‘We showed them too much respect - we didn’t play our natural game’
Horndean boss reflects on defeat to Wessex title rivals
Horndean boss Michael Birmingham insists the Wessex League Premier Division title is Hamworthy’s to lose after a dramatic finale in the battle of the top two at Five Heads Park.
That isn’t a new opinion, though; he’s always felt that way.
The Hammers moved to within a point of the tabletopping Deans, with three games in hand, after Max Wilcock’s 85th minute goal clinched a 2-1 success.
Wilcock latched onto a long clearance from Billy Walker to net the decider less than 60 seconds after Connor Duffin’s great free-kick had cancelled out Walker’s 68th minute header.
Hamworthy will go top on Tuesday if they can claim an 18th win in 25 Premier Division fixtures at Alton.
After that, 10 of the Dorset club’s final 15 league games will be at home. And Tim Sills’ men boast the best home record in the division - Hamworthy have only dropped two points in 10 games at the County Ground, with a goal difference of 29-2.
‘First half we gave Hamworthy too much respect. We didn’t play our natural game, we didn’t get the ball down and play,’ said Birmingham.
‘Hamworthy probably felt they could have gone in at half-time ahead, and I would agree with them. If we had gone in 1-0 down we could not have grumbled at all.
‘My last words to them at half-time were ‘don’t fear failure’ - we had looked a little scared in the first half.
‘We were the better side in the second half, but we have some big concerns.’
Last Tuesday, Horndean conceded twice in injury time to draw 2-2 at Moneyfields. Then, against Hamworthy, they switched off immediately after equalising. Combined, those late woes cost three valuable points.
‘We absolutely dominated Moneyfields for 94 minutes, my keeper hasn’t had a save to make, yet we concede two goals and only get a point. The less arrogant Moneyfields people will agree,’ Birmingham remarked.
‘Here we didn’t dominate Hamworthy but we were the better side in the second half, my keeper hasn’t had a save to make, yet we end up with zero points and concede two goals again.
‘For the first goal my defenders were lazy in allowing Billy Walker a free header from three yards out everyone knows he’s the best header of a ball in their team.
‘For the second goal Billy Walker hits a long clearance and I thought I’d signed a new defender called Moses as my two centre halves just parted.
‘We’d talked about it beforehand - we know Walker is very good at clearing the ball over the last defender and keeping it in play, turning defence into attack very quickly.
‘We knew all about it but we still allowed it to happen. It was like ‘you know Birmy, you were right!’ It’s not good enough.
‘It was embarrassing. We’d worked so hard to get ourselves back in the game. We showed magnificent character.
‘I said after we went behind ‘this is the last team in the league you want to be 1-0 down against’ because they are so well organised and physical.
‘Hamworthy are the best team in the league for grinding out results and they did it again. Fair play to them.
‘I had too many players who didn’t rise to the occasion.’
Hamworthy’s statistics don’t give Horndean or Baffins much comfort. Since the start of 2020/21, Sills’ side have won 29, drawn seven and lost just two of their 38 league games.
They have only conceded 25 goals in that time and on only four occasions - out of 38 - have they let in more than one goal. Only once, in a 3-3 draw at Fareham last month, have the Hammers conceded more than twice.
Asked if it was now Hamworthy’s title to lose,
Birmingham replied: ‘It’s been Hamworthy’s to lose since day one.
‘I said when we went to Portchester in August, second game of the season in the FA Cup, that it was Hamworthy’s to lose.
‘They’ve got experienced players, some old heads, some cracking youngsters. I hope they go and win the FA Vase.’ Horndean are back in action tomorrow with a home Portsmouth Senior Cup quarter-final against Petersfield Town (7.45pm).
Birmingham said his squad will be a mixture of ‘under-18s, players who need minutes and players who need a rocket up their **** .’
One player who won’t be featuring is young striker Evan Harris, who scored three times in PSC wins against Baffins (5-4) and Locks Heath Reserves (5-0) in earlier rounds.
Harris has joined league rivals Moneyfields and made his debut in the weekend Wessex Premier victory at Shaftesbury.
Birmingham said he didn’t want to lose the youngster, but conceded: ‘I couldn’t promise him first team minutes and the Moneyfields manager said he could.’