Havant & Waterlooville 1-1 Hanwell Town - Points Shared In PO9

An entertaining night on the south coast saw ten-man Hanwell Town come away with a hard earned point after Ade Olumuyiwa’s opener was cancelled out by Ryan Seager.

The first half started the way of the visitors. Jordan Espritt did brilliantly to drive down the right-hand side and find a low cross into the box. Somehow after a number of attempted shots from Zak Joseph, the ball was cleared and the game remained level.

As the game went on it became more balanced. Both teams had chances with Havant producing a number of promising moments but nothing clear cut. Hanwell looked to respond to the pressure with chances from Jospeh and Espritt but both were cleared.

However, three minutes from half time Hanwell took the lead. A deep corner from Dan Carr found its way to the back post and the waiting Olumuyiwa to head home and score his first goal for the club.

An even first half ended with the Geordies having a one goal advantage.

The second half started the way the first ended. Both teams having chances. Hanwell saw more good opportunities coming from out wide with Joseph and Nditi linking up well and applying pressure on the Havant defensive line.

Substitute Paul McCallum had a great chance for the hosts when the ball found its way to the striker in the box but the ball got stuck under his foot and went wide.

However, 15 minutes from full time, a questionable decision from the referee sent the Geordies down to ten men. A long looping ball through the middle bounced in front of Olumuyiwa, with the defender misjudging the bounce. He raised his arm, denying the ball going through on goal, subsequently resulting in him being dismissed.

Just three minutes later, Havant equalised. A messy pattern of play in the box saw the ball fall to captain Seager who poked low past Beasant and set up an exciting end to the game.

The home side pushed for an equaliser with their best chance coming through McCallum, who couldn’t find the space to get a clear shot away.

After a flurry of substitutions and some strong defending from Hanwell, the game ended after 5 minutes of additional time with Hanwell returning to West London with a hard-earned point.

Hanwell Town are next in action on Saturday 3rd October when they face National League South side Dover Athletic in the FA Cup, which promises to be an exciting game.

Hanwell Town: Beasant (C), Nditi, Sankoh, Olumuyiwa, Carr, Hoath, Cooper, Turner, Espritt, Joseph (Lalustani 68’), Snee (Seabrook 82’)

Unused Subs: Bradbury, Green

Havant & Waterlooville: Kerby, Riley-Snow (McCallum 60’), Kennedy, Uche, Seager (C), Maloney, Giwa-McNeil (Rees 82’), Khallouqi (Wood 55’), Robinson, Aston, Ani (Thorpe 86’)

Unused Subs: Cuthbert

Written by Paddy Clark