Naphill Boys (13/10/2002)
2002 - 2003 Season, Hithercroft Under 16s



Today’s game was played in heavy drizzle throughout but the ground was still firm from the recent dry weather. Our visitors were new to us as they had come down from the 3rd Division at the end of last season. Once again, our opponents were able to supply three substitutes whereas we could only muster the basic eleven players. Our captain for today was Riccardo Falconi.

The first half kicked off at 1.55pm and after 5 minutes of play I noticed that the corner flags had not been set out and this was rectified 2 minutes later. The game started off fairly evenly with both sides sharing possession and territory. The first goal came after 17 minutes when, following a Naphill corner, their No 4 came running into the box and hit the ball high into the Hithercroft net. Then, six minutes later, Hithercroft played a long ball down the left wing where Christie White collected it, turned inside and chipped the ball over the Naphill keeper to level the score at 1-1. However, it wasn’t long before Naphill restored their lead when, following some confusion in the Hithercroft defence, their No 9 ran through and hit the ball past Phil. Christie White almost brought Hithercroft back to level terms when he played an overhead kick, with his back to goal, and the ball bounced in front of the keeper and, instead of bouncing up again it ran along the ground. The surprised goalkeeper managed to get his foot to it and clear the threat. Just before half time the referee booked Duane White following a couple of rather late challenges and the first half closed 2-1 to Naphill.

One minute after the restart Riccardo Falconi sent a high ball down the centre of the field and Shane Globe hit it just over the crossbar. Hithercroft were tending to just hit the ball hopefully into the visitor’s half whereas Naphill were building up flowing moves and stringing passes together. In the 7th minute of the second half Naphill’s No 5 slotted the ball between Phil and the left-hand post to put them 3-1 ahead and 5 minutes later their No 7 (Ben Peak) extended their lead with a hard shot taken from just inside Hithercroft’s half which dropped down over the keeper’s head. However, 2 minutes later Duane White pulled one back for Hithercroft making the score 4-2 but the home team were now showing signs of tiredness. On the 23rd minute Naphill’s No 9 ran through the defence and put the ball past Phil and he added another just 2 minutes later as Hithercroft’s defence evaporated. Naphill added another when their No 4 slipped and fell but, whilst laying on the ground hooked the ball into Hithercroft’s net. At this point Hithercroft perked up a little and there were shots from Duane, Shane and Christie but each without success. At the final whistle Naphill were the deserving victors with a scoreline of 7-2.


Hithercrofts scorers: Christie White & Duane White

Hithercroft’s M.O.M: Shane Globe

Naphill’s scorers: No 9 (3), No 4 (2), No 5 & No 7