GULL ARE GROUNDED BY FLYING HAWKS
HAVANT made it seven wins in a row in all competitions with this emphatic win over a plucky Gulls outfit.
The torrential rain which fell on Westleigh Park did little to dampen the spirits of delighted Hawks manager Lee Bradbury.
He told The NLP: “It was another pleasing performance and it was even better for us as we had three of our biggest names out injured.
“We expected a physical challenge but every one of my players was up for it. Things are going really well at the moment.”
The Hawks took a ninth-minute lead when a great cross by Matt Paterson was bundled in at the near post by veteran James Hayter.
Canvey then suffered a major blow as winger Jack Simmons had to limp off.
The home team should have extended their lead when Hayter headed Andreas Robinson’s cross wide.
Canvey produced a superb series of passes which set up Jay May whose shot was saved low to Hawks keeper Ryan Young’s right.
Seven minutes before the interval Havant doubled their advantage when Theo Lewis powerfully headed Ben Swallow’s inch-perfect cross past Gulls keeper Conor Gough after a 17pass move.
At the start of the second half Hayter and Paterson linked well but Paterson could only shoot at the keeper when well-placed to score.
The third goal came after 62 minutes when George Barker finished off another probing Hawks attack.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, however, and Canvey’s Lee O’Leary had two chances in quick succession. However he was way off target with both.
The luckless O’Leary then had a goal chalked off for offside after good work by Harrison Chatting.
And Chatting had another chance which was thwarted by Young.
However, in the final minute Havant substitute Alfie Ruther- ford slid home a fourth after Barker cannoned a shot back off the post.
Disappointed Gulls boss Danny Heale reflected: “Nothing went right for us today.
“We suffered a long four-hour journey and for 15 minutes we were well up for it, but we gave a poor goal away.
“Then we lost Jack Simmons almost immediately after the goal. It was just a bad day.
“We’ve actually been good this season but today we struggled to find our form and Havant looked a good side.”