Hinton 1 oxhey jets reserves 0 match report to come
Hinton fc 4 kinja youth senior 3 Fantastic result 10 minutes left on the clock and 3-1 down to not only rescue a point but come away with all three was amazing!
Two goals from Captain Clarke, Anis and the winner from Daniel Kojo. Spectacular saves from Kyle Spittle kept us in the game and an inspirational and Man of the Match performance from Aaron Nash helped earned us 3 vital points out of nothing. full report to follow ... After losing our first two games and putting in below par performances we knew how important this game was against a side who had started the season with two victories. We were boosted by the news that our game against Hatfield Social will be replayed, but nevertheless a reaction was needed. Manager Clarke decided to change the formation and brought Ekkeshis and Nash into the starting eleven at the expense of Kettle and Pestell. We had a strong bench of five substitutes. We started the game really well, pressing high and attacking with pace. Fitzgerald should have opened the scoring when clean through on goal and then we did take the lead as a pinpoint free kick from Bartlett was glanced in by McGowan at the near post. After the goal we started to dominate the game and extended our lead through a free kick from Langley who struck his effort into the far corner. Stevenage hardly threatened at all in the first half, with their most likely route back into the game looking to be from set pieces. Fitzgerald was causing many problems for the Stevenage centre halves and he played a key part in our third goal, as he played a clever pass into the path of Nash who calmly guided the ball across the keeper and into the corner of the net with his left foot. We were extremely unfortunate not to go four up just before half time after the young Stevenage keeper dropped a routine cross and Nash smashed a volley towards goal, which was inadvertently blocked by Fitzgerald on the goal line and flew over the bar. Half time – Stevenage Community 0 Hinton 3 A superb first half performance where we defended well, had good shape as a team and created many chances. The second half started in the worst possible fashion as indecision between Stone and Puchalla allowed the Stevenage striker to jink into the area when the ball should have been cleared and he was tripped. The referee waited a couple of seconds and then rightly pointed to the spot. The penalty was struck low to Spittle’s left and our opponents were back in the game. This goal did seem to revitalise Stevenage and soon after they pulled another goal back as their centre forward was given too much space around 30 yards from goal and he hooked the ball perfectly over the despairing dive of Spittle, 3-2. After such a dominant first half display, we knew it would be a disaster to take anything less than three points away from the game. A good save from Spittle prevented the hosts from equalising and soon after we scored a crucial fourth goal, after another cross from Bartlett was flicked into the net by Fitzgerald. Spittle made a good save and Clarke blocked an effort from just inside the area before we added a fifth goal through Samba, who latched onto a good pass from Sawkins and side footed home. Samba, Kojo and Sawkins had replaced Nash, Langley and Bartlett and all three substitutes made a positive contribution. We managed to see the game out and secured an excellent three points. A very impressive performance, with a poor fifteen-minute spell just after half time. Full time – Stevenage Community 2 Hinton 5 M.O.M. - Fitzgerald Hinton looked to bounce back from Saturday’s disappointing season opener as they faced another new side to the league, Hadley Reserves at Dame Alice Owens School in Potters Bar. The pitch was in superb condition as usual and Langley and Bartlett came in for Nash and Spackman, Early on there were warning signs for Hinton as Hadley moved the ball quickly and started to work the ball down the wings. The visitors created a few promising chances but thankfully all were spurned as we struggled to retain possession. Hadley’s best opportunity to score came when the ball fell kindly inside the area and was guided towards goal, with only a superb block from Stancliffe on the line saving the day. The rebound was somehow not converted after a combination of Clarke and Stancliffe again managed to clear the danger. An inviting ball from the right wing was cleared desperately by Puchalla via the post as the pressure continued to build. Out of nowhere, we worked the ball forward to Fitzgerald in a promising position and he showed superb close control to jink past two Hadley defenders near the byline, drew the keeper towards him and then unselfishly set the ball back to Langley, who guided home from close range to give Hinton an underserved lead. It was hoped that this opening goal would inspire us to take control of the game but the pattern of play continued soon after, with our central midfield three of Ekkeshis, Kettle and Langley struggling to get to grips with their opposite numbers and wing backs Bartlett and Stone working tirelessly defensively and having limited opportunities to support our forwards. We had a couple of let offs and saves from keeper Spittle before Hadley deservedly equalised with a well taken volley from their winger from the edge of the area that flew into the corner of the net. Half time – Hinton 1 Hadley Reserves 1 We had to be pleased to be level at half time, after being outplayed in the half and manager Mick Clarke decided to bring on McGowan and Kojo for Kettle and Pestell and. In the second half we put in a better performance and created a few good chances to take the lead. Fitzgerald was looking dangerous and managed to wriggle away from his marker on a couple of occasions but saw his shots saved. He also laid on a great chance for Langley inside the area, but he hesitated and was crowded out by the Hadley defence. Our opponents were still a threat in attack but we looked far more comfortable defensively than we had in the first 45 minutes. With this in mind, the manner of Hadley’s second goal was extremely disappointing as they floated in a hopeful cross from the left wing to the back post and their number 8 nipped in front of Ekkeshis and headed the ball across Spittle and into the net. After this goal the game was fairly even and not too many clear chances were created for the remainder of the game. Hadley added a crucial third goal when a pass through the middle cut Hinton open and their left winger ran through unchallenged and guided the ball high into the net. Hadley nearly added a fourth after Spittle’s goal kick landed at the feet of their striker but fortunately he tried to be clever and only managed to chip the ball into the arms of the keeper. Kojo should possibly have done better when well placed on a couple of occasions near the end, but overall we could have no complaints about the result. Full time – Hinton 1 Hadley Reserves 3 A much improved second half against a side who were considerably stronger than our first opponents but a lot of hard work is needed to get ourselves points on the board. M.O.M. Danny Stone Hinton Pre-Season Programme
Saturday 15th July – Friendly v Knebworth Xl Drew 3 -3 Hinton Scorers Tanatza Styamachira Mario Samba Graham Sawkins Saturday 22nd July – Friendly v Hertford Town Xl Lost 3 - 2 Hinton Scorers Mario Samba Dylan Williams Saturday 29th July – Friendly v Wormley Xl Lost 2-1 Hinton Scorer David Pestell Saturday 5th August – Friendly v Chipperfield Xl Won 3 -2 Scorers Graham Sawkins 2,David Pestell Wednesday 9th August – Friendly v Oxhey Jets Xl Postponed due to waterlogged pitch Saturday 12th August – Friendly v Bushey SC Xl Lost 6 - 2 Scorers Dustin Fitzgerald 2 Tuesday 15th August – Training Saturday 19th August – First League Game v Hatfield Social Herts Senior County League Division 1
Hinton 3 v 1 Hatfield Town Reserves Hinton bounced back from their first league defeat of the season the previous weekend with a 3 – 1 win over struggling Hatfield Town Reserves. Matt Langley gave Hinton the lead with a cool finish on 15 minutes from a precision pass from Tom Collier but Hatfield evened the score just before the interval with a superbly taken free kick from just outside the box which gave Hinton keeper Lewis Pontin no chance. Hatfield’s keeper denied efforts from Bobby Bartlett and others to keep Hatfield in the game before Hinton’s most influential performer, Collier, found Langley again with an inch perfect pass to give Hinton a 2 – 1 lead halfway through the second half. Bobby Bartlett scored Hinton’s third after latching on to a Jimmy Spackman pass to assure Hinton of all 3 points. Ollie Kettle was awarded Hinton’s MoM for an assured performance at right back. Manager Mick Clarke was happy with the three points but unhappy that his side didn’t control the game as well as they had in recent performances and at half time criticised his players for under performing and for complacency in the first half. “We could have slipped up today and not got all three points if Hatfield had taken their chances so I was a little disappointed with our performance level particularly in the first half, we played better in the second half but we will need to produce our best next Saturday against league leaders AFC Oaklands if we are to get the points we’re looking for” Herts Senior County League Division 1
Hinton 0 v 1 Bushey Reserves After their impressive win over Premier Division Wormley the previous weekend, Hinton were brought back to earth with a bump suffering their first defeat of the season losing 1 - 0 at home to Bushey Reserves. Losing 5 players from the previous weekends success forced Manager Mick Clarke into re arranging his squad and calling on four Reserves to bolster it. The first half was quite an even contest but Bushey had the better opportunities going close to opening the scoring but were denied by Hinton keeper Lewis Pontin and some good defending. However Hinton conceded a sloppy goal seconds after the interval when they were momentarily down to 10 men. When Hinton's top marksman Matt Langley suffered a knee injury shortly afterwards one had the feeling it wasn't going to be Hinton's day but they might have been helped if a Bushey forward had been dismissed as he should have been for kicking out at Hinton Captain Paul Clarke early in the second half, but surprisingly and unjustly was only booked. Hinton's best chance to equalise fell to Dan Bonner who was unable to convert from a yard out and whilst Hinton pressed until the final whistle they were unable to equalise and tasted defeat for the first time this season. Manager Mick Clarke was upset at the result remarking "The problem at this level of football is the lack of commitment of players. The teams that win things are able to put out the same core of players week in week out, when you lose 5 players from your squad, 4 of whom are regular starters, it throws out the balance of the side. If we want to be successful this season players have to show greater commitment the choice is theirs" Aubrey Cup Round 1
Wormley FC 2 v 7 Hinton FC Hinton extended their unbeaten run to 6 games with another display of clinical finishing against premier division Wormley with a conclusive 7 -2 win and now face Letchworth Garden City Eagles in the 2nd round. Both Hinton and Wormley came into the game unbeaten so far this season so a close encounter was expected. After a slow start Hinton might have found themselves goals behind were it not for good goal keeping by Lewis Pontin and poor finishing, however Hinton’s top marksman Matt Langley gave Hinton the lead after 15 minutes and Hinton then stepped up a gear Langley completing a hat trick before half time and Gary Silvera adding their fourth. Wormley’s prospects of recovering the game were seriously dented when a Wormley defender was dismissed for a second bookable offence. Replacing Langley at half time as a precaution due to a minor injury provided no let up for Wormley as Langley’s replacement Ryan Nash, scored from close range shortly after the break with his first touch to give Hinton a 5 – 0 lead. To their credit Wormley continued the fight and were rewarded when Hinton gifted them an opportunity and they made it 5 – 1, however Hinton were always a threat going forward and a superb 25 yard effort from Jhevaughn Burford restored their 5 goal margin. Bobby Bartlett hit Hinton’s 7th to put the result beyond all doubt and although Hinton gifted Wormley a late consolation goal the result was a resounding one for Hinton. Manager Mick Clarke was delighted to see his team continue their season long unbeaten run and remarked “We’re playing some superb football at the moment and our finishing was clinical. It’s particularly pleasing to beat a team that were sitting 4th in the division above us and who also came into the game unbeaten, we must keep our feet on the ground but it’s a promising start” Herts Senior County Division One
Saturday 20th August 2016 Bushey Sports Club Reserves 2 Hinton 2 Hinton began their league campaign with an away game at the same ground we had visited only a week before in our final pre-season friendly. Having played against Bushey’s first team many times over the years and having mixed success against them last season, their reserves were somewhat of an unknown quantity. Their pitch is undoubtedly one of the best in the Herts County league and manager Mick Clarke was hopeful that the possession football seen in most of the pre-season games could be replicated today. We started with a 4-4-2 diamond formation, with Reece Grundy stepping in for regular first team keeper Lewis Pontin and Joe Longworth, who played a key role in our title winning side five years ago, being named among a strong set of substitutes. Bushey kicked the game off in sunny conditions and the game started at a frantic pace. It was clear from the outset that our opponents aimed to play passing football out from defence and were also quite an athletic side. Pressure from the strikers Bartlett and Langley did force a few mistakes and allowed us to press higher up the pitch. The first twenty five minutes were disappointing from our point of view, as Bushey enjoyed slightly more possession and began to create some half chances, while we were restricted to long range efforts and were not retaining the ball well enough. After Puchalla failed to control the ball in his own half, their lively number nine almost managed to run through on goal but was thwarted by covering defenders and Naathen made a very important challenge in the box on a separate occasion when Bushey’s centre midfielder drove towards goal unchallenged. During the last twenty minutes of the first half Hinton began to shorten their passing game and started to look far more effective. The playing conditions became increasingly difficult to deal with, as the rain came down heavily, but we began to gain more control. Silveira and Lemoudni were having a real battle in the centre of midfield and won their fair share of 50/50 challenges, which allowed us to carve out some opportunities. Our best opportunity of the half fell to Bartlett, after incisive passing from defence to attack and neat play between Spackman and Langley, set him through on goal, but frustratingly he could only guide the ball wide of the left hand post, with the keeper beaten. Langley picked up some useful positions in the attacking third, but opted to shoot early when he possibly could have ran at the Bushey defence. McGowan delivered a couple of pinpoint corners, but we were unable to capitalise on these and Collier fizzed in a few crosses that narrowly evaded the onrushing forwards. Half time: Bushey Sports Club Reserves 0 Hinton 0 After a fairly even first half where we had ended in the ascendancy, Hinton came out unrecognisable in the first twenty five minutes of the second half. Bushey had dealt fairly well with the strong winds they were up against in the first 45 minutes, but we began to struggle with this early on. We did have a penalty shout a couple of minutes in when Langley burst into the box past their captain and he appeared to make contact with him during a clumsy challenge but nothing was given. After that, we seemed to lose our shape and desire a little, as Bushey began to pass the ball around us without too much resistance and found space in attacking areas. The goal kicks from Grundy were holding up in the air and their centre midfielders began to make advanced runs towards our defence, often without being picked up. Despite our opponents controlling possession, we were relatively comfortable defensively until a long ball was pumped downfield from their keeper and allowed to bounce by Naathen when he should have headed it, and their centre midfielder rounded Grundy. Fortunately he guided a weak left footed attempt towards goal and Grundy was able to hack it clear for a corner. The deadlock was broken though when Hinton conceded a soft corner following a thrown in deep inside our own half and Bushey’s number 9 rose unchallenged at the back stick and headed home. It was hoped that this goal would shock Hinton into life but instead it had the opposite effect and Bushey continued to control the game and looked to add a second. A couple of important challenges from Puchalla prevented our opponents from racing through on goal and Collier was battling well against an energetic winger. Despite this, the second goal did follow soon after in fairly comical circumstances. Bushey’s right back was allowed to progress down the field and when the ball was played back to him on the edge of the area, somehow three Bushey players were allowed to run through the static defence unchallenged. Burford raised the flag but the referee overruled him correctly, as the right back was definitely not offside when the ball was played. He then ran towards goal and rounded Grundy and the ball struck the post. Amazingly the player was afforded the time to let the ball bounce and tee up his team mate, who guided the ball high into the net, despite the desperate attempt from Clarke, who had charged back towards the goal line. Even a second Bushey goal had failed to bring us to life, as we continued to give possession away cheaply and were struggling to assert any pressure on their defence. Clarke had to be alert and made a good challenge on the centre midfielder, who had burst through again and Collier and their right back were booked following a blatant foul and a petulant kick out as a reaction. Manager Mick Clarke decided to replace McGowan with Longworth in a straight swap and Spackman with Jarrett, with Jarrett asked to play up front with Langley and Bartlett dropping into attacking midfield. For the final twenty minutes of the half, out of nowhere we suddenly appeared to find some form. We began to compete better physically and get the ball forward quickly and accurately, with Jarrett clearly becoming a nuisance for the Bushey defence. Silveira worked tirelessly throughout and he put was putting in an impressive performance in the middle of midfield in tricky circumstances. Longworth should have done better when the ball landed at his feet following a corner and he produced a weak finish which the keeper gathered easily. With around fifteen minutes remaining we pulled a goal back, as Longworth played a tremendous ball over the defence and into the path of Langley, who dragged the ball inside the defender and guided the ball expertly high into the net past the despairing dive of the keeper. After the goal, Collier began to charge forward and create problems on numerous occasions and after a fine run and pass, his low shot was thwarted by the Bushey keeper. Hinton did managed to level the game with around five minutes remaining when Puchalla found himself in an advanced position and his flick allowed Langley to round the keeper and set the ball for Jarrett, who rolled the ball calmly into the empty net. Following the equaliser the best chances to win the game came for Bushey, as twice the right midfielder found himself in good positions to score following hesitation from Collier, with him slicing wide on the first occasion and being denied well by Grundy on the second. Despite these scares, there were no further goals and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Manager Mick Clarke was fairly unimpressed with a below par display but also pleased with the character shown to come back from two nil down to grab a point. After our opening game, we are aware of just how difficult division one will be this season and must up our performance levels considerably, starting with a game on Tuesday v AFC Hatfield. M.O.M. Tom Collier – Worked extremely hard to prevent Bushey from advancing down their right side and provided good attacking options for the team, also very unlucky not to score. Team: Grundy, Clarke ©, Puchalla, Naathen, Collier, Lemoudni, Silveira, McGowan (Longworth 60), Spackman (Jarrett 65), Bartlett, Langley. Unused subs: Burford, Whitehorn, Lettieri. |
AuthorPublished by Ollie Kettle. Archives
September 2017
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