The first half lived up to the
billing of a heavyweight fight with both teams taking turns applying
pressure to each other. The Lancers got the first real opportunity of
the match at the 12 minute mark when a Londonderry striker created just
enough space from 14 yards out to put a shot on goal, it snuck past an
out stretched Jackson Fisher in goal but hit the frame, thankfully the
posts are square and not round. Hanover would
answer with a flurry of opportunities over the next ten minutes but
none better than Eric Tysinger's hit from ten yards in front of goal
that banged off another post......stupid square posts.
The half would end scoreless with Hanover creating the better
opportunities in the final twenty minutes of the first half. They were
starting to break down the very fast and skilled Londonderry team.
Londonderry found themselves in unfamiliar territory in the dying stages
of the half, they hadn't been able to truly crack the nut that is the
Marauder defense and were struggling to get out of their own end. Once
again, the Hanover back four was frustrating another team causing them
to lose their patience and their discipline.
The second half began much as the first half did, with both teams
exchanging opportunities and trying to break down the opposing defense.
In the 58th minute the breakthrough came. Eric Tysinger, while pressing
the Lancer defense won the ball 18 yards from net and with a Londonderry
defender all over him had just enough space to hit a screamer on frame
left footed. The Londonderry keeper dived to his right and was able to
get a hand to it but it wasn't enough to stop the power behind the shot.
1-0 Hanover.
After the goal, Londonderry
restarted with more energy and pace then they had all game, intent on
drawing this game level. They threw wave after wave at the Hanover
defense but the Mauraders stood strong. In the final ten minutes,
Hanover who had given their all to this point were starting to tire and
were having trouble clearing the ball out of their own half, they had
parked the bus a little bit.
With four minutes
left to play in the game Londonderry managed to isolate a Hanover
defender into a 2v1 situation with their quick, short passing, the
lancer striker played a well timed wall pass to a streaking midfielder
right in Hanover penalty area, who promptly returned it to the striker,
who was looking for a one touch finish, it was just enough to pull the
Hanover defender out of position and he couldn't recover in time.
However, the striker still had to beat Jackson, who was well positioned
and went to ground perfectly to block the Lancer strike, however, the
returned pass took a bit of a bounce in the box and the striker only
managed to get the tiniest of deflections on to it but just enough for
it to be directed towards net. Jackson went to ground expecting to block
a fastball but got a change up instead in the wrong direction and all
Hanover could do was watch while the ball ever so slowly just trickled
over the line, the Lancer bench and fans erupted.
The next three minutes were an exchange of long balls and both teams
just trying to get the ball up field as quick as possible and hoping for
a striker to run on to one. At that point it appeared the game would
most likely end in a draw and that might be a fitting end to what was a
hard fought game on both sides. However, that would not be the case
thanks to two late substitutions Hanover made with less than ten minutes
to play. Captain Jack Ross and Eric Tysinger were brought on with fresh legs so
their pace and defense pressure would help see the game brought home.
Hanover managed to regroup and show their poise. Rather than just dump
the ball up field they strung a few possession passes together to open
up the field a little bit and Isak Larusson was able to find Eric who
from 18 yards out put another wonderful strike on goal but this time the
Lancer keeper was ready for it and he was able to block the ball out of
bounds for a Hanover corner kick. With 30 seconds left to play Connor
Hamlin stepped up to take an out swinging corner kick from the left
side. His cross sailed over most in the box including the keeper and
came down right at the back post where Jack was waiting to get his head
to the ball and from three yards out he would not be denied. The ball found
the back of the net and you could hear the collective exhale from the
fans and players at Dresden field as they celebrated.
The game was restarted and a dejected Londonderry side played one
last miracle ball up field that was collected by Isak who took it down
the sideline, making four Londonderry players miss in the process and held
the ball long enough for the final whistle to blow. They were a lot of Hanover players that could have easily been man of
the match in this game with the effort they put in on the pitch but
none of those performances were as big as Jackson Fisher's was. Jackson
stopped 15 Londonderry shots on the day and allowed zero rebounds from
any of them. He was the backbone of this hard fought win.
Thankfully, Hanover has the weekend to celebrate their biggest win to
date before they have to move on from this game and regroup to face a
tough Merrimack team on Monday afternoon in Merrimack, a team that
Hanover beat 4-0 just last weekend that will be looking to get
even.
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