Sunbury and Walton Hawks Men's 1st XI Travelled to West Sussex to face bottom of the table side Crawley, in what should have been an easy fixture on paper. Crawley, yet to register a win, or even a draw this season, were anything but a pushover though, and made the Hawks work hard for their victory.

The Hawks were in complete control of possession in the first half, but struggled to connect in the opposition's 25, and were unable to make their dominance pay on far too many occasions. Chances came and went, and the away side quickly became frustrated by the missed opportunities. Fortunately, as tempers were beginning to fray, ever reliable Skipper, Matt Chappell, was able to break the deadlock from a short corner. Perhaps expecting the floodgates to open from this point, the Hawks tried to press their advantage, but were sloppy in possession, running into flat sticks and playing to Crawley’s strengths.

With a number of players missing, and considering the gap between the two in the table, the Hawks really needed to be going in at half time with a far larger goal tally. But just 1 goal separated the sides when the whistle blew, and with only one substitute on the away bench, there was a possible upset on the cards and Crawley could sense it. The Hawks were unable to control possession in the same way that they had in the first, and continued to play into Crawley’s hands through the second half. The home side were growing in confidence, and as legs began to tire, Crawley took control of the game. A tense final 15 began, and it was a 'backs to the wall' job for The Hawk’s defence. Coach Collins marshalled the back 4 well, and Man of the Match, Rob Stevenson, got the better of his opposite number with some last ditch tackles whenever they did break through, and the Hawks were able to see the game out.

Speaking to Ben Gibbons after the game, we asked why the result wasn’t as favourable for The Hawk’s as it should have been on paper. “We were our own worst enemy again today, which is poor habit that we need to break, and quickly. They pushed us all the way through the second half and had chances, but we should have been free and clear after 20 minutes. We only had a one goal cushion, and on another day the result could have gone the other way. So we need to take a good look at ourselves, and put together a much better performance next week”.

Despite the result being closer than they would have wanted, The Hawk’s take the win and 3 points into next week, where they face old rivals Surrey Spartans at home. With other results working in their favour, and Guildford a game behind due to a postponed fixture a few weeks ago, The Hawks currently sit at the top of the table. While they would have gone into this game hoping that a big win would send a strong message to the Team's around them in the league, they will take some comfort from their position in the standings doing that instead.