Waltham Forest 0-1 Sporting Bengal United
This excellent report and images are thanks to AZ Sports Images.
WILLIAM Hunt in the Forest game once again produced a fantastic goalkeeping display to keep this score at 1-0, but for him Sporting could have easily ran out three or four goal winners.
The first half of this match was a dray affair with both sides locked in a midfield battle with very few goal mouth action or for that matter any real flair plays.
Sporting in the orst five minutes got four corners none of which was delivered with any real purpose, in fact all failed to beat the first defender. The first of these corners being a result of Hunts fine save from Sporting’s number nine Tunde ADEWUNMI who has been in rich form of late.
The home side were aggrieved in the tenth minute when Taj HUSSAN brought down Forests young right back Abul AHASAN inside the box, but the match referee give a free kick to the visitors for a ‘high kick’ further before this incident to the amusement of the home players.
ADEWUNMI then went down the other end and smashed a shot into the side netting but although Sporting were enjoying the better o the attacking play, let very well by todays captain Josh GONZALEZ who was putting in an excellent number ten display, in place of club captain Shahed Ahmed, who had injured his Cruciate ligaments in the FA Vase 4-0 win against Helstead Town, and who would be out now for the rest of the season. This was a cruel blow for Ahmed as he had just come back into the side from a lengthy injury, but lasted only fifteen minutes in his first match.
At the other end the Forest front line of the excellent Danny TULLOCH and Abiola BALOGUN were being kept quiet by the visitor’s central defence pairing of Jordan MEIKLE and the big powerful Toib ADEYEMI.
But it was the visitors midfield led by Terlochan SINGH who were winning the battle. Singh was excellent at breaking up play and putting in tackles, and although some of his passes were over or under hit, he was getting excellent support from Taj HUSSAN and with Gonzalez always available to receive the ball they were at times running the home sides midfield rugged.
The game was settled in the 40th minute when Ahasan was adjust to have brought down Adewunmi on the edge of the box. Ahasan was booked for the infringement.
Yacine TELADJATI, so many times the Sporting ‘super sub’ who has many a times this season come on for the last ten-tp fifteen minutes to score a vital goal. Given a start today the youngstar was out to impress and once again he found his goal scoring from as he curled the free kick from an angle past Hunt.
In the last five minutes of the match, Ahasan made a last ditch tackle to stop Hussain and Lockyer in the Sporting goal made a few regulation saves before the half came to an end.
As the players went off at the half, Forest captain Tulloch asked the match officials for some explanations as to the two decisions that had clearly gone to the visitors and not for the first time did the forest players feel hard done by the match officials.
The hosts had a couple of half chances at the start of the second half, but in truth Lockyer did not have to much trouble in dealing with them, with however the best chance Forest had was on the 50th minute when Abiola BALOGUN bust clear of the Sporting defence, but as the rounded the Lockyer his last touch was just a bit to heavy and the ball runaway for a goal kick.
From then on it was Sporting’s who produced the best chances and could have so easily doubled their lead. Substitute Abdisamad MOHAMED had Hunt at full stretch with a rocked of a shot after 77th minute and then minutes later saved of the line from the same player when it looked a certain goal, as Abdisamad MOHAMED caught hold of a half volley from 12 yards away, but Hunt got one of his hands to the ball as it come through a crowed of players.
Sporting’s number 11 Prince WILLIAM then ran past three defenders but shot straight at the keeper then the same player failed to get a good connection to another chance inside the box.
As the players walked off at the final whistle there was a minor shuffle between Forest’s Kubilay AKBAYRAK and Yacine TELADJATI, a result of an early incident involving the two near the corner leg, when the latter had gone down easily after being tackled.
Both sets of players sorted out the incident (above) between themselves and it did not look like the match officials took any formal action
MOM: William Hunt (Waltham Forest FC)
