 |
||
| Prince
of Wales - League (06/01/2008) 2007 - 2008 Season, Afc Hithercroft  The first game of 2008 for Afc Hithercroft was against the current Division 2 leaders, Prince of Wales, at their pitch in Walton Drive, Totteridge. There had been an overnight frost but it had been dissipated by the sun, although the weather remained chilly. The visitors were without Jason Guy in defence but still had five substitutes available in Ashley Anderson, Dan Birch, Ken Johnson, and John and Mike Baldock. Peter Morgan also came along to give support during his break from university. Pat Vaughey did the linesman’s job for Afc Hithercroft and the referee was Mr A. Whichelow. The game kicked off at 10.28am with Hithercroft playing downhill on the slightly-sloping pitch and into the sun. In the 17th minute a headed shot from P.o.W. was going under the crossbar until keeper, Neil Stretton, jumped to tip the ball over. Two minutes later another shot, this time just above ground level, had Neil going down to gather it. However, from a mis-kicked clearance by Hithercroft the ball fell to the P.o.W. No.6 and he hit a shot that came off Neil and ended up in the back of the net to give the home team a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute. Three minutes later Frank Smith gathered the ball on the left wing, went past a couple of opposing players, turned in towards goal and hit a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box but the ball went just wide of the far post. In the 28th minute Kris Clark took a free-kick from just inside his own half, sending the ball forward to Baz David who headed it on to Kevin Howell. Kevin’s back-header forced the P.o.W. keeper to leap to gather the ball as it was about to go just beneath the crossbar. Frank then had a shot tipped over the crossbar by the P.o.W. keeper and the rest of the first half was played out with no change to the scoreline. During the break Dan Allman stated that he was suffering from a touch of flu and so Hithercroft’s Dan Birch took to the field as his replacement as the half got under way at 11.19am. Two minutes into the half Hithercroft sent the ball into the 18-yard box and, when the P.o.W. defenders failed to clear the ball effectively, Ryan Forbes struck the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net to level the score. On 61 minutes P.o.W. were awarded a free kick about 22 yards from the Hithercroft goal and the ball rebounded from the wall with the follow-up shot being saved by the keeper. Three minutes later Hithercroft took the lead when Baz came in from the left and sent the ball inside from where Kevin hit the ball home. The visiting team were beginning to get on top of the game and were mounting numerous attacks. On 67 minutes Baz again took the ball down the wing and crossed it inside, but this time Kevin’s header was pushed over the crossbar by the keeper. In the 70th minute the P.o.W. No.9 scored an equaliser from about 18-yards and then, two minutes later, their No.13 turned in from the left wing and chipped the ball over the Hithercroft keeper to put them back into the lead. In the 73rd minute Tyrone Francis took the ball down the wing and crossed it into the 6-yard box but Baz’s back-heeled shot from near the post was easily collected by the P.o.W. keeper. Tyrone received a head injury in the 80th minute and, after receiving some attention, had to leave the field and so Ashley Anderson went on as his replacement. John Baldock then went on to replace Kevin Howell and, in the 83rd minute Frank had to leave the pitch for five minutes, suffering from leg cramp. Although seven minutes of injury/stoppage time was played Hithercroft were unable to get an equaliser, despite a lot of pressure, and so P.o.W. ended the game as 3-2 winners. Hithercroft scorers: Ryan Forbes (47m), Kevin Howell (64m) Hithercroft’s M.o.m: Ryan Forbes Hithercroft team: Neil Stretton (GK), Kris Clark, Mark Charman, Luke Revell, Dave Ebberson, Baz David, Frank Smith (Capt), Tyrone Francis, Dan Allman, Ryan Forbes, Kevin Howell Hithercroft subs: Dan Birch replaced Dan Allman (45m), Ashley Anderson replaced Tyrone Francis (80m), John Baldock replaced Kevin Howell (83 m) Unused subs: Mike Baldock and Ken Johnson. |
||
 |
||