Towersey Boys (15/02/2004)
2003 - 2004 Season, Hithercroft Under 16s



The morning had been showery but, from the start of the game the rain stopped and for the second half the sun came out. The Towersey pitch was rather slippery and a bit muddy down the centre. Hithercroft were without Luke on this occasion and so Sam Vaughey actually got to play a complete game for a change. The opposition were to have four players starting suspension but the manager had decided to contest the ruling and so fielded these players.

At 12.30 the game kicked off and Hithercroft immediately took the lead when Sam pushed the ball to Tyrone Francis, he took it forward and sent it on to Paul Morgan who slipped it past the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Dan Reading, the Hithercroft goalkeeper, pulled off some really good saves from three well-struck shots, diving and jumping to push the shots either over the crossbar or outside of the uprights. In the 22nd minute he received treatment to his leg that has been causing him problems over the last two weeks following an injury. At 12.58 Towersey’s No 14 took the ball downfield and passed it to their No 9 just inside the 18-yard box. As Dan Biggs blocked his progress and Dan Reading came forward the No 9 took advantage of the goalkeeper’s obstructed view and pushed the ball past him and into the net to bring Towersey back level. Dan was tested again from a powerfully struck shot from the Towersey No 9 which went to Dan’s right but he dived across to push the ball out for a corner. In the 35th minute Tyrone took the ball down the left and played it on for Dan Davy to collect and Dan turned inside, striking the ball at an angle across the goal and inside the far netting to put Hithercroft back into the lead. The Hithercroft keeper was again put under pressure and came running off his line on two occasions to courageously dive at the feet of attacking players to collect the ball. However, as play entered the 41st minute Towersey attacked down the right and sent the ball drifting in for their No 9 to head the ball into the back of the net to put the home team back on level terms once again. Tyrone then had a strong shot stopped by the Towersey keeper, who demonstrated that he too was capable of pulling off a good diving save, just before the whistle blew to signal the end of the first half at 1.12pm.

At 17 minutes past the hour the game resumed with Towersey playing towards the sun. Hithercroft were unlucky not to re-take the lead when Frank Smith took the ball down the left wing, sent it inside to Paul who pushed it forward to Dan Davy. Dan then crossed it into the 18-yard box to Tyrone who lost his balance as he attempted to volley the ball home and it spun to a halt before being cleared. At 1.25 Dan Reading pulled off a brilliant save as he leaped up to push a shot, that came in from the left, up into the air and as he went down he rolled over and retrieved the ball as it descended again. Fifteen minutes into the half the home team took the lead for the first time in the match and six minutes later the Towersey No 10 extended their lead to 4-2. Hithercroft were lacking accuracy in their passing and their ball control was rather poor, many balls being pushed too far ahead or being given away too easily. The Towersey No 8 had a shot that went under Dan’s body as he dived to block it, giving Towersey their fifth goal at 1.45. Hithercroft then lifted their game and, nine minutes later, were rewarded for their efforts when Tyrone sent a long cross in from the right for Dan Davy to strike the ball past the diving keeper to bring them back to 5-3. The game concluded at 1.58 with Towersey emerging worthy winners.

Hithercroft scorers: Paul Morgan and Dan Davy (2)