Preseason Work Continues Against Strong Opposition
Kimpton Rovers continued their preparation for the new season with their first home match of the preseason against Hitchin Sunday League Division 2 outfit Buffs FC.
Dominating the first fifteen minutes of play the visitors barely got a touch of the ball yet it was soon to unravel when three cheap goals in quick succession gave the visitors in a commanding lead. The home side pulled a goal back when unlikely hero, left-back Lewis Fraser finished off a slick move from one end of the pitch to the other.
Rovers came within a couple of inches to further reducing the deficit shortly after when Tom Hills saw his close range header cannon back off the crossbar. The visitors however. regained their three-goal advantage just moments before the break from a poorly defended corner.
With the slate wiped clean and Rovers looking to win the second period, they played some quality football forcing the Buffs keeper into some fine saves. The keeper was however, beaten for the second time on the hour mark when Hills converted from the spot after Justin Zwirner was fouled in the box. As the game continued, and Rovers pressed forward time & time again, only more smart saves from the keeper kept the scoreline at 2-4, with the Baldock based side limited only to the odd burst forward that was thwarted by the home defence. Despite all their hard work Rovers couldn’t find the net for the third time, goalscorer Fraser coming closest when he headed over the bar from close range and it was the visitors who eventually levelled the half with a speculative effort from outside the box that found it’s way into the back of the net.
Kimpton Rovers CFC 2 - 5 Buffs FC
Despite the positives Kimpton fell to their second defeat of the pre-season campaign in a real game of two halves at the recreation ground. The game saw Charlie Clee, Cameron Swinburn, Rezza Rob, Justin Zwirner, Lee Fisher and Liam Thomas all getting their first competitive minutes of the pre-season but a special mention has to be made regarding the commitment of newcomer to the club Thomas Bundy, who arrived at the ground at half time, fully kitted up and ready to go despite landing at Luton from his holidays as the game kicked-off just under an hour before.
