Sound But Lethargic Performance

A real 'pea-souper' greeted Hook at Petersfield where it was difficult to see the other side of the pitch, to start with. Wet under foot but decent surface meant the players were on for some good football.

The warm-up was a little bit of an indicator as most of the players were rather sluggish and lacking energy... concerns this may translate on to the pitch.

And it did. Overall, the intent to play football was there, but the sluggishness ensured Hook made a real meal of it. With Petersfield only playing 1, albeit decent, player up front, the Hook defence should never have really been troubled. Unfortunately, the constant allowing of the ball to bounce rather than meet it to play it down (sure this was worked on a lot in the last training session???) meant the play was too often coming with Hook on the back foot. There was some decent last-ditch defensive work but, again, the wider midfield players leaving the defence on their own to deal with the pressure. That said, some good inter-linking forward play ensured Hook were 3 up at the break.

The chat at half time was directed at playing with heads up, a bit more composure, and getting the ball down. That appeared to happen in the second half (well, the manager counted 4 times the ball was played down...), but a bit too much positional indiscipline meant there were at least 3 off-sides that could have been more goal-scoring opportunities.

Overall, the job was done, soundly if not lethargically and making it harder than necessary, and most importantly, another clean sheet to keep Hook on track for conceding the fewest goals in the division... a task they can be rightfully proud of.

Still a lot to do if they want promotion, or even the division title, with 4 teams in with a shout. It is still in Hook's hands, but the energy must come back!