Naphill Boys (10/04/2005)
2004 - 2005 Season, Hithercroft Youth


The weather was dry and mainly sunny with a chilly wind and occasional clouds. Naphill had a full complement of reserves (actually four were listed on the sheet) but Hithercroft only had eleven players available. Captain Tyrone Francis is still having problems with his ankle that he injured two weeks ago and, as it is still swollen, the injury could be more serious than was first thought. Rhydian Grange, Ralph Kheir and Dan Birch were all unable to attend. The referee was Mr Tony Cator and the linesmen were Kevin Ife for Hithercroft and Clive Rowlands for Naphill.

The game began at 10.34am with Hithercroft playing into the sun for the first half but having a following wind. Three minutes into the game Naphill took the lead when they sent a ball across the goalmouth and Mark Sadler, attempting to clear the ball with his ‘wrong’ foot sliced it into the far side of his own net. In the 13th minute Hithercroft were denied an equaliser when Baz David took a corner kick from the right, Alan McKie rose up and headed the ball towards goal but a defender headed the ball clear on the goal-line. The away team were again thwarted when David Blackman, the stand-in captain, played the ball forward to Paul Morgan whose powerful shot on target was deflected by a Naphill player and needed keeper Aaron Barlow to push the deflected ball over the crossbar. From a right-hand corner kick Baz sent a high ball across and Alan, positioned at the near post, headed the ball just outside the far left-hand post. Baz sustained a knee injury and had to leave the field, returning after a five minute period of treatment but still feeling the effects. The referee had awarded a number of free kicks to the visiting team but the closest they came to making any of them count was in the 34th minute when Mark Sadler took a 30-yard kick that just cleared the Naphill crossbar. In the 41st minute, as Naphill pressed, David Blackman collected the ball on the half-way line for Hithercroft, took it forward and hit a powerful 35-yard shot that dipped just over the crossbar. Hithercroft had seen a lot more of the ball and spent most of the first half in the Naphill end of the pitch but, when the half-time whistle went, they were still 1-0 behind.

The game resumed at 11.32am and Hithercroft again came close to levelling the score when, after two minutes Baz sent the ball out to Dewayne on the left who turned and hit a shot that was tipped over the bar by Aaron Barlow. At 11.45am Dewayne received a push in the back when about 20 yards from the goal and the referee awarded Hithercroft a free-kick. Baz slid a short ball to his right and Alan McKie hammered the ball into the net to level the score at 1-1. Three minutes later Hithercroft were again awarded a free kick about 25 yards out and Baz again tapped the ball to Alan whose shot was blocked by a Naphill defender. Naphill’s Adam Chaumeton had an opportunity when Nick Bacon threw him the ball, Adam returned it and ran forward for the return pass, hitting a curling shot that Simon gathered on his line. In spite of playing into the wind during this half the Hithercroft keeper was sending long high clearances down the middle of the pitch but Naphill’s defence were preventing many shots being made on-goal. In the 71st minute, from a Baz David corner, a Naphill defender handled the ball in the penalty area and Baz stepped up to take the kick. Although he struck it well, to the right of the keeper, Aaron had correctly guessed the direction and dived to push the ball out. Naphill’s defence were proving solid as Hithercroft attacked time-after-time. At 12.20pm Naphill’s Thomas Martin hit a high ball from inside his own half and Simon, who was waiting at the edge of his 18-yard box, misjudged the bounce of the ball which went over his head towards the middle of the goal. Simon raced back and dived after it but his ‘clearing’ punch sent the ball just inside his right-hand post to give the home team a 2-1 lead. Four minutes later Naphill’s Jason Henderson had a shot that went just over the crossbar shortly before Mr Cator blew the final whistle.

Despite Hithercroft getting the final touch to each of the goals they ended up losing a game that they really should have won. They need to fight for possession, show more commitment in their play, deliver more accurate passes and take more frequent shots at goal.


Hithercroft scorer:-
Alan McKie (37 mins)

Hithercroft players:-
Simon Mines, Peter Morgan, David Blackman (capt), Jamaine Warner, Ben Steele, Paul Morgan, Baz David, Dewayne Dublin, Mark Sadler, Alan McKie and Richard Vere.


Naphill scorers:-
Mark Sadler (o.g 3 mins), Thomas Martin (85 mins)

Naphill Boys team:-
James Bacon, Nick Bacon, Aaron Barlow, Ross Collaro, Jason Henderson, Thomas Martin, Steve Outen, Jonathon Piercey, Oliver Sparks, Adam Chaumeton and Jamie Clayton.
The subs used were Jonny Eteson, Dominic Brooke-Read and Josh Laye.
Listed but not used was Chris Henderson.


Based on the above full report the following short report was published in the Bucks Free Press Midweek Edition:-

In Division 2 Naphill Boys were 2-1 winners in their game against Hithercroft Youth. Three minutes into the game Naphill took the lead when they sent the ball across the goalmouth and Mark Sadler sliced it into the far side of his own net. In the 13th minute Hithercroft were denied an equaliser when Alan McKie’s header was cleared off the line but the same player hammered the ball home to level things. Naphill’s Thomas Martin got the winner via a punch from the goalkeeper.

(This does not accurately reflect what happened and the last sentence seems to make Simon out as a bit of a thug! I had better go back to sending in mini reports again)