At 10.34am the game got under way and in the 7th minute Hithercroft‘s Frank Smith sent in a free kick from the right that had the Pheasant keeper pushing the ball out for a corner kick on the left. Frank played a short pass to Richard McKie and took the return ball which he crossed into the middle. Kevin Howell, making his debut for Hithercroft, put the ball into the back of the net with an overhead kick to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. In the 18th minute the referee awarded a penalty to Pheasant when an attacker was brought down at the edge of the 18-yard box. Paul Grace took the kick but his poorly-struck shot was kicked aside by the Hithercroft keeper. However, within sixty seconds a similar move saw a Pheasant player again brought down in the area and this time Paul Grace made no mistake with his penalty kick to put Pheasant back onto level terms. Within the final minute of the first half Pheasant crossed the ball into the 18-yard box from out on the right and Dominic Bryant hit the ball into the Hithercroft net to put Pheasant 2-1 ahead at the break.

The second half kicked-off at 11.25am, Hithercroft immediately going on the offensive and Dewayne Dublin putting the ball into the Pheasant net. He was adjudged to have pushed a defender in the back to win the ball and so the ‘goal’ was disallowed. In the 48th minute Peter Morgan had a 30-yard shot but the ball passed just over the crossbar. Kevin then tried a curving shot three minutes later but it went just wide of the left-hand post. On 53 minutes Pheasant made their first substitution of the game, replacing their No.4 with No.8. Two minutes later Peter Morgan crossed the ball into the middle to his brother, Paul, who was brought down but regained his feet and struck a shot just over the crossbar. Although the referee awarded a free kick the Hithercroft shot was blocked by Pheasant’s defensive wall. On 59 minutes Pheasant made another substitution, sending on their No.15 to replace their goal-scorer Dominic Bryant. Frank Smith then sent in a corner-kick that was headed clear to Kevin but his on-target shot was saved by the diving Pheasant keeper. Pheasant then broke down the middle, two players running through their opponents’ defence, but the resultant shot was well saved by the Hithercroft keeper. In the 66th minute the stand-in Hithercroft keeper again denied Pheasant a goal when their No. 10 turned inside a defender and saw his shot blocked by the keeper. Four minutes later a poorly-taken goal-kick sent the ball to Pheasant’s Ian Gutteridge and his cross dipped just below the crossbar, ending in the back of Hithercroft’s net. On 81 minutes Frank Smith took a corner-kick from the left and, after a number of shots and hasty clearances, Pheasant managed to get the ball clear. Then, just two minutes later Paul Morgan’s shot hit the left-hand post and Richard McKie, who collected the ball a yard from the goal-line struck a shot that also hit the upright and rebounded clear. In the 84th minute, following a Pheasant attack, Ashley Anderson’s attempt to send the ball across field was intercepted by Pheasant’s Norman McCorkill and he fired the ball into the net to give Pheasant a 4-1 win.

Hithercroft scorer: Kevin Howell (7 mins)

Hithercroft team: Brian Lewis (GK), Ashley Anderson, Peter Morgan (Capt), Leon Browne, Dan Birch, Paul Morgan, Richard McKie, Kevin Howell, Dewayne Dublin, Frank Smith, Jamaine Warner.

Hithercroft M.o.M: Jamaine Warner

Pheasant scorers: Paul Grace (19m penalty), Dominic Bryant (46m), Ian Gutteridge (70m), Norman McCorkill (84m)