Elmhurst FC (07/01/2001)
2000 - 2001 Season, Hithercroft Under 14s



Because of the recent very wet weather there was anxiety as to whether this game would be played. However, with 2 days of dry conditions the ground had recovered to allow play after the molehills had been cleared. Rocky again ran the line for us.

The game kicked off at 10.15am and started off rather slowly. Kevin Ife had a run down the wing and shot at goal for their keeper to kick it round the post. A few minutes later Kevin had another long shot but the ball went wide. Then Jerome Warren also shot wide. After fifteen minutes of play Kevin got to the ball near the sidelines, went round some players and passed to Adeel Iqbal who scored the first goal of the day. Six minutes later Kevin took a corner from which Dewayne Dublin took the ball and lobbed towards goal but hit the crossbar. Jason also hit a shot over the bar shortly afterwards. At the other end with an Elmhurst player through the defence James Moody tackled from behind and brought the player down whereupon the referee then booked James. (We felt that a warning should have been sufficient). Shortly afterwards the Elmhurst number 8, from outside the penalty area, scored with a great lob over Lee Hudson who was on his line but had the sun in his eyes. Straight from the kick-off Jerome took the ball down the wing, and crossed to Paul Yandell who hammered the ball into the net, putting Hithercroft back into the lead 2-1 and that’s how the first half ended.

Within a minute of the restart the Elmhurst number 10 equalised. Then, Jerome lobbed the defence for Shane Globe (who replaced Philip Lines at half time) to run onto but Shane’s shot hit the crossbar. Fifteen minutes from the end, following a lot of activity around the Elmhurst goal, a cross was hooked back into the goal by Jason Guy. Five minutes later Jerome scored Hithercroft’s fourth goal and then the Elmhurst goalie pulled off a great save from a fierce shot from Jason. The final score was 4-2 in Hithercroft’s favour.

Overall, Hithercroft had most of the play and deserved the win but their finishing was poor and their determination was almost non-existent. Many opportunities for shots on goal were ignored with players dwelling too long on the ball. Some players did not attempt to compete for the ball, only reacting when the ball was passed directly to them. This may have been due to the long break since their previous game but they need to “buck up” if they wish to maintain or improve their league position.