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Sporting Wycombe - B & B Cup (14/10/2007) 2007 - 2008 Season, Afc Hithercroft  For this Round 1 match in the B & B Cup Afc Hithercroft wore their yellow/blue tops to avoid a colour clash with their opponents. Both Tyrone Francis and Baz David were still recovering from their injuries sustained in last week's game and so were unable to play. The weather was overcast but brightened up as the game progressed and the sun eventually shone through. The grass had recently been cut and there was no wind to affect the flight of the ball. Pam ran the line for Hithercroft during the first half and then Pat took over for the rest of the game which was refereed by Mr Clive Chard. The game began at 10.36am with both sides sharing possession and territorial advantage. In the 20th minute Kevin Howell, standing in the middle of the pitch and just inside the visitor’s half, received the ball and, noticing that the keeper had come forward from his goal-line, hit a high shot that dipped behind the keeper and bounced into the net to give Hithercroft the lead. Just before the half-hour mark Dan Allman also tried a long shot but sent the ball just over the Wycombe crossbar. On 33 minutes Hithercroft’s Mark Charman threw the ball in, John Baldock back-headed it into the middle and Ryan Forbes headed the ball over the Wycombe keeper to give Hithercroft a 2-0 lead. Five minutes later the Hithercroft captain, Frank Smith, took the ball down the left, almost to the corner flag, and sent it across from an almost impossible angle, the ball going into the far right-hand side of the net to extend the home team’s lead. Kevin Howell came close to scoring his second when, as the ball was crossed into the middle, he turned and struck it just wide of the right-hand post. The second half kicked-off at 11.29am and after 7 minutes of play Mike Baldock hit a shot from out on the right, only to see the Wycombe keeper get down to gather it by the right-hand post. In the 58th minute Amar Khan, the Wycombe No.10, received the ball on the right, cut inside and hit a shot that went just wide of the right-hand post. The visitors were beginning to “up” their game and were putting pressure on Hithercroft. In the 71st minute Amar crossed the ball in from the right and the No.9, Awais Hussain, tried a glancing header that was just off-target. However, one minute later their efforts were rewarded when the ball was crossed into the middle and Nisar Ali hit the ball into the Hithercroft net to reduce the lead to 3-1. Nisar came close to scoring again when he sent the ball between the keeper’s legs, only for Mark Charman to clear the ball from the goal-line. In the 81st minute the No.9 turned and hit a 20-yard shot but Neil Stretton went down to save the shot on the line. Two minutes before the end Kevin Howell took the ball down the middle of the field, jinked left and right, and hit a shot from just outside the 18-yard box but the ball was deflected just outside of the right-hand post. At the final whistle Afc Hithercroft progressed into Round 2 with a 3-1 victory. After a fairly even start Hithercroft had taken command of the game but, in the latter stages of the second half, the trend was reversed and Afc Sporting Wycombe had really come back at them. The visitors have some skilful players who may well cause Afc Hithercroft some problems in the league game on 28th October. Hithercroft scorers: Kevin Howell (21m), Ryan Forbes (33m), Frank Smith (38m) Hithercroft’s M.o.M: Dan Allman Hithercroft team: Neil Stretton (GK), Kris Clark, Luke Revell, Jason Guy, Mark Charman, Mike Baldock, John Baldock, Dan Allman, Frank Smith (Capt), Kevin Howell and Ryan Forbes Hithercroft subs: Kevin Midgley replaced Mike Baldock (54m), Dwayne Blake replaced John Baldock (67m) Afc Sporting Wycombe scorer: Nisar Ali (72m) |
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