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| Hithercroft
Res (25/02/2007) 2006 - 2007 Season, Afc Hithercroft  The skies were grey and there was a chilly wind breeze for this game at the Pedestal. During the game there were a few very brief showers but the game was played in mainly dry weather on a damp and muddy pitch which cut up quite badly as the game progressed. The referee was Mr Kenroy Charles with Pam running the line for Afc and Paul Norman doing so for the Res. Afc were without Ashley Anderson (working), Tyrone Francis (calf injury) and Dougie Carswell (chest infection) but had two substitutes available. At 10.34am the game got under way but was interrupted after 14 minutes when Afc’s centre back, Kris Clark’s contact lens came out but it was quickly found and Kris returned to the clubhouse to wash and replace it. He returned to find that Afc had taken the lead in the 15th minute when Baz David had crossed the ball from the left, close to the goal-line, and Frank Smith had run in at the far post to slot the ball in. Ten minutes later the score was level when Danny Norman chipped the ball into the net, over Afc’s advancing keeper. At this point Res made a substitution replacing No.9 by their No.11. On 27 minutes Baz curled in a free kick from near the right-hand touchline but Kevin Midgley’s header was stopped by the Res keeper. However, one minute later Afc sent the ball across to Frank and he struck the ball from the left corner of the 18-yard box, the ball rebounding from the far post into the net to put the home side 2-1 up. On 37 minutes Afc’s Kevin Howell pushed the ball through the middle to Frank who then laid it off to Baz on his left and Baz sent the ball into the left side of the net for a 3-1 lead. Seven minutes later Kevin Howell collected the ball, went past a couple of Res defenders into the 18-yard box and struck the ball into the net to the left of the keeper and so at the interval Afc were 4-1 ahead. The game resumed at 11.26am and in the 56th minute Afc made their first substitution, sending on Jamaine Warner to replace Mike Baldock. Three minutes later Afc were awarded a corner kick on the left and Baz sent the ball into the 6-yard box where Kevin Midgley headed the ball home to put his side 5-1 ahead. Res then went on the attack, sending the ball to Gavin Lane who turned and hit a shot that had keeper Neil Stretton pulling off a great reaction save to push the ball wide of the right-hand post. In the 62nd minute Res took a throw-in not far from their own 18-yard box, the ball being thrown back towards a defender who failed to connect with a clearance kick and Frank gathered the loose ball and guided it into the right-hand side of the net for his hattrick. Four minutes later Afc made their second (and final) substitution of the game replacing John Baldock with Ryan Forbes. In the 72nd minute Res played the ball down the right and Afc’s keeper blocked a shot with his legs but the ball fell to Gavin Lane who made no mistake with his shot to make it 6-2. Two minutes later Afc’s Kevin Midgley played a great ball across the 18-yard box and Frank dived to head the ball towards the bottom right corner of the net but a brilliant dive from the Res keeper enabled him to push the ball round the outside of the post. From the resulting corner kick Kevin Howell ran in to strike the ball through the defence into the net to put Afc 7-2 ahead. A period of sustained pressure from Afc followed but the Res keeper did well to prevent shots from Kevin Howell, Baz and Ryan from ending up in the back of the net. In the 85th minute Res attacked the Afc goal and Steve Simmons headed the ball over the keeper to score a third goal for the visitors. More shots from Afc followed, a great opportunity coming from a long ball from the Afc keeper reaching Baz in the Res half but Baz was unable to put the ball past the opposing keeper. At the final whistle Afc had achieved a good 7-3 win over Res. Excellent performances had been turned in by the Res keeper and by Kevin Howell for Afc but Afc’s man-of-the-match award went to Frank Smith for his tireless efforts leading to his three goals and support play, especially as he had to shrug off a shin injury that he had sustained during the first half.
Hithercroft M.o.M: Frank Smith Afc Hithercroft team: Neil Stretton (GK), Dan Birch,
Kevin Midgley, Kris Clark, Daniel Allman, Luke Revell, Baz David
(Capt), Kevin Howell, Frank Smith, Mike Baldock, John Baldock Hithercroft Res scorers: Danny Norman (25m), Gavin Lane (72m), Steve Simmons (85m) |
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