Greyhound (22/10/2006)
2006 - 2007 Season, Afc Hithercroft



The game between the top two teams in the division took place at Hazlemere Rec on a calm but cloudy morning. At the start of the game there was some light rain but this cleared during the first half before returning shortly after the game ended. The referee was Mr Stuart Smith and Pam Ife ran the line for Hithercroft. The Hithercroft side was captained by Tyrone Francis but neither David Blackman nor Baz David were available, Baz still suffering from the knee injury that he picked up in last week‘s game.

The game started promptly at 10.30am and Hithercroft immediately went on the attack when Ashley Anderson played the ball out to Tyrone, collected the return pass and as the keeper came forward sent the ball diagonally across the face of the goal but there were no other Hithercroft players close enough to direct the ball into the net. Greyhound’s William Stockwell then struck a 25-yard shot at the Hithercroft goal but it was safely gathered by keeper Neil Stretton. Three minutes into the game Greyhound took the ball down the left and Bobby Hughes hit a shot from out wide that went over the visitors’ crossbar. On six minutes Loz Dunn sent a long throw into the far side of Greyhound’s 18-yard box and Ashley again played the ball across the goal-mouth to no avail. In the 10th minute Greyhound took a corner kick on the left and sent in a high ball that was headed back across field by No.10 (Lauren Dennis) and their No.14 (William Stockwell) headed the ball home to put Greyhound 1-0 ahead. One minute later Greyhound played the ball into the middle and No.9 (Nick Marshall) added a second goal for the home side. There followed a number of free kicks to each side but none of them proved decisive. In the 22nd minute Greyhound charged down the middle and Hithercroft’s Dougie Carswell went in with a hard tackle that the referee adjudged to be unfair and awarded a penalty kick to Greyhound. Dougie showed dissent and received a booking from the referee. Bobby Hughes, the tackled player, took the penalty and sent the ball to the right of the keeper to put Afc Hithercroft 3-0 down. Three minutes later Greyhound crossed the ball to the left and Bobby came in to strike the ball into the far right-hand side of the net from outside the 18-yard box and gave his side a 4-0 lead. After a further four minutes of play Greyhound’s No.11 (William Stockwell) hit a 20-yard shot from the left that got past the keeper and so the visitors found themselves 5-0 behind. In the 36th minute Ashley won the ball on the right and sent the ball across the goalmouth from an extremely tight angle. The keeper was unable to keep hold of the ball and it dropped for Kevin Howell to tap it into the net to get Hithercroft off-the-mark. However, just two minutes later Greyhound’s No.10 (Lauren Dennis) received the ball in the middle, turned and hit a well-struck ball into the Hithercroft net for his side’s 6th. From a Hithercroft free-kick on 45 minutes Kevin sent a high ball into the 6-yard box but Loz’s header was blocked by the keeper as the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the first half.

The second half began at 11.22am and after five minutes Hithercroft‘s Dan Birch went into the referee‘s book when he ‘criticised‘ the referee. In the 63rd minute Hithercroft had a goal-scoring opportunity when Kevin chipped the ball over the advancing keeper and Ashley ran in but mis-kicked the ball outside the right-hand post. Two minutes later Dan played the ball down the left wing, Frank Smith took it on and crossed it into the middle but Ashley again mis-hit the ball which then came off a defender and went out of play. Matt Seaton then went on to replace Loz Dunn for Hithercroft. In the 68th minute Greyhound played the ball into the 18-yard box from the right and Bobby Hughes sent the ball into the right-hand side of the net to increase their lead to 7-1. On 75 minutes Dougie sent a long, high clearance kick down the centre and Ashley attempted to head the ball over the advancing keeper but failed to get enough height on the ball, the keeper safely gathering it. One minute later Hithercroft made a second substitution, sending on Dewayne Dublin to replace Kevin. On 79 minutes Greyhound took the ball down the right and crossed it in to Bobby Hughes who added a 4th goal to his personal tally and put his side 8-1 up. Three minutes later Hithercroft made their final change, bringing off Richard McKie from midfield and sending on Jamaine Humphrey. Five minutes from the end of the game Nick Marshall attempted a diving header but sent the ball wide of Hithercroft’s right-hand post. On the 89th minute Greyhound’s Jamie Toms, who had been running the line for them in the first half, put the ball into Hithercroft’s net from close range to give the home side a 9-1 lead. The final flourish came from Hithercroft when Dewayne pushed the ball on to Ashley, took the return pass, turned and struck a shot that sent the ball just outside the right-hand post.

Greyhound had shown why they are currently top of the division with a superb display of speed, accurate passing and positioning and making the most of their shooting opportunities. Although Hithercroft had never given up, they were outplayed in most departments and went down to an excellent side. They also suffered from a number of unfavourable refereeing decisions.


Hithercroft scorer: Kevin Howell (36 mins)

Hithercroft team: Neil Stretton (GK), Jamaine Warner, Kris Clark, Dougie Carswell, Dan Birch, Loz Dunn, Tyrone Francis, Richard McKie, Frank Smith, Ashley Anderson and Kevin Howell.
Hithercroft subs: Matt Seaton replaced Loz Dunn (65mins)
Dewayne Dublin replaced Kevin Howell (76 mins)
Jamaine Humphrey replaced Richard McKie (82 mins)