Hampshire Premier League

Premier Division

Saturday 10th February 2024

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.11

Hook 4 Fleet Spurs 1, attendance 35

32’ 1-0

35’ 2-0

48’ 3-0

51’ 3-1

86’ 4-1

@ Papermill Avenue

Hook

RG27 9QU

No Admission or Programme.

With Hook’s normal home venue at King George V Playing Field once again being unable to host due to pitch problems, this game was switched to Papermill Avenue, which is off London Road, to the east of the town. The pitch is immediately on the right as you enter the road, but access is a couple of hundred yards further on, past the health club. There is a large car park and a few portacabins that act as changing rooms. In front of the car park is a rugby pitch (water logged today) whilst beyond, and on a slightly higher plain, is the football pitch, which had a right to left slope, which would have certainly helped with the drainage. It was roped off along one side and round as far as each goal, with a few plastic chairs placed either side of the halfway line acting as dugouts.

The club had tweeted the change of venue yesterday and had also tweeted early this morning that the game was going ahead as planned. So it was all good to go! The match was a real basement battle, as second bottom (P16 W5 D3 L8) hosted bottom (P18 W1 D1 L16) of the league table. As expected, it wasn’t high on quality, but both teams gave it a real go. After all, they would both have looked at this as winnable. Hook totally dominated the first half, finally breaking the deadlock just after half an hour, with a shot from the edge of the box that went in off the post and within minutes doubled their lead, heading in from a corner on the left. Three minutes into the second half it was 3-0, this time volleying in at the far post, again from a corner. Fleet soon pulled it back to 3-1, but never really looked like adding a second. Hook rounded things off with goal number four late on, finishing with a low shot that beat the ‘keeper at his near post.

The defeat leaves Fleet anchored to the bottom and just a matter of time now until their relegation is confirmed. Hook now rise to 12th (5th from bottom), where a single point separates the five clubs fighting to avoid the drop in accompanying today’s visitors down into Division 1.