Hughenden Athletic (06/02/2005)
2004 - 2005 Season, Hithercroft Youth



This was our second meeting of the season with Hughenden Athletic, this time being at Hughenden’s ground. The weather was overcast and chilly but the threatened showers did not materialise during the game. The pitch was slightly muddy but overall in good condition. The referee was Mr M. Hurst with Pat Vaughey and Brian Pickworth running the lines. Hithercroft had three subs available (Paul and Peter Morgan and Ralph Kheir). The start of the game, originally scheduled for 2pm, was delayed for a while whilst a Cup game was concluded and which eventually went to penalties.

The game kicked off at 2.27pm and the first goal-scoring opportunity came after three minutes when Hithercroft played a long ball down the middle to Dewayne Dublin who side-stepped the keeper, Dean Magowan, but then sent his shot just wide of the right-hand post. Hughenden came close when Oliver Brown sent a long throw-in to Leon Read who had positioned himself at the right-hand post but his header went just outside of the post. After 11 minutes of fairly even play Simon Mines, the Hithercroft keeper, sent a ball down the middle, Baz David headed it on to Dewayne and he fired a shot into the net to put the visiting side 1-0 ahead. Five minutes later they went further ahead when Baz sent the ball out to Rhydian Grange on the right wing who turned inside and sent it back inside to Tyrone Francis. He pushed it on to Dewayne, received the ball back again and loosed a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box that went over Dean’s hand into the top right corner of the net. There then followed a spell when Hithercroft’s attacking moves were ending in poor ball control and slack passing but their defence was working well to stifle Hughenden’s advances. At 3.07pm Hughenden were awarded a free kick just inside their own half and Jack Body struck a long ball down the middle to Matt Bate who side-footed the ball into the right side of the goal-mouth, bringing the home team to just one goal in arrears. They came close to getting the equaliser when their keeper sent the ball down to Mitch Dean on the left, he passed it on to Matt Bate who then took it into the opposition’s half. He then pushed it on to Jack Body who turned inside from the left, ran into the 18-yard box and lifted the ball over Simon’s head but the ball came off the crossbar for Mark Sadler to clear. Back came Hughenden again, Matt Bate receiving the ball in the middle of the pitch and he chipped it over Simon, who had come forward off his line, and it dropped into the net to level the score at 2-2 in the 43rd minute. Two minutes later Mr Hurst blew his whistle to signify the end of an entertaining first half.

The game resumed at 3.18pm with Hithercroft bringing on Paul Morgan to replace Ben Steele. Six minutes into the half the Hithercroft keeper was adjudged to foul an opponent within the 18-yard box and Matt Bate made no mistake with his penalty kick to put Hughenden into the lead for the first time in the match. Hithercroft came close to pulling back the deficit in the 61st minute when Baz struck the ball fromabout 20 yards out but his shot passed just outside of the left-hand post. Four minutes later Hithercroft’s goalkeeper played the ball out to Dan Birch on the wing and he sent it down the wing to Baz. Baz then sent it inside to Dewayne and as he entered the 18-yard box, the home team keeper brought him down, earning Dean a booking from the referee and presenting Hithercroft with a penalty kick. Baz took the successful penalty putting the ball into the top right-hand corner to bring the scores level at 3-3. Hithercoft made the second of their substitutions at 3.42pm, Peter Morgan coming on to replace Jamaine Warner when the referee had stopped play after Tyrone had been brought down from behind, earning the offending player a booking. Three minutes later Hithercroft brought off Dewayne Dublin and sent on Ralph Kheir and at 3.55pm Hughenden also rang the changes replacing Leon Read and Mitch Dean with Tim Pickworth and Thomas Waters. Hithercroft then went on the attack, Baz raced past the opposition, turned inside and tried to chip the ball over Dean Magowan but the keeper managed to intercept it. Further end-to-end play followed but the defenders always broke down play. Baz again came close when he accelerated on the left past two players and struck the ball across the face of the goal, the ball going out of play just outside the right-hand post. The play was becoming more ‘competitive’ as the game went on and Mr Hurst had need to use his whistle rather more frequently but there was a lot of sportsmanship being shown by both sides. Within the last minute Simon Mines, the Hithercroft keeper had come a long way out of his goal area when attempting to clear the ball upfield. When the ball was then brought forward by Hughenden he had to battle to prevent them from getting a clear run on goal. He went down in one tackle and then, realising that his opponent was about to try a long shot at his open goal, bravely but rather foolishly headed the ball away from his foot. As a result he took a hard kick in the back of his head and, following treatment but still feeling dizzy had to leave the field, Mark Sadler taking over the goal-keeping role for the remaining few seconds of the game. This was a complete accident and no blame is attached the Hughenden player involved. This exciting game eventually ended in a 3-3 draw.


Hithercroft scorers:-
Dewayne Dublin (11 min), Tyrone Francis (16 min) and Baz David (65 min penalty)

Hithercroft players:-
Simon Mines, Jamaine Warner, Alan McKie, Mark Sadler, Tyrone Francis, ‘Baz’ David, Dewayne Dublin, Dan Birch, Ben Steele, Rhydian Grange and Richard Vere.
The subs were Paul & Peter Morgan and Ralph Kheir.

Hughenden Athletic scorer:-
Matt Bates (40 min, 43 min and a 51 min penalty)

Hughenden Athletic players:-
Dean Magowan, Matt Elmidoro, Mitch Dean, Oliver Brown, Jack Body, Matt Bate, Leon Read, Pete Lowe, Albert O’Rourke, Lee Vincent and Scott Vincent.
The subs were Tim Pickworth and Thomas Waters


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

Hughenden Athletic and Hithercroft Youth shared the points in a 6-goal thriller. Hithercroft had taken a 2-0 lead following goals from Dewayne Dublin and Tyrone Francis in the 11th and 16th minutes respectively but then Matt Bate hit back with 2 for Hughenden in the 40th and 43rd minutes. Six minutes into the second half Matt Bate put the home team ahead when he scored from the penalty spot following a foul by the Hithercroft keeper. However, in the 65th minute the Hughenden keeper brought down an opposing attacker in the 18-yard box and Baz David stepped up to put his penalty kick into the net, levelling the scoreline at 3-3, which remained unchanged until the final whistle.


Based on the above brief report and additional info from Brian Pickworth the Bucks Free Press printed the following in the ‘Midweek’ edition:-

Hughenden Athletic and Hithercroft Youth shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw with Matt Bate scoring a hat-trick for Athletic. Hithercroft had taken a 2-0 lead following goals from Dewayne Dublin and Tyrone Francis but Bate hit back with two goals before half-time. Six minutes into the second half Bate scored his third from the penalty spot but Baz David equalised, also from the penalty spot.