Chesham Rangers (17/04/2005)
2004 - 2005 Season, Hithercroft Youth



The weather was sunny for the first half of the match but clouded over at half time with a breeze blowing downfield. The grass had been cut during the week and the pitch was in good condition. Neither Tyrone Francis or David Blackman were available and so the captain’s armband was worn by Paul Morgan. The referee was Mr Ray Solomon and Kevin Ife ran the line for Hithercroft.

The game got under way at 2.08pm with Hithercroft having the advantage of a following breeze and having their backs to the sun. During the first half the home team were having most of the play and in the 12th minute Dewayne Dublin took the ball down the right and came inside, side-stepping the advancing keeper. He hit a shot towards goal and a Chesham defender managed to get a foot to the ball but sent it into the far side of his own goal, putting Hithercroft 1-0 ahead. Hithercroft came close to extending their lead when Baz David pushed the ball to Peter Morgan on his right and he, in turn, passed it to Paul. Paul came in, went round a defender and tried a shot but the keeper managed to block the ball with his knee. Hithercroft’s Mark Sadler later received a booking for using bad language when a Chesham player appeared to go down rather easily in a challenge. In the 42nd minute Alan McKie hit the ball down the middle of the field, Dewayne took it forward and, as the keeper came out to the edge of his 18-yard box, attempted to chip the ball over his head but the keeper rose up to gather the ball and prevent an almost certain goal. However, two minutes later Paul gathered a loose ball, turned and struck the ball into the Chesham net to put Hithercroft 2-0 up just before the interval.

With the sun having disappeared behind clouds the breeze felt decidedly chilly for the second half. Hithercroft had brought on Ralph Kheir to replace Dan Birch at the break and the game restarted at 3.02pm. Chesham came close within the first minute of the second half when they sent the ball into the middle, the Hithercroft keeper punching the ball on, but their final shot was sent high over the crossbar. Chesham had stepped up a gear in this half and were making more frequent runs into the Hithercroft half but the home team’s defence was holding out well, preventing Chesham from getting into shooting positions. Twenty minutes into the half Dewayne left the field to be replaced by Rhydian Grange, who was making a welcome return to the side following his recent absence, and he soon began to make his presence fealt over on the right wing. At 3.32 Peter Morgan was booked following an uncharacteristically clumsy tackle on an opposing player. Chesham had a few good opportunities to reduce the deficit but their shots were generally off-target. The referee once again produced a yellow card when Chesham’s A. Raher had thrown the ball down (out of frustration) when Hithercroft had to re-take a throw-in that had never entered the field of play. Hithercroft also had some near misses, the first from Rhydian who won the ball in a tackle and hit a shot from way out on the right wing, the ball just passing beyond the far post. Ben Steele also came close, his shot just going outside the left-hand upright. Hithercroft’s persistence was finally rewarded at 3.49pm when Paul sent the ball out to Rhydian, who turned in from the right wing and struck one of his powerful shots past the advancing keeper to give his side a 3-0 victory. The referee blew his final whistle at 3.53, having added some time on for injuries and a bit of time-wasting by Hithercroft near the end.


Hithercroft’s goals were from a Chesham o.g (12 mins), Paul Morgan (44 mins) and Rhydian Grange (90 mins).

Hithercroft team:-
Simon Mines, Paul Morgan, Peter Morgan, Ben Steele, Baz David, Richard Vere, Dewayne Dublin, Mark Sadler, Richard Vere and Alan McKie.
The subs used were Ralph Kheir, Rhydian Grange and Jamaine Warner.

Chesham team:-
T. Grace, T. Kelly, S. Cronin, J. Stroud, A. Raher, T. Wells, E. Martin, G. Majore, M. Watson, M.Underwood and D. Legge.
The subs were D. Salisbury and A. Stott.