Former Bracknell Town striker Liam Ferdinand started his first game for Hungerford Town since the club announced the forward had signed on for the 2019/20 season with the Crusaders.
In an 11 v 11 intra-squad match, at Bulpit Lane, Ferdinand scored the first goal helping his team to a 3-3 draw. The striker was impressive throughout with his physical presence and hard work rate causing the opponents problems. He also had an eye for goal, often looking to take shots on early.
In the first half Ferdinand was most impressive. Early on he won an aerial battle which set up strike partner Ali Thorp to have a shot on goal. Ferdinand’s passing was also notable, with the striker looking to spray balls out wide and then get himself into the penalty area awaiting a delivery.
Then his goal arrived, calmly passing into an empty net, when handed to it on a plate. Already looking confident he forced Tommy Rees into action, with the goalkeeper having to come out and smother up his attempt. Ferdinand set up Thorp once again before half time with a clever dink for the striker to head an effort over the bar.
After the short break, the second half began with Ferdinand’s side 2-1 up. The striker had a quieter second half with the opposition having much more of the ball. However, he still had one good chance that he couldn’t convert.
Swivelling on six pence to make space for himself, the shot failed to produce and was comfortable for Rees to save. Despite only scoring once, Ferdinand was hard working all the way through the match and Ian Herrring would have been encouraged with what he saw.
With James Constable also at the club, Ferdinand will have to battle for his place in the starting line up or create a relationship with the former Oxford United star.
Time will tell but many Crusaders fans will think they have a good amount of goals in the bank for the challenging season, just on the horizon. Ferdinand looks like he could get a few of those.
Main image: Liam Ferdinand by Neil Graham.