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Seasons (12/11/2006) 2006 - 2007 Season, Afc Hithercroft  The weather was dry and sunny with a chilly breeze blowing for this first meeting of these two teams. The pitch was damp but in good condition and this was the first opportunity for Hithercroft to play on it since it had been widened by 12 feet on both sides. Four Seasons only had ten players available and were unable to supply a linesman and so Hithercroft’s Brian Lewis (team coach) and Pat Vaughey (manager) carried out these duties, with Pam Ife running the line for Hithercroft and Mr W. Ottaway being the referee. Despite promising to turn up neither Baz David nor David Blackman put in an appearance. Goalkeeper Neil Stretton and defender Dan Birch were also unavailable, Dewayne Dublin agreeing to take on the keeper’s role. Kris Clark had decided to rest his ankle for another week but had come down to support his team-mates. The game kicked off at 10.39am with Afc Hithercroft wearing their yellow and blue strip whilst their opponents wore red shirts and blue shorts. After 2 minutes Richard McKie played the ball out to Ashley Anderson on the right, Ashley took it to the bye-line and squeezed the ball from an impossibly-acute angle between the keeper and the near post to put Hithercroft 1-0 ahead. On the 15th minute mark Ashley, on the right-hand edge of the 18-yard box, chipped the ball over the Seasons‘ keeper but it hit the top of the crossbar and went out of play. Twenty-two minutes later Ashley and Kevin Howell combined in a series of passes that culminated with Kevin striking the ball inside the left-hand post to add to Hithercroft's lead. Just two minutes later Richard McKie pushed the ball through to Ashley who saw his on-target shot stopped by the diving keeper. At 11.31am the second half began with Frank Smith, a late arrival, replacing Ryan Forbes who was having vision difficulties after receiving a knock to his left eye shortly before the interval. Four minutes into the half a low shot from Richard was pushed out by a good diving save from the Seasons’ keeper, who was having a good game. On 54 minutes Hithercroft made their second substitution replacing John Baldock with Graham Osment. Two minutes later Hithercroft defender Dougie Carswell went into the referee's book for using bad language after Seasons had been awarded a free-kick. In the 62nd minute Frank sent in a high corner kick from the left and Kevin Howell hit a tremendous volley that ended up in the back of the net to give Hithercroft a 3-0 lead. The home team were putting a number of attacking moves together and earning a number of corner kicks. They made their final substitution 25 minutes into the half, sending on Jamaine Humphrey to replace Leon Browne. On 75 minutes Seasons took the ball down the left and hit a shot that stand-in keeper Dewayne Dublin had to gather at full stretch. More attacks on the Seasons’ goal followed and the keeper was doing well to prevent Hithercroft from increasing their lead. They came close to getting on the score sheet in the 80th minute when a shot came off the right-hand post. Three off-side flags shown by Hithercroft’s manager, Pat Vaughey (in his capacity as the Four Seasons’ linesman) received disapproval from the touchline and, with tongue-in-cheek, he sought the referee's assistance in controlling the remarks. The final whistle saw Afc Hithercroft end with a much-needed 3-0 win but their opponents had put up a good performance with just 10 players. Hithercroft scorer: Ashley Anderson (2 mins), Kevin Howell (37 mins and 62 mins) Hithercroft team: Dewayne Dublin (GK), Leon Browne, Tyrone Francis, Dougie Carswell, Kevin Midgley, Richard McKie, Mike Baldock, Ashley Anderson, Kevin Howell, Ryan Forbes, John Baldock. Hithercroft subs: Frank Smith replaced Ryan Forbes (45 mins), Graham Osment replaced John Baldock (54 mins), Jamaine Humphrey replaced Leon Browne (70 mins), Jamaine Warner was not used. |
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