written by M Davis

With a 12 man squad available for selection MMM arrived at Havant Academy ready for cup action again against United Services.

Starting on the front foot Meon began with an attacking 3-5-2 formation and in the opening two minutes Scummer played a cutting ball down the right wing to M. Hassan who's cross was cleared for a throw in. United Services then won back possession and after an exchange of passes broke forward only for O. Brown to intercept and break down the left however a heavy touch gave back possession but Brown carried on to force the throw, a good start from Meon.

On six minutes some neat passing between D. Boyle and S. Hargraves enabled Hargraves to release M. Hassan again down the right however the resulting cross was cleared but picked up by G. Jewell. Jewell was immediately brought down by a tackle from behind for a free kick, S. Hargraves crossed into the box for S. Smith to head towards goal however an offside decision denied Meon from taking the lead.

10 minutes in United Services found a way forward bypassing the midfield in three identical turn and pass moves up the middle of the pitch but ended up playing a tame ball through to goalkeeper S. Watson. Watson played the ball out from the back to S. Smith who took the ball forward and found S. Hargraves making a run towards goal but as Hargraves got into the 18 yard box he was upended leaving the referee with no choice but to award a penalty.

Hargraves stepped up and coolly slotted the ball under the keeper who ended up diving over the ball to his left. As celebrations got underway the referee spotted the net wasn't securely fastened to the crossbar insisting it should be sorted before the restart and rather comically hoisted manager, Daron Smith onto his shoulders to get the job done.

At the 15 minute mark United Services tested keeper S. Watson as they went in search of an equaliser but Watson parried the ball away for S. Smith to head out as far as another U.S player who shot high over the bar. Meon were now starting to ride their luck as another U.S attack began from allowing the opposition too much space in central midfield giving them time to play a dangerous ball down the left wing which S. Watson claimed well on 19 minutes.

One minute later though, O. Brown broke down the left and despite a clear pull on the shirt the referee played advantage after Brown's continued run forced a corner. With the ball eventually cleared Meon broke forward again on 22 minutes with a perfectly timed ball to S. Hargraves from Scummer left Hargraves with just the keeper to beat however arms were raised for offside and bizarrely the decision was given without a linesman in sight!

Despite being robbed of a clear goalscoring opportunity Meon continued to press for a second and on 25 minutes M. Hassan played a ball down the right wing for S. Hargraves who was really starting to cause problems. Hargraves played a teasing cross to T. Ahmed but the striker ducked the header making it easy for a U.S defender to clear for a counter attack down the left, K. Whitehouse slid in, missing the U.S winger only for Scummer to make a last gasp tackle.

On 32 minutes M. Hassan played a ball down the right wing to S. Hargraves who switched play over to the left by pinging the ball to O. Brown who shot wide. After an exchange of possession and weathering another U.S attack keeper, S. Watson played a direct ball to Hargraves on 36 minutes which he took brilliantly down on the first touch before kicking overhead towards goal only for the keeper to claim.

On 39 minutes attack very quickly turned to defence when S. Hargraves played in M. Hassan down the right but no one was there to meet the cross, T. Ahmed then played the ball back out to O. Brown on the left who tee'ed Hargraves up for a shot which was blocked and allowed U.S to break forward only to win a free kick on the edge of the area. The resulting free kick curled high to the top right corner however somehow S. Watson got a big right hand to it to tip the ball over for a corner which fortunately for Meon saw the U.S no.4 head wide after being given a free header.

Just before the half ended however O. Brown played in D. Boyle who's shot from the left of goal was smothered by the keeper and the referee blew for half time to the relief of the Meon bench. A tough half time team talk followed as U.S were being given too much time on the ball in midfield and on too many occasions this nearly cost MMM the lead but somehow they went into the break with a clean sheet.

As the second half got underway U.S started stronger when another missed challenge from K. Whitehouse left S. Smith as the last man back but his attempted challenge resulted in the ball bouncing back into the path of the U.S forward who was now one on one with S. Watson however the Meon no.1 made a big save to keep the score at 1:0. With U.S now sensing that a goal was in sight they poured on the pressure and for the five minutes that followed Meon had to withstand wave after wave of attacks but on 53 minutes were give a bizarre reprieve.

With the ball out of play on the left wing Meon were awarded a throw with T. Ahmed being the closest player to the ball, Ahmed mistook the instruction to allow O. Brown to take the throw and instead released the ball at Brown's feet only for the referee to give a foul throw to U.S instead after a strong appeal. To the amusement of the Meon bench the vocal U.S defender then proceeded to commit a foul throw of his own and MMM were back in possession but only for a short time as U.S were again allowed to break forward for another shot which S. Watson rebounded on to P. Smith to get clear.

On 59 minutes S. Watson produced another big one on one save which rebounded out to G. Jewell and left U.S wondering what more they had to do to score. In the 63rd minute Meon were given another chance to extend their lead after S. Hargraves drew a foul on the edge of the 18 yard box, Hargraves curled beyond the wall at pace but the keeper got two good hands behind it to keep it out.

With 23 minutes left on the clock U.S were awarded a free kick of their own when O. Brown crashed into the U.S's no.2 but came off worse. The kick was curled into the box soon after but keeper S. Watson failed to claim it and the ball bounced dangerously into the six yard box before being cleared. With a bare 11 starting the game U.S were suddenly down to 10 as one of their central defenders left the pitch with no replacement available.

With the sudden numerical advantage Meon failed to notice as U.S began to look the more dangerous of the sides going into the 72nd minute however K. Whitehouse then made a surging run forward down the right playing in to S. Hargraves in the centre who cut inside and attempted to curve the ball around the keeper into the bottom right corner but the keeper was equal to it.

Going into the final 10 minutes U.S still had something to play for and were very nearly back in it after winning a corner in the 81st minute following a big block from P. Smith. As the ball floated in M. Hassan made an important headed clearance at the front post to clear the danger and two minutes later could have ended the game after breaking down the right and finding space his floated cross flew well beyond S. Hargraves who would have been through one on one to score.

In the 87th minute a big double block from keeper S. Watson and defender P. Smith stopped the game going into extra time after another U.S corner resulted in a goalmouth scramble in which the U.S no.14 was allowed too much space on the right. Then on 90 minutes the game was all but well and truly over after S. Hargraves broke forward with one defender to beat and T. Ahmed running in support, Hargraves squared the ball to Ahmed but a tame effort left the striker still searching for his first goal and the referee blew for full time.

Despite a very close call for Meon they held on to not only secure the win but also a very valuable clean sheet to progress into the next round of another cup campaign.

Meon Milton Mens

Havant Academy

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