Hounslow Wolves XI v Heston Celtic

21st September 2021

Hounslow Wolves XI 0-3 Heston Celtic  

On a momentous day for Hounslow Wolves after only 1 year of being formed, the clubs 2nd string team played a league game in the Middlesex Sunday League at Springwest Academy. Following on from last season, the team were punctual, looked professional in training tops and in the famous Wolves Orange.

Showcasing some new signings, the 2nd string side could have easily been confused for the first. The game started well, with Sameer proving why he maintained his place in the club with some delightful trickery, forcing the game upon Heston Celtic. Celtic are important in Wolves history as they were actually our first game last season, with Wolves winning 5-3. They appeared up for the game and didn’t want a repeat of last season’s score. The football was quite direct but was easily dealt with by Dabeer and Jat. New signings Ash and Abdul worked extremely well in the middle, outclassing the Celtic midfield with movement and tenacity. However despite the class on show, Wolves struggled to the get the ball forward to the front 4 and chances were at a minimum. Wolves didn’t register 1 shot in the first half; an issue they experienced at the start of last season. After a little bit of back and forth, Celtic’s main play maker hit an audacious half volley from 30 yards, flying past young keeper Karan to give Celtic a shock lead. Despite the lack of chances, Wolves went in positive at half time and knew they could turn the game around.

Wolves showcased some experienced players with Gurj and Anil both looking to influence the game but were dropping deep to retrieve the ball. Wolves main threats came from Bhullar and the returning Wolves co-founder, Nikhil. Despite 12 weeks out, Nikhil continued to charge forward and dominate on the right hand side. Bhullar was tenacious as always but never really produced the final ball despite all his effort.

As the rain began to fall, Wolves realised that a potential equaliser wasn’t coming, and despite increased effort, the chances were far and few between. Celtic nicked another quick 2 goals due to errors at the back and the inexperienced keeping. Wolves ran out of ideas and even missed a penalty to sum up the game.

Football is about chances. Despite looking good, warming up well and playing a team that arrived late, Heston took chances and won the game comfortably 3-0. The side quite rightly were dejected and will not want to experience this feeling again. It is clear what is needed – A spark and a desire to score goals. Heston had it and that was the difference. Wolves regroup. Training may force some players into the squad but we all know the performance was not good enough. Wolves want to challenge for honours and we need to change quickly.

We go again on Sunday against Inter

MOTM – Nikhil G