Harper: Staines triumph was on the cards (From Your Local Guardian)

Harper: Staines triumph was on the cards

3:25pm Friday 6th January 2012 in Sport By Stuart Amos

Hampton and Richmond Borough boss Mark Harper was not surprised at his side’s 4-1 New Year’s Day win at Staines Town – he could feel it coming in the water.

The Beavers registered their biggest win of the campaign to avenge a 2-1 Boxing Day defeat to the Swans at the Beveree.

Before the clash, both teams were in the Blue Square South relegation zone on 17 points with the Swans having a slightly better goal difference.

And while Harper admitted the return of Paul Johnson from injury was significant, the Station Road chief felt the win was all in the minds of his men.

“I could feel it coming, the way we have been performing recently it’s been building up towards this and I’m very proud of the lads,” he said.

“I got into a few players’ heads by talking to them and changed the formation a little. We also had Paul Johnson coming back from injury.

“I know quite a few people at Staines and because they’re our local rivals it feels great to win here.

“But when you’re in the situation that we are in the league, every game is a must-win game.”

Hampton were 1-0 up at half-time after a tap-in from Louis-Rea Beadle, before a Dave Tarpey penalty, Matt Ruby’s header and a strike from Dean Inman – to celebrate signing a new 18-month contract – made the game more than safe after the break.

And it left Harper relieved the game had not fallen foul of the weather – or been played at home.

“I think the referee was fairly sensible, he assessed the pitch before the game and was quite happy with it. As it went on he proved he made the right decision,” he added.

“If it had been at the Beveree the game would have been called off, but the pitch here at Staines held out very well.

“There was a bit of water on the top but we dealt with the conditions better than Staines did. There were no dangerous tackles out there apart from maybe one.”

The Beavers hope to build on their excellent start to 2012 when they take on Tonbridge Angels at the Beveree tomorrow.