoch Freeman cross-shot. Newbury continued to press but then Hashtag launched an attack of their own which ended with Neil Richmond being played in, but then finding his way to goal blocked by a solid challenge from Newbury skipper Sean Crossley.
After such an opening it wasn’t surprising that the deadlock was broken only eleven minutes in; and it was Hashtag United that opened the scoring when a well worked move ended with Lee Hursit unloading a shot that swept past Ashley Davy, on route to finishing in the bottom right hand corner of the net.
However Newbury rallied almost straight away and where back on terms a mere five minute later when a beautiful cross by Kieran Huddart was met by a well-timed header from Jason Reynolds-Blanche giving the Hashtag keeper no chance.
The game continued to ebb and flow as both teams played fast, attacking football, with not a single long ball in sight. That was until the 23rd minute when Richmond held off a Newbury defender before playing in Harry Honesty who could only place his shot miles too high of the cross bar.
Two minutes later and Newbury Forest took the lead after Andy Adomakoh’s shot was cut out by Jackson, who pulled off a great save to keep out the initial powerful shot that came his way, but was powerless as Reynolds-Blanche cannoned home the rebound.
But Hashtag immediately re-grouped and Lee Hursit had a low shot saved by Davy; a minute later and Newbury were up the other end winning a free kick after Reynolds-Blanche was upended just outside the box. The resulting free kick could only be fired into the Hashtag wall.
There was a lull of sorts as both teams looked to try and contain the other, but the back and forth continued in the 40th minute when Hashtag won a corner which floated threateningly into the six-yard box but was blocked and cleared by the Newbury defence. The ball eventually fell to Holder who received the ball at the half-way line and then went to take on the whole of the Hashtag defence as he made his way into their box; his shot was blocked with Enoch Freeman drilling the rebound wide.
There was now only first half stoppage time to play and Newbury made that count as they extended their lead just before the break. Freeman provided the goal with an outstanding individual effort, driving past two Hashtag defenders, before then rifling the ball past Jackson to give Newbury a 3-1 lead.
Having had a fifteen minute break, the two protagonists then went at it again in the second period. The hosts had an early foray into the Hashtag box that saw Freeman have a shot blocked. As was now customary, Hashtag then went up the other end with Ryan Adams just failing to get anything on a deep cross that came over from the left flank.
Hashtag were able to reduce arrears in the 54th minute when Adams hit a shot that went through Davy’s hands and ended up crossing the line.
But the Newbury glovesman made up for his error moments later when he tipped a Daniel Adjei shot around the post. But it was to be only a brief reprieve as the resulting corner was headed home by Jack Harrison.
Having come back from the dead, Hashtag United now found themselves on the ascendency and almost took the lead in the 62nd minute through fortuitous circumstances; a back pass to Davy was being chased down by Adjei, and whilst the Newbury keeper was able to get to the ball first, his clearance ended up ricocheting off Adjei and only narrowly missing the target.
But a minute later and Hashtag had completed their turnaround after a ball over the top was met by Farai Tsingano, who picked his spot before slotting the ball past Davy.
Newbury’s spirits had been dampened but they still carried a potent threat going forward. But Hashtag were now keeping it tight at the back and went out looking for another goal; they had appeals for handball turned away in the 78th minute; then Davy had to block a Harrison shot before then pulling off a superb save to tip away a long ranger from Tom Williams.
Tsingano headed a Hashtag corner wide as the game entered the final five minutes and having failed to increase their lead you did wonder if there was to be any further drama. Newbury Forest certainly kept going and played a number of balls into the Hashtag box in the final minutes that were cleared by the Hashtag defence, who dug in and rode out the final attacks to make sure that their come-back from behind ended with a win and all three points.
Hashtag United are now on a five game winning run and could well be one of the teams in the promotion mix come the season’s end. Newbury Forest meanwhile are circulating near the bottom end of the table but on this evidence could be in a false position.
Newbury Forest: Ashley Davy, Kingdom Dawson (Courtney Justin 74’), Enoch Freeman (Ansa Edem 70’), Joseph Adewunmi, Sean Crossley (Capt), Freddie Anderson, Andy Adomakoh (Alex Nicoll 74’), Jamal Khan, Jason Reynolds-Blanche, Kieran Huddart, Tyrell Holder.
Scorers – Jason Reynolds-Blanche (16’ 25’), Enoch Freeman (45+2’)
Hashtag United: Jamie Jackson, Cain Brougham, Tom Williams, Farai Tsingano, Jack Harrison (Capt), Ricky Evans, Charlie Morley (Daniel Adjei 38’), Lee Hursit (Marcus Stamp 33’), Ryan Adams, Neil Richmond, Harry Honesty.
Scorers – Lee Hursit (11’), Ryan Adams (54’), Jack Harrison (58’), Farai Tsingano (63’).