Hampstead at home, Prem - 11 Feb 2006

Fresh off their Flags Semi Final win against Hitchin Purley were looking to redeem themselves for their loss to Hampstead earlier in the season and set the tone for the Flags final encounter between the two teams. With home pitch advantage Purley were definitely up for the match early on, but things took a turn for the worse and progressively fell apart even more as the game played out.

It wasn't all doom and gloom from the start though as a quick solo drive to the net by Nigel Tasko saw Purley take an early lead just minutes into the game. Just as quick to get themselves going Hampstead replied with their opening marker just moments later. Jamie Tasko rallied for the cause with a sweet shot of his own and Purley were up again 2-1. Rallying their troops Hampstead again tied things up before Jamie Tasko deposited another to make it 3-2 for Purley. Unfortunately that was the last Purley lead, as Hampstead aggressively worked their offense and clinically denied Purley attempts to penetrate with an excellent display of defence and played the quarter out with a 4-3 lead.

The second quarter had its moments but Hampstead were undoubtedly showing that they meant business and despite goals from Dave Arnot, Matt Payne and Jamie Tasko the half time score was 9-6 for Hampstead. It could, and probably should have been closer had not Purley given away 3 soft goals in the quarter.

Mentally it was still anyone's game and Purley seemed amped to mark a comeback and regain control of the match, but this did not materialize as Hampstead executed a well practiced plan and won the quarter with all of the four goals scored.

A lot can happen in twenty minutes of lacrosse and despite being down 13-6 going into the final quarter Purley had to believe that it could be them that filled the net and at least make things respectable, if not make good on an all out come back and win. Wanting is one thing and wishful thinking was no match for the disciplined Hampstead squad as they went on to win the game with a final score of 16-7. Mike Barrett scored the only goal for Purley on a nice pass from Matt Payne but Purley was unable to muster up enough possession to be a viable threat as Hampstead made the most of innumerable unforced errors and turn overs to play almost every minute offensively.

All in all it was a shame that Purley took themselves out of the game almost more than Hampstead took it to them. In all fairness though Hampstead played a great game and made our defence work for most it not close to all of the second half. In a game where numbers add up and count for everything Purley's defence and goal tending were truly tested and were able to thwart most of Hampstead's relentless attack.

There will no doubt be some serious planning and practicing ahead for Purley over the remaining games in the season before they meet back up with Hampstead in the Flags Finals on March 18th.

Goals: Jamie Tasko 3, Nigel Tasko 1, Dave Arnot 1, Matt Payne 1, Mike Barrett 1