Football
Battle Stations for Hawks at Westleigh Park
Havant & Waterlooville FC are in a race for promotion from Vanarama Conference South. Races have winners. In this race the winners go into the Vanarama Conference Premier. The Vanarama Conference Premier is one step from membership of the Football League. For the players, manager, coaches, officials and supporters it’s a case of what if? Always dream big. Each game now is big. Hawks supporters will turn up at Westleigh Park in their droves.
Seven teams are in the hunt. Just two games are left for Hawks. They go to Hampshire promotion rivals Basingstoke on 18 April. Then the final league game. It is against east Brighton club Whitehawk Athletic, also in the race. Whitehawk come to Westleigh Park for a show down on 25 April. After that, the four teams immediately below the league champions will be in the play-offs. The winners take the remaining promotion place.
On a more salutary note, key player Brian Stock is suspended for the last two league games and the first of any play-off games and defender Ed Harris, sent off against Chelmsford City 28 March stands to miss vital games.
Havant Sunday League
Havant Sunday Football League (HSFL) has been in existence for 50 years but following a sharp decline in the number of teams, now faces extinction. It has called on local teams, new or already established to join the league. Entering the league is straight forward, and league secretary Keith Goldring can explain the process in full. The closing date for completed forms for entry must be received by the league by Friday 24th April 2015. Keith Goldring can be contacted on 07930 358792 email leaguesecretary@live.co.uk or ring Tony Wilkins on 07794237478 email dunhambushfc2013@hotmail.co.uk.
Failure to recruit new teams could mean the end of the HSFL after 50 years existence.
Tennis
Andy Murray is seeking a second coach to work alongside Amelie Mauresmo. This follows his dismissal of Dani Vallverdu in November 2014 as reported in this column. Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman has emerged as a favourite for the position. He would like the job and will shortly be joining Murray’s team for a trial week. Bjorkman said on Instagram that he is “…excited and really looking forward to joining [up with] Andyâ€.
Murray lost in the final of the Miami Open Tournament on 5 April in three sets to arch rival Novak Djokovic. Murray’s defeat against Djokovic was the seventh defeat in a row. His last two defeats to Djokovic saw Murray collapse to 0 – 6 in each final set. Technically Murray is as good as anybody and possibly better than Djokovic. To turn the tide Murray and his coaching staff will need to focus on his tactics. The challenge for Murray is to shorten rallies and win points sooner, preserving energy for the long game.
Murray has now returned to Europe. He married Kim Sears on 11 April. Next he turns his attentions to the clay-court season. This culminates in the second grand-slam of the season, the BNP Paribus French Open, at Roland-Garros in Paris from 19 May – 7 June. (Qualifying starts 19 May with the first round on 24 May).
