Marlow Youth (07/03/2004)
2003 - 2004 Season, Hithercroft Under 16s



The weather for the kick-off was very overcast and cold with occasional light showers during the first half. However, this was to drastically change during the second half of the game as will be shown later. Hithercroft had eleven players at the start but Sam arrived whilst the first half was in progress to assume his usual role on the ‘bench’. The pitch was damp and only slightly muddy at the outset.

The game kicked off at 10.01am and both teams were sharing possession and territorial advantage equally. Frank Smith took a throw-in from Hithercroft’s left and Dan Davy saw his shot pushed out by the Marlow keeper. Then Scott Vincent took a shot that was again pushed out by the Marlow goalkeeper, this time going for a corner on the right. Dan Biggs took the kick and sent the ball in but it was easily cleared by the Marlow defenders. At 10.27 Hithercroft were awarded a free kick and Scott sent the ball out to Dan Davy who hit a superbly struck ball from over 25 yards out that curved into the top right hand corner of the Marlow net to put the visitors 1-0 ahead. However, this lead was very short-lived as, straight from the restart, Marlow took the ball down the right wing and crossed the ball inside. It hit the crossbar and is it dropped down it hit Tyrone Francis’ back and rolled gently into the net to give Marlow the equaliser. The rain began to increase at the 40-minute mark but there was still no hint as to what was to come later. At 10.48 Hithercroft failed to clear the ball from their 18-yard box and the Marlow No 8 collected the ball, turned and hammered the ball past the diving Dan Reading into the top right-hand corner of the goal to put Marlow 2-1 ahead just before the break.

The rain had stopped but there was still a chill wind blowing as the second half began at 10.52. After 8 minutes Marlow sent the ball into their opponent’s goal area and Paul Morgan cleared it from the goal-line. Tyrone then sent the ball forward down the right and Luke Tadgell brought the ball inside towards goal. The Marlow keeper came charging out and Luke then pushed the ball past him across goal but there were no Hithercroft players there to add the finishing touch. At 11.03 Marlow were awarded a free kick and Dan tipped the resultant shot over the crossbar for a corner kick on the right. The ball was sent in high across the gaol and the Marlow No 6 rose to head the ball over Dan into the net to put Marlow 3-1 ahead. The weather suddenly deteriorated at this point when the wind suddenly picked up and sleet and hail began to hurtle down. This sent the temperature dropping even further and the high wind caused damage to some of the spectators’ umbrellas. The hailstones were being driven almost horizontally, causing pain to those watching and to the players themselves. Hithercroft were playing into the wind and so suffered more than their opponents. I was unable to concentrate on the rest of the game, as I was wrestling with a collapsing umbrella and attempting to peer from beneath the distorted covering. However, there was no further scoring in the match and everyone was pleased to hear the final whistle.

The game had been well contested by two evenly-matched teams but Hithercroft, despite having scored the finest of the goals, came away with no points once again.

Hithercroft scorer: Dan Davy
Marlow scorers: Tyrone Francis (o.g), No 8 and No 6

Footnote: Owing to the extreme cold the Hithercroft manager, Pat Vaughey, collapsed after the match and so a paramedic and ambulance were called to provide treatment. It was suspected that he had suffered from hypothermia but he has now, fortunately, fully recovered. I have never experienced weather conditions like this and hope that I never have to again!