Saturday 14th OCTOBER - Kick Off 3.00pm On what was a bright and sunny Autumn afternoon and in front of a seasons best crowd of 415 Halstead entertained relatively local rivals Saffron Walden Town, also know as ‘The Bloods’ With 5 players out injured including the top 2 goal scorers and 2 players still carrying injuries it was a somewhat depleted Halstead line up and with only goal difference separating the 2 teams it had the making of a competitive match. Before the match Jack Schelvis was presented with a Tankard to mark his 200th appearance for the club. The Bloods certainly came out all guns blazing and within the first 5 minutes had 3 good efforts at goal. It took Halstead a good 15 minutes to really get into gear and start to threaten the visitors goal. The match had settled down and became an even contest when after 35 minutes The Bloods were awarded a penalty. From where I was sat at the other end of the pitch I couldn’t see what had happened, but the general consensus agreed it was a harsh decision. The spot kick was comfortably put away and the score remained 0-1 at the break. Half Time Halstead Town 0 - 1 Saffron Walden Town With the second half underway, it very much looked like the visitors had decided to sit on their lead and let Halstead see a lot of the ball. With such a changed team Halstead couldn’t really find any rhythm and at times where reduced to lumping the ball forward hoping that they could spring what was a very well organised Bloods defence. With a depleted bench Halstead didn’t have that many options to change things, but when Harry Pinkney was introduced he did liven things up and Halstead looked more of a threat and went in search of an equaliser. Despite piling on the pressure in added time and winning several corners, the visitors defence held out and took all 3 points. On reflection Halstead were worth a point, but considering it was such a much changed team should be happy with their performance. From the photography side, I noticed it was 2 years this week end that I first started going to Halstead with my camera. It has certainly been a huge learning curve and I’m most pleased with how my photo’s have improved. However, yesterday, the bright sunshine proved to be a challenge and I didn’t get as many images as I normally do. But, I’m most pleased with the ones I did get. Essex Senior League Premier Division Milbank Stadium, Rosemary Lane, Halstead Halstead Town 0 - 1 Saffron Walden Town Admission - £7 (£3 concessions) Programme - £1.00 Cheeseburger & Chips - £5.00 Tea/Coffee - £1.00 Att 415