Naphill Boys (09/01/2005)
2004 - 2005 Season, Hithercroft Youth


The weather was windy and rain began falling just before kick-off. The rain became heavier throughout the game making the already soft pitch become very muddy in the second half. Initially both teams arrived with three subs each but, when it was discovered that the Hithercroft goalkeeper was on holiday in Spain, Mark Sadler had to take over the goalkeeping duties leaving Ralph Kheir and Dewayne Dublin in reserve. The referee was Mr Ray Solomon and Kevin ran the line for the home team.

The game kicked off at 1.51pm and after two minutes Naphill were awarded a free kick on the left-hand side of the pitch. They played a long ball towards goal where James Bacon headed the ball home to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead. Ball possession was fairly even and it was not until the 22nd minute that the next goal was scored - and what a goal that turned out to be. Hithercroft’s Rhydian Grange received the ball in the centre, being about 30 yards out from the Naphill goal and facing his own half. He flipped the ball up into the air, turned and struck a long high ball that came down over the keeper’s head and ended up in the net to bring Hithercroft back onto level terms. Five minutes later Jonathon Piercey took a corner from the left for Naphill and the ball was headed past Mark to put the visitors back into the lead. In the 31st minute Baz David was again brought down from behind as he took the ball inside the Naphill half and the referee decided that a booking was justified on the offender. Baz took the free kick, sending the ball up to Rhydian near the 18-yard box but his casual shot went just outside of the right-hand post. Ralph Khier came on in the 41st minute to replace Baz and neither side managed to change the scoreline by the time that Mr Solomon blew his whistle to signal the end of the first half.

The rain was increasing in intensity as the second half got under way at 2.26pm. Naphill immediately took the ball downfield where Jason Henderson increased his side’s lead to 3-1 within the first minute of the half. This seemed to dispirit the home team and their standard of play rapidly declined whereas Naphill took heart from their lead and upped their game. Richard Vere managed to clear the ball from his goal-line in the 7th minute of the half to prevent a header from putting Naphill further ahead. However, in the 14th minute Jonny Eteson scored a fourth goal for Naphill and soon after this Rhydian had to leave the field with a suspected sprained ankle. This reduced Hithercroft to 10 players as Dan Birch had been replaced earlier in the half by Dewayne Dublin, leaving them with no further players available. The visitors went further ahead in the 22nd minute when Mark stumbled as he attempted to get to James Bacon’s shot that ended up in the top right-hand corner of the net. Four minutes later Naphill added their 6th goal and in the 33rd minute of the half added the final goal to give them a 7-1 victory by the final whistle.

Hithercroft, despite being hampered by the absence of their goalkeeper, played reasonably well in the first half but were well below par in the second. When Naphill scored their fourth goal the home team became very despondent and their performance deteriorated into the worst that I have seen this season, especially after Rhydian’s departure. Their lack of training was very apparent and their commitment just wasn’t there. Mark Sadler, whilst his performance in goal was as good as could be expected of a non-specialist keeper, was sorely missed out on the field following his excellent performance in his previous game. Hithercroft really do need a second trained goalkeeper in order that they do not find themselves in this position again. Fortunately, the other second division games produced surprising results and so Hithercroft still have a chance to finish in one of the top three positions provided that they put in good, strong performances (of which they are well capable) over the remainder of the season.


Hithercroft scorer:-
Rhydian Grange (22m)

Hithercroft players:-
Mark Sadler (goalkeeper), Jamaine Warner, Richard Vere, David Blackman, Peter Morgan, Rhydian Grange, Ben Steele, Paul Morgan, Dan Birch, Tyrone Francis and ‘Baz’ David.
Dewayne Dublin and Ralph Kheir were subs.


Naphill Boys team:-
James Bacon, Nick Bacon, Dominic Brooke-Read, Ross Collaro, Chris Henderson, Jason Henderson, Jonny Eteson, Thomas Martin, Jonathon Piercey, Oliver Sparks and Tom Friar.
The subs used were Steve Outen, Josh Laye and Aaron Barlow.