A first half strike from Charlie Gunson saw Sholing beat ten-man Hanwell Town 1-0 in a fiercely contested Southern League Premier South match on Tuesday (24 September 2024) at the Powerday Stadium.
Hanwell started the game well before defender Harry Seabrook was sent off for two yellow cards in the 31st minute when he prevented a counterattack from the visitors.
Chris Moore’s side briefly struggled to regroup and were punished when Gunson fired home from distance in the 38th minute.
The Geordies then made changes and fought impressively for the rest of the game. A neutral may have been forgiven for thinking Sholing were the side a player short when Hanwell were pushing for an equaliser late on.
Chris Moore made two changes from the side that drew 0-0 with Gloucester City in midweek, Chris Regis came in for Rod Orlando-Young and Jordan Edwards returned to the side to replace Nathanael Boayke.
Hanwell started brightly with Edwards finding space on the left before firing over the bar from a tight angle.
Edwards’ set pieces were causing Sholing all sorts of problems and his corner found Mat Mackenzie unmarked at the back post. Unfortunately, the midfielder could only glance his header wide.
Hanwell’s confident start continued when Chris Regis beat his man on the left, however, the wingers cross couldn’t find a waiting Hanwell attacker.
Sholing finally had their first chance in the 11th minute and should’ve opened the scoring. Top Scorer Bradley Targett beat Hanwell’s defenders and lobbed the ball over the imposing Sam Beasant’s head. The Sholing forward then had the goal at his mercy but could only hit the side netting from six yards out.
The next ten minutes saw Sholing control the ball without creating a clear-cut chance. Captain Jake Hesketh, who played in the Premier League for Southampton as a teenager, had dropped deeper and was linking up well with the visitors’ defenders.
After another Hanwell attack was cleared, Seabrook brought down striker Daniel Mason in a foul similar to the one that had earned him his first yellow card.
The referee was left with no choice but to send off the defender, leaving Hanwell short on numbers once again.
In the remaining 10 minutes of the first half manager Moore shuffled his team around in an attempt to reach halftime level.
Sholing took advantage when, following a short corner, the ball found Gunson in space on the edge of the box. His shot was sweetly struck and nestled into the bottom left corner, leaving Beasant with no chance.
This led to more Hanwell changes with Eliot Beynon and Rudi Pache replacing Chris Regis and Kyron Richards.
Hanwell started the second half brightly but were dealt further damage when Mackenzie went down injured in the 51st minute. The midfielder was replaced by Luis Le Paih.
Hanwell continued their surge for an equaliser against the odds but Joe Wilson overhit his cross when in a promising position on the right.
The Geordies had the ball in the net in the 70th minute following a set piece, but the linesman judged Hall to have been offside.
In the hosts final chance of the game Edwards’ free kick from the left found Beynon in the box. Unfortunately, the striker couldn’t divert the ball towards the goal and Sholing eventually cleared.
The result, one that dropped the Geordies to tenth in the league, does not reflect the mood around the Powerday Stadium following such a positive performance with 10-men.
Hanwell next play on October 5 when they welcome Berkhamsted to the Powerday Stadium in the FA Trophy.
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