SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS PREMIER

Hoddesdon 1- 2 Harefield United

PHIL Granville praised his Harefield United side for showing true spirit to battle back from having a man sent off to secure a dramatic stoppage-time win at Hoddesdon on Saturday, writes Arvin Raj.

Harefield secured a last-gasp victory with virtually the last-minute of the game as full-back Mo Hashi made himself the hero after popping in the box to earn all three points.

Hashi’s heroics had come after Ben Andreos had cancelled out Jake Girt’s opener for the Hares and Connor Butler had been shown a straight red card for violent conduct.

Granville said: “I thought after a dodgy first five or 10 minutes we settled into the game really well and we deservedly took the lead. On the balance of play I thought we deserved the win.

“We had a few players out today as well. All the players dug in well, particularly with the sending off which was very harsh. I thought the lads responded really well and stuck to the formation, to the plan, and got what we

deserved.”

Harefield took the lead just after the half-hour mark from a break down the Hoddesdon left when Reece Buck pulled off a good save, but he was only able to divert the ball towards an unmarked Girt who fired home from close range.

Three minutes after coming on, substitute Andreos got on the end of a long free kick from Mark Teasdale on the left, and with a deft header found the back of the net to level the score on 78 minutes.

Comeback trail: Riccardo Cannon is on course for a return this Christmas

But the Hares, down to 10 following Butler’s earlier dismissal, managed to snatch the result deep into time added-on.

In the 95th minute, the referee played advantage down the Harefield right and as the ball was crossed low into the middle, Hashi was on hand to complete an easy tap-in from Mark Sargeant’s cross.

After returning to winning ways in the league, Hares manager Granville insists his team have received a welcome confidence boost ahead of what will be a tough game at London Tigers on Saturday.

He added: “The pitch will play a big part of that, depending on what condition it’s in and hopefully we’ll turn up and put in a performance and get what we deserve.”

Granville also confirmed striker Riccardo Cannon remains on track for a Christmas return.

Cannon suffered a broken leg in the 3-1 defeat at Colney Heath back in August,

Granville added: “He’s back in training and hopefully we’ll see him around the Christmas period. He’s going to have to come back gradually, but he’s back in light training and hopefully he’ll start joining in shortly with the ball.

“When we can get Ric back, as well as a few others that haven’t been available, we’re a force to be reckoned with against any team in this league.”

Elsewhere, Rob Gradwell secured a point for Hillingdon Borough on Saturday as they drew 1-1 with AFC Dunstable.