Chiltern Athletic (27/03/2005)
2004 - 2005 Season, Hithercroft Youth



This was Hithercroft’s first league game for 6 weeks and took place in overcast and rather chilly conditions on a slightly damp but firm pitch. Hithercroft had only one sub available for this game, Ben Steele being ill, Jamaine Warner and Mark Sadler being unable to attend. The referee was Ray Solomon and Kevin Ife running the line in the first half for Hithercroft. The game was delayed as Hithercroft were awaiting players but it finally got under way at 2.13pm.

Shortly after the start Hithercroft’s Dan Birch hit the ball down the left to Dewayne Dublin whose shot went past Carl Smith, the Chiltern goalkeeper, but hit the post. In the 8th minute Chiltern broke down the right and Davy Wellington turned in but hit his shot over the crossbar. Adam Yearsley had another chance for Chiltern, hitting the ball from about 22 yards out but, as it dropped down towards the goal, Simon Mines leaped up to gather it from just beneath the crossbar. At 2.30pm Hithercroft’s captain, Tyrone Francis, took a corner from the right sending a high ball across goal where Alan McKie rose up but headed the ball just off-target. Eight minutes later Simon kicked a long ball downfield where Dewayne Dublin tried an overhead bicycle kick forcing Carl Smith to jump up and push the ball over the crossbar. Baz David, taking the resulting corner kick, sent the ball into the 6-yard box and Alan again got his head to the ball but put it over the bar. In the 29th minute Baz took a throw-in, Ralph Kheir headed the ball on and Tyrone turned towards goal but fell back as he connected with the ball sending it over the bar. Gavin Hewitt tried a speculative shot from just inside his own half but the ball passed high over the Hithercroft bar. Simon disappeared into the trees to retrieve the ball and we were contemplating sending someone in to look for him before he eventually re-appeared. At 2.52pm Dewayne Dublin ran onto the ball that Tyrone had sent down the middle but his on-target shot was kept out by the diving Chiltern goalkeeper. Three minutes later the visitors were awarded a free kick 18 yards out when Dewayne was obstructed and Baz took it quickly but lifted it over the crossbar. Then Simon sent a long ball down the middle to Ralph who turned and hit the ball just outside the right-hand upright. The referee blew his whistle to bring the first half to a close at 3pm.

The second half started at 3.04pm with Brian Lewis having taken over the Hithercroft linesman’s duties from Kevin. After 15 minutes Tyrone broke down the middle but hit his shot from about 20 yards out straight at the Chiltern keeper. Then Hithercroft sent the ball down the wing to Dewayne who turned in and struck a hard shot that Carl Smith deflected across the face of the goal. At 3.25pm Chiltern went on the attack forcing Simon Mines into pulling off some great diving blocks as the home team fired a number of shots that the Hithercroft defence were unable to clear. Eventually Warren Tarney managed to put the ball past him into the net and, after consulting the linesman who had raised his flag to indicate an off-side offence, the referee signalled that the goal should stand and so Chiltern went 1-0 up. Shortly after the restart Tyrone sustained a leg injury and had to leave the field, being replaced by Peter Morgan who took up a defensive position allowing David Blackman to move forward. Chiltern sent on Philip Martin to replace Gavin Hewitt at the same time. In the 73rd minute Hithercroft levelled the scoreline when Paul Morgan saw his shot from the right pushed out by the Chiltern keeper but the ball fell to Baz David who chested it down and hit it into the back of the net. At 3.41pm Dan threw a long ball into the 18-yard box, a defender heading it out to Baz who hit a shot just wide of the right-hand post. Hithercroft were really pressurising the Chiltern defence, the home team occasionally breaking out and looking dangerous. Three minutes from time Hithercroft played the ball down the middle to Baz, he sent it out to Paul on the right who turned inside and shot the ball past the keeper into the far side of the net to put Hithercroft into a 2-1 lead. Chiltern then began a concentrated effort to try to get an equaliser and put their opponents goal under siege, Hithercroft pulling everyone back to successfully defend their lead until Ray Solomon blew the final whistle at 3.56pm.

This had been a very exciting game for the number of (mainly Chiltern) supporters that had turned out and augurs well for the return match at the Pedestal. These two sides had attempted to play the Hithercroft home game earlier in the season but it had been abandoned in the second half because of the state of the pitch when Hithercroft had come back from a 3-1 deficit to level the score at 3-3.


Hithercroft's M.O.M: Simon Mines

Hithercroft scorers:-
Baz David (73mins) and Paul Morgan (87 mins)

Hithercroft team:-
Simon Mines, Dan Birch, David Blackman, Baz David, Dewayne Dublin, Tyrone Francis, Paul Morgan, Richard Vere, Ralph Kheir, Alan McKie and Rhydian Grange.
The sub was Peter Morgan.

Chiltern Athletic scorer:-
Warren Tarney (66 mins)

Chiltern Athletic team:-
Gavin Hewitt, Davy Wellington, Craig Read, Jamie Reynolds, Carl Smith, Miles Smith, Warren Tarney, Adam Yearsley, Gary Bull, Patrick McVeigh and Craig McKay.
The subs were Philip Martin, Steve Ansell and Daniel Baverstock but only Philip was used.

The following short report was submitted to the Bucks Free Press:-

Hithercroft come from behind to take all 3 points from Chiltern Athletic.
A number of supporters turned out to watch this game and were treated to a very exciting game. Both sides had scoring opportunities in the first half but the opening goal did not arrive until the second half. In the 66th minute Chiltern broke down the middle and were hitting shot after shot at the Hithercroft goal where Simon Mines was kept busy diving left and right to push the ball clear. However Warren Tarney eventually managed to get the ball past him and put Chiltern into the lead. Seven minutes later Hithercroft had levelled the score when Paul Morgan saw his shot from the right pushed out as far as Baz David, who chested the ball down and hit it into the Chiltern net. Hithercroft were putting the Chiltern defence under a lot of pressure and were eventually rewarded 3 minutes before the end when Baz David sent the ball wide on the right to Paul Morgan, who turned into the 18-yard box and struck the ball into the far side of the net. Despite Chiltern then stepping up the pace they were unable to rescue the game, Hithercroft ending up worthy 2-1 winners.