After the bad weather postponing the majority of the leagues games last week football was back on, on a cold windy day at The Powerday Stadium. Hanwell took Waltham to the sword and were completely merciless, scoring most of the time they went forward whilst playing some great football along the way. The star of the game was Ogo Obi who bagged himself a hattrick in an untouchable performance and Waltham were quite frankly lucky to not have conceded more.
The game didn’t quite live up to what it was supposed to be as it ended up with Hanwell annihilating Waltham in a gutless performance away from home.
Hanwell Town:
Hugo Sobte (7): Unfortunate not to get a clean sheet as he stayed alert all game considering he didn’t have a whole load to do and he made some decent stops when called upon. Couldn’t do much about the goal as it deflected in but he commanded and distributed well, even picking up an assist on the sixth goal.
Callum Woodcock (6): Defended well and put in a shift on the right side. He didn’t get threatened at all and was positionally award throughout but couldn’t really do much to get noticed as they were so dominant.
Joel Jacobs (7): Wand of a left foot and put in some dangerous crosses as well as key passes. He allowed Gianni Crichlow to thrive down the left side by giving him defensive security and even bagged himself an incredible goal from a freekick 25 yards out which was rifled into the top bins.
Toch Singh (6.5): Solid as a rock at the back and gave the opposition attackers a tough time by winning his man to man battles and aerial duels. He was calm at the back and played when needed but also knew when to clear his lines.
Adam Pepera (6.5): Strong presence at the back who commanded well and made some great challenges. Again, won his battles and barely gave Waltham attackers a sniff.
Andy O’Brien (7): Textbook skipper performance who lead extremely well and locked down the midfield. Made some key passes and was calm in controlling the flow of the game. Also did some dirty work when called upon.
Daniel Julienne (7): Done all the silent work and made life hell for the Waltham midfielders as he was everywhere. Was brilliant in transitioning defence to attack and started the onslaught with his quick-thinking through ball which split the defence to Obi for the first goal.
Jack Hutchinson (8): Pure Metronome in midfield and dictated the game perfectly. Great transitional play and always seemed to find space when picking up the ball allowing him to coordinate his next move flawlessly. Also did his fair share of defensive duties when needed as well and it was an all round great performance.
Ogo Obi (10) MOTM: Couldn’t fault a thing with Obi’s performance and he was untouchable. Occupied defenders, made great runs, smart linkup play and physical presence up top. Every time he got the ball something happened and he was super clinical bagging a hattrick and even getting an assist with a smart backheel for Crichlow.
Gianni Crichlow (8.5): Darting runs down the line and great footwork allowed him to beat his man many times. He was constantly an attacking threat and linked up well with Obi to create countless opportunities. They simply couldn’t deal with his pace and dribbling and eventually was rewarded with a goal which was neatly tucked away.
Rob Laney (7.5): Worked tirelessly on the other wing and probably didn’t get the credit he deserves because of the other two attackers. Pulled players out which created space for Obi and finally got his goal near the end with a great take down and finesse shot into the corner.
Substitutes:
Harry Rush (6.5): Came on for Daniel Julienne for fresh legs in the midfield. Did what he was supposed to do and supressed Waltham’s midfield well.
David Taylor (6): Came on for Jack Hutchinson in midfield to add some more defensive security as they didn’t need to score any more. Good steady performance from him.
Gareth Chendlik (6): Came on for Ogo Obi to also add more defensive security and hold onto what they had. Solid job and worked hard.
Waltham Abbey:
Charlie Crowley (4): Conceded six and most of them were because of his dire defence in front of him. Made a few good saves to keep the score down and distributed well but it’s definitely one he will want to forget.
Junior Appiah (4): Probable the best defender for Waltham who made a lot of good recovery runs and one crucial last ditch challenge but got caught out of position too many times and wasn’t great in possession.
Dominique Njoya (2): Awful game from him as he kept getting caught sleeping and let attackers run beyond him countless times. Looked disinterested and fatigued from the start and wasn’t commanding at all.
Mark Twumasi (2): Him and his partner Njoya were like a pair of clowns at the back. He never picked up a runner and lost most challenges. Also bullied by Obi and really struggled to keep up with the pace of the game.
Louis Bowen (3): Looked slow and sluggish from the start. He didn’t help in attacking phases and was poor in 1v1’s getting beat on many occasions.
Rob Clark (4): Worked tirelessly but couldn’t get a hold on the game and influence the flow. He covered a lot of ground before he got injured and came off at half time.
Nathan Koranteng (3.5): Not an ideal performance from him as he often looked fatigued, uninspired and lacked ideas. Couldn’t keep up with the tempo of the game and struggled finding a rhythm.
Charlie Edwards (3.5): Had an alright game and certainly wasn’t the worst player, he worked hard and was good at tracking back and helping the defence. However, as the captain he should lead by example and he wasn’t quite at the races.
Billy Holland (4): Pretty ineffective and nothing came off for him. Was lucky to stay on as he appeared to punch an opposition player but the referee didn’t see it. Also managed to scred at the death but it was far too late.
Leon McKenzie (3): Pretty much invisible and had no effect on the game whatsoever. He missed an absolute sitter form six yards out which summed up his performance.
Rimmel Daniel (3): Had scraps to feed off and wasn’t really interested in tracking back. He did manage to have one attempt which hit the post but wasn’t very creative and struggled.
Substitutes:
Prince Domafriyie (5.5): Came on for Junior Appiah in an attacking change. He was Waltham’s best player when brought in as he was positive going forward and put some threatening crosses into the box. He made a real impact from the bench with his directness and pace, grabbing himself an assist at the end.
Jack Daveney (3): Came on for injured Rob Clark but left no impact. He was supposed to be a breath of fresh air but didn’t bring any new life to the game and actually might have made it worse as he made a lot of errors and loose touches.
Highlights of game can be found here.
-Dan Davies
nonleaguefootballsouthern.sport.blog 