The start of the half saw the Hawks come out of the blocks quickly, looking to get a foothold early on. This culminated in their first chance within the first minute when a shot from range was fired straight at the Winchester keeper, who made a comfortable save.
The early pressure continued with Pendlebury having a shot from the edge of the area, but it took a slight deflection off a defender. Despite the change in direction, the Winchester goalkeeper was quick to adjust and made a solid save to deny the chance.
The Hawks had a golden chance to take the lead just before halftime. A brilliant strike from Maloney beat the keeper but struck the inside of both posts in an agonizing near-miss. Bradbury, alert to the rebound, was in a perfect position to poke the ball home. However, his effort was blocked by Winchester’s Jamison, who threw himself in the way. Havant’s players immediately appealed for a handball, but the referee waved away the protests, and Winchester managed to clear their lines.
HALF TIME: HAVANT AND WATERLOOVILLE 0-0 WINCHESTER CITY
The second half began with an early chance for Seager in the 47th minute, who controlled the ball well in the area and unleashed a shot on the turn, but it sailed well over the bar, much to the frustration of the home crowd.
Seager then showed great footwork to evade several challenges from the Winchester defenders, he managed to get the ball off to Maloney. Maloney quickly fired a strike at goal, but Cairney made an excellent reflex save, despite the sun in his eyes, denying the visitors a potential opener.
A few minutes later Stanley beat his man with a change of pace before delivering a dangerous ball into the box. The visitors cleared the ball as far as Maloney, who quickly teed up Seager. Seager’s strike was powerful but unfortunately sailed just over the crossbar again.
Once again Seager came agonisingly close to scoring, hitting the post with a fantastic effort from the edge of the area. Stanley also found himself on the edge of the box, receiving a pass from Seager. Stanley let fly with a beautiful effort towards goal, but once again, Cairney was equal to the task, making a fantastic save to keep the game goalless.
Ben Dudzinski was called into action with around 10 mins left in the game, he was nearly lobbed and watched on as the ball hit the upright. The rebound fell favourably to a Winchester player, but Dudzinski was on hand to stop the shot at point blank range. However, despite Dudzinski’s heroics, the visitors broke the deadlock shortly after. Malabmo displayed calm composure, rounding the goalkeeper and slotting the ball into the back of the net to give Winchester the lead.
The game continued to be full of action, but despite the efforts of the Hawks and a last minute goal line scramble the visitors held on to secure the 1-0 win. The result leaves the home side still just outside the play-off spots. Next up for the Hawks is an away trip to Tiverton Town on Tuesday night.
FULL TIME: HAVANT AND WATERLOOVILLE 1-0 WINCHESTER CITY
Havant and Waterlooville: Dudzinski (GK), Stanley, Austin (Swann 86’), Atangana (C), Bradbury, Seager, Maloney (Whittingham 76’), Pendlebury, Milner-Smith, Anderson (Owusu 63’), Laidlaw
Unused Subs: Aston, Dockerill
Cautions: Atangana 78’
Winchester City: Cairney (GK), McCormick, Buckley, Bradshaw, Jamison, Light, Smith, Barron (C) (Hodan 78’), Wright (Caborn 68’), Dotse (Mlambo 63’), Hill (King 89’)
Unused Subs: Britton
Cautions: Bradshaw 32’, Caborn 70’, Hill 84’
Goals: Mlambo 80’
Attendance: 772
Player of the Match: Nigel Atangana (selected by ChipsAway)
Report By: Alex McNeice