Harwich exit FA Vase at the first hurdle against very improved Lopez Tavares

Harwich exited the FA Vase at the very first hurdle when they were defeated 2-0 by a very improved Lopez Tavares in East London on Saturday. An absolutely diabolical uneven surface eliminated any chance of playing any short passing and that certainly affected the Harwich performance. The Shrimpers changedformation to a 4-3-3 set up and had high hopes of progressing past the first stage. However they met a resurgent Lopez side that in fact was the complete Hackney Wick outfit from last season who finished one point behind Harwich in the final table last season so it was clear that the Shrimpers would have to show a much improved performance than of recent weeks. In fact after only 10 minutes the task was eve clearer when a long ball over the Harwich defenders saw the Lopez number 9 through to score, giving Sam Felgate no chance. Harwich had to be thankful that their keeper on 3 occasions in the first half made exceptional saves to keep the lead to a solitary goal at the interval and leave the Shrimpers still in with a chance of victory. Harwich came out more determined in the second half and tried to put more pressure on the home defence. The ball was bouncing all over the place and control was very difficult. In fact the ball spent more of the time on the running track than on the pitch with many minutes lost retrieving the ball from afar with the home side making sure as many minutes could be wasted as they could get away with. Jordan Heath got brought down clearly in the penalty area and Harwich hopes rose as the Referee blew for a foul, Amazingly he must have been the only person in the ground who thought that it was not a penalty and gave a free kick two yards outside the area. Sadly it was wasted but in the 69th minute the Referee did give Harwich a spot kick when he witnessed Dan Clarke being wrestled to the ground from a Jamie Beecham corner. Hopes were high for a Harwich equalised as the ever reliable Jordan Heath stepped up to take the penalty. However hopes were dashed as the giant home keeper choose the right way to dive and palmed Heath's shot away. Harwich continued to push to try and get back in the game but all dreams of cup progression were dashed with only ten minutes left when Lopez broke clear down the right flank and a low cross was converted at the far post. It was further woes for Harwich minutes later when Adie Cant received a second yellow card and was sent off. Overall not a good afternoon for Harwich with many of th players turning in below par performances and failure to produce hardly any chances proved crucial. On the day Lopez were worthy winners and Harwich are going to have to do some hard work if they are to get their season back on track.

Report by Tony Armstrong

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