St Georges College 2nd XI vs Heathside
0 - 3
22 March 2017
Home friendly match played on 22 March 2017.
Kicked off at 2:30 PM
0-3
vs Heathside
Home friendly match
St George's 2nd XI marked the end of a fantastic season with a strong performance despite defeat in the Weybridge Derby.
St George's decided to try and change formations in this match, starting with only four defenders for only the second time this year.
This was to prove costly as, playing in his final game for St George's, Joey Hamblin handled inside the box to concede a penalty within the first five minutes.
It soon became clear that St George's lacked the physical presence that Heathside had and tried to combat this by sending on Max Longhurst, Toby Baker and Oli Hall, who was making his first appearance in twelve months.
Hall and Baker linked up extremely well for some great chances and were unlucky not to find the net.
However it was Heathside who scored next, adding one just before the break, before sealing the win with a late goal in the second half.
Despite the loss, several St George's players should be commended; Josh Wickers, Jonty Mitchell and Dan Green (all on debut) put in impressive performances, and on another day would have all been on the scoresheet. Cormac Brown also had a timely return to form. But the standout performances came from Andrei Belonogoff and Harry Martin, who both gave everything to try and get something from the game. They have both been awarded the man of the match award for this game as, without either one of them, the defeat would have been much heavier.
The emotion then really showed at the full time whistle when a wave of sadness struck the team as they realised that it was the end of the St George's footballing careers for two legends of the team; Rory Smith and Joey Hamblin. Smith and Hamblin were both part of the starting line up for the first 2nd XI match, in the 2015-16 season against Reading Blue Coat School. Both of them had outstanding moments during the two years and credit should go to Hamblin who is the only player to have played in every 2nd XI match in the past two years. They will be missed.
As emotional as it was to lose two exceptional players, St George's must look to the future and there will be an announcement in the coming days regarding the new captains of the 1st and 2nd XI teams.
But for now, the team should reflect on what has been a superb season and they should all get some much deserved rest over Easter.