Impressive Tudors enjoy first home win of the season

Pre-season promotion favourites Havant & Waterlooville will be glad to see the back of Hemel Hempstead Town after the Tudors completed the double over the Hampshire side with an excellent performance at Vauxhall Road.

With snow falling for most of the 90 minutes on a bitterly cold evening Hemel took the game to the visitors who were unable to find an answer as Lee Bircham’s hard-working outfit claimed a 2-0 success - their first home win of the National League South campaign.

BJ Christie gave Hemel the lead early on after Samir Curruthers had sent Sam Mantom away down the line, he pulled the ball back to the penalty spot and Christie tucked it away to give the Tudors the perfect start.

Havant became increasingly frustrated at not being able to get a foothold in the game and Christie was giving their backline a torrid time of it. They received two yellow cards in as many minutes in an attempt to stop the big striker as tempers frayed leading up to the interval.

Hemel started the second half the same way they did the first by scoring a goal via a textbook counter attack.

Curruthers again started the move, winning the ball deep inside his own half and he sent a ball down the line to Christie who outpaced his marker before laying the ball across the face of the goal to an unmarked Reggie Young who tucked the ball home.

Havant finally woke from their slumbers and started to push Hemel back. Kyle Ajaye did well to intercept a ball that flashed across the six yard box with a Havant striker waiting for a tap in.

Nick Hayes, who has made a great impression between the sticks, then saved superbly to preserve the Tudors clean sheet.

Having weathered the Hawks' brief revival JJ Lacey struck the post and then Curruthers, who was having his best game so far in a Hemel shirt so nearly made it three but his chip sailed just wide of the post.

Christie just failed to get on the end of a another Young cross as Hemel piled forward.

Havant were now offering very little and Hemel looked like they would add to their total but in the end they settled for the two and a clean sheet to cap an excellent evening's work.

Tudors boss Bircham was full of praise for his team, saying that this result had been coming and they now needed to build on this performance, starting at Hungerford Town on Saturday.