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| Wycombe
Town - League Cup (24/02/2008) 2007 - 2008 Season, Afc Hithercroft  This game had been postponed from the previous week owing to a frozen pitch but on this occasion the weather was sunny with a wind blowing across the pitch towards the clubhouse. The playing surface was damp but in good condition given the ongoing mole activity and some frosty mornings during the week. Wycombe Town have won all of their league games this season and are comfortably at the top of the Premier Division. The appointed officials were Mr Paul Lomas with his two assistants Mr T. Crystal and Mr K. Tribe. At 10.32am the game began with Afc Hithercroft playing from left to right, when viewed from the clubhouse, and towards the sun. On 14 minutes, Hithercroft failing to clear the ball from the goal area, allowed Andrew Nicol to put the ball into the back of the net to give the visitors the first goal of the match. Two minutes later, from a Wycombe Town free-kick, Leigh Mason hit a shot towards the top right-hand corner of the net but keeper, Neil Stretton, rose up to gather it. One minute later Leigh had another shot which was blocked by the keeper but the ball fell to Mark Nugent who struck the ball home to put Wycombe 2-0 ahead. In the 28th minute Hithercroft’s Tyrone Francis turned his ankle and had to leave the field, being replaced by Ryan Forbes. Six minutes later Hithercroft crossed the ball into the centre, Kevin Howell took it forward and struck the ball between the diving keeper and the right-hand post to put Hithercroft on the score-sheet. Sixty seconds later Hithercroft played the ball in from the right and Dan Allman hit a 30-yard shot but sent the ball wide of the left-hand post. In the 39th minute the visitors sent in a high ball from a corner kick on the right, Mark Nugent chested the ball down, turned and tried a shot but Jason Guy cleared the ball from his goal-line. Two minutes before the interval Hithercroft’s Luke Revell was shown a yellow card following a dubious tackle. The second half got under way at 11.25am, Wycombe Town having made a substitution at the break. In the 48th minute Leigh Mason received the ball and hit a 25-yard shot into the Hithercroft net to put Wycombe 3-1 ahead. Three minutes later Hithercroft’s Baz David received a leg injury and went off for treatment but, despite rejoining the game for a 10-minute spell, he was in obvious pain and was replaced by Dave Ebberson. On 64 minutes Andrew Nicol sent the ball forward and Mark Nugent hammered the ball from the edge of the 18-yard box into the net to put Wycombe 4-1 ahead. Another goal was added six minutes later, this time from a header by Andrew Nicol. Josh Peters was replaced by Mike Baldock for Hithercroft after 82 minutes. Five minutes later Mark Nugent played the ball into the middle and Jack Harding ran in to score Wycombe’s sixth. In the 89th minute Hithercroft’s Ryan Forbes had his name taken by the referee and then, in the first minute of added time Andrew Nicol completed his hat trick, side-footing the ball into the net to give Wycombe Town a 7-1 win and so progress into the Semi-Final. Wycombe Town had demonstrated excellent footballing skills throughout the game with accurate passing and superb positional play and thoroughly deserved their win. Hithercroft scorer: Kevin Howell (34m) Hithercroft team: Neil Stretton (GK), Kris Clark, Jason Guy, Luke Revell, Mark Charman, Baz David, Frank Smith (Capt), Tyrone Francis, Kevin Howell, Josh Peters and Dan Allman Hithercroft subs: Ryan Forbes replaced Tyrone Francis (28m), Dave Ebberson replaced Baz David (62m), Mike Baldock replaced Josh Peters (82m) Unused subs: Ken Johnson and John Baldock Wycombe Town’s scorers: Andrew Nicol (14m, 70m, 91m), Mark Nugent (17m, 64m), Leigh Mason (48m), Jack Harding (87m) |
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