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Totteridge - League Cup (27/01/2008) 2007 - 2008 Season, Afc Hithercroft  This cup game had been postponed by a week owing to the Holmers Farm, Buckmaster Rd, pitch having been waterlogged. This week the pitch was damp but playable, the weather being dry and sunny but cold and there was a strong wing blowing along the pitch. Afc Totteridge are currently placed second in the Premier Division with 6 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. The referee was Mr T. Catigoudis and Ken Johnson ran the line for Afc Hithercroft. The game kicked off at 10.30am with Afc Hithercroft playing into the wind for the first half. After 5 minutes the Totteridge No.15 hit an 18-yard shot but Neil Stretton went down to gather it. Hithercroft were awarded a number of free kicks during the next few minutes and one coming in the 16th minute reaped dividends for them. Kris Clark sent a short ball from the half-way line out to Mark Charman who played it on to Kevin Howell. Kevin headed the ball forward and Baz David struck it into the back of the Totteridge net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. One minute later the ball struck Frank Smith’s arm and the referee awarded a free kick to Totteridge about 30 yards from the Hithercroft goal. Totteridge’s No.11 took the kick sending the ball towards the top of the goal but Neil jumped to tip the ball over the crossbar. Neil was again under pressure on 28 minutes when a long ball was played down the middle and the No.11 turned and hit a goal-bound shot but the Hithercroft keeper dived to gather it. Seven minutes later Totteridge sent a head-high ball into the penalty area from a corner kick and their No.8 headed the ball towards goal but Luke Revell, positioned on the goal-line near the right-hand post chested the ball clear. The second half began at 11.23am, Hithercroft now having the wind behind them for the remainder of the game. In the 56th minute the Totteridge defence, under pressure, played the ball back to their keeper and he under-hit his clearance kick allowing Baz to collect it and attempt a chip over the keeper into the open net. However, Baz failed to lift the ball high enough and the keeper jumped up to gather it, so preventing what looked like a certain goal. Two minutes later Hithercroft sent a long ball down the left, Baz took it on and crossed it inside for Dan Allman to hit a shot that went just over the crossbar. On 59 minutes Totteridge made a substitution, sending on No.9 to replace their No.5. In the 70th minute Hithercroft replaced Kevin with Josh Peters and 4 minutes later Totteridge replaced their No.3 with No.16, their manager who had been running the line for them. Hithercroft centre-back Jason Guy had to temporarily leave the field for treatment to his knee but returned after a couple of minutes. On 77 minutes the Totteridge No.6 had his name entered in the referee’s book following a tackle on Frank, the Hithercroft captain. Two minutes later Hithercroft’s Tyrone Francis was replaced by Mike Baldock, having to leave the field after an injury. In the 80th minute Totteridge crossed the ball in from the left and their No.15 headed the ball into Hithercroft’s net to level the score at 1-1. Two minutes later Hithercroft played the ball down the left, Josh crossed it into the middle and Mike tried a shot that went just outside the right-hand upright. In the 86th minute Hithercroft sent a long ball forward, Baz collected it, turned inside the advancing keeper and struck the ball into the middle of the net to put the visitors back into the lead. Totteridge increased pressure in an attempt to get another equaliser but, even though just over four minutes of stoppage time was added they were unable to score and so Afc Hithercroft emerged winners by 2 goals to 1 and so progress to the Quarter Finals of the Cup. After the final whistle the Totteridge No.10 was verbally abusive to the referee and threw the ball at him, so earning himself a red card. Hithercroft scorer: Baz David (16m, 86m) Hithercroft’s M.o.m: Luke Revell (and in addition the complete team were awarded this honour for their performance) Hithercroft team: Neil Stretton (GK), Kris Clark, Jason Guy, Luke Revell, Mark Charman, Baz David, Frank Smith (Capt), Tyrone Francis, Ryan Forbes, Kevin Howell and Dan Allman Hithercroft subs: Josh Peters replaced Kevin (70m), Mike Baldock replaced Tyrone (79m) Unused subs: Ken Johnson, John Baldock and Dave Ebberson Afc Totteridge’s scorer: No.15 (80m) |
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