Westfields were held to a 1-1 draw at bottom of the table Hallen on Bank Holiday Monday when the relegation-threatened side Hallen put up a stubborn resistance against a Westfields side that couldn’t get into their stride after the impressive 2-0 win over Hereford Lads Club the previous week.
Westfields had early chances to have opened the scoring but Joe Davies headed wide from a left-wing corner and then Richard Greaves went through on a one-on-one with the home keeper but shot wide when a goal seemed certain.
Hallen had their opportunities at the other end but Kane Kahaki was in impressive form at the heart of the Westfields defence.
After a goal-less first half the game sprang to life in the first minute of the second period when a poor goal kick by Westfields keeper Ian Havard found the Hallen striker Dawid Regula and he came through unchallenged to put away the opportunity to give the bottom of the table side an early lead.
Westfields had had to reshuffle their team when Sam Rawlings was injured in the first half and then manager Phil Glover replaced Richard Greaves with substitute Jamie Bird and this seemed to make an impression as Bird put Westfields level in the 70th minute with one of the best goals of the season after Harrison Iddles had been bundled down off the ball 35yds out and Bird blasted the free kick into the top corner to give Westfields their deserved equaliser.
Westfields kept up their challenge and Bird was unlucky when he turned well in the box but his shot flew inches wide of the far post and then another effort was brilliantly saved by the home keeper and was then saved again when the rebound was hammered goalwards.
Hallen maintained their form as well and it was only timely tackles by Kane Kahaki and Luke Sylvester that prevented further opportunities for the home side who looked far from a bottom of the table side and gave an impressive display on a heavy pitch.
Westfields threw everything forward in the final minutes to get the win that they so desperately wanted but they couldn’t capitalise on a number of good free kick opportunities and corner kicks and had to settle for a point. The point however still keeps them up in second position in the table and this week they are at home on Saturday to visiting Westbury United from Wiltshire, kick-off 3pm at allpay.park.
