 |
||
| Stokenchurch
- League (13/01/2008) 2007 - 2008 Season, Afc Hithercroft  The third meeting of these two sides this season took place at the Pedestal on a dry, cold and windy day and the pitch was fairly soft following a lot of rain during the week. Afc Hithercroft wore yellow shirts to avoid the colour clash and they were without Kevin Howell, Dan Charman, Ashley Anderson and keeper Neil Stretton so Dan Allman took the goalkeeper’s role. The referee was Mr Eric Faulkner, whilst Pat Vaughey ran the line for Hithercroft and Clive Chard ran the line for Stokenchurch. The game began at 10.36am with Hithercroft playing from left to right, as viewed from the clubhouse, and into the strong and gusty wind. After 90 seconds Stokenchurch were awarded a corner kick on the right and Dan Mitchell sent in a high ball that was caught by the wind and curled into the top right-hand corner of the net. In the 8th minute the home team were awarded a free kick and Baz David sent in a curling shot that was blocked by the keeper but the ball fell to Kris Clark’s feet and he struck it into the net to level the score. On 16 minutes Lee Nutall was spoken to by the referee as Hithercroft were about to take a corner kick. Before the kick could be taken Lee then backed into a Hithercroft player and back-headed him but this was not seen by the referee. When Jason Guy was tackled from behind by this same player the referee had stern words with him. In the 31st minute the Stokenchurch No.14 was shown a yellow card following a bad tackle and, six minutes later their No.11 also had his name taken, this time for dissent when the Hithercroft linesman flagged to indicate that the ball had gone out of play for a throw-in. A number of free-kicks were awarded to Hithercroft in response to trips, pushes and bad tackles from their opponents but the scoreline remained at 1-all at the end of the first half. At 11.28am the second half began with Hithercroft now having the advantage of the strong wind. Shortly after the second half began Lee Nutall attempted to trip Baz David, who retaliated with a push, and both players received a booking. As this was the second booking of the game for Lee he was therefore sent off, leaving Stokenchurch with only ten players. Hithercroft began to break through the weakened defence more easily but their poor finishing was letting them down. On the hour Tyrone Francis played the ball into the middle and John Baldock ran in to head the ball into the visitor’s net to put Hithercroft into the lead for the first time in the match. Two minutes later the ball was send down the middle and, as the Stokenchurch keeper came forward, Baz chipped the ball over the keeper’s head, ran round and sent the ball into the open net to put Hithercroft 3-1 ahead. In the 69th minute Baz took the ball down the right, crossed it into the centre and Frank Smith came in from the left to strike the ball inside the far post to score Hithercroft’s fourth goal. Ken Johnson then came on to replace John Baldock in the Hithercroft team. On 73 minutes Stokenchurch won a corner on the left, their No.8 sent in a high ball which eventually fell to their No.16 who turned and hit his shot over the crossbar. Tyrone left the field suffering from leg cramp but returned after a five-minute break. Tyrone came close to scoring in the 80th minute when his goal-bound shot was deflected by a defender and then, one minute later, Ken had a shot that was tipped over the crossbar by the Stokenchurch keeper. In the 89th minute the Stokenchurch No.3 was booked following a tackle on Mike Baldock and a free-kick was awarded. Baz sent the ball into the 18-yard box but the keeper punched it clear. At the end of 91 minutes the final whistle saw Afc Hithercroft with a 4-1 victory. Following a rather nasty first half Stokenchurch settled down after Lee Nutall’s sending-off and began to play some good football right up to the end of the game. Hithercroft scorers: Kris Clark (8m), John Baldock (60m), Baz David (62m), Frank Smith (69m) Hithercroft’s M.o.m: Ryan Forbes Hithercroft team: Dan Allman (GK), Kris Clark, Jason Guy, Luke Revell, Dave Ebberson, Mike Baldock, John Baldock, Baz David, Frank Smith (Capt), Tyrone Francis, Ryan Forbes, Hithercroft sub: Ken Johnson replaced John Baldock (69m) Stokenchurch scorer: Dan Williams (90 secs) |
||
 |
||