Barn Club - Combination Cup (23/11/2008)
2008 - 2009 Season, Afc Hithercroft



The overnight snow had been melted and dispersed by the early morning rain and the showery weather continued until just after half-time. The sky remained overcast throughout and it remained very cold with the rain making the Holmers Farm pitch muddy and slippery. Afc Hithercroft were missing a number of players and Frank Smith had trouble finding the ground, arriving late, but they had two substitutes available. The referee was Mr Chris Doyle and Pat Vaughey ran the line for Hithercroft.

The game kicked off at 10.33am as the rain began again and Frank took to the field about one and a half minutes later. Barn Club took the lead after 18 minutes when a long ball was played down the middle and Andy Cooper, their big No.10, struck the ball against the right-hand post and it gently rolled across the goal-line and ended up just inside the left-hand post. Two minutes later the home team’s No.7 crossed the ball in from the right and Hithercroft’s Michael Louise, back-to-goal, went up in an attempt to head the ball clear but the ball came off the back of his head and ended up in the net to increase Barn Club’s lead. On 35 minutes Liam Doyle repeated Andy Cooper’s goal with the ball coming off the right-hand post and rolling into the net for a 3-0 lead. Five minutes later Paul Lynch, the Barn Club manager and goalkeeper, came out of the 18-yard box with the ball in his hands and so received a ticking-off from the referee. In the 40th minute a Hithercroft corner kick had Baz David striking a shot that was heading towards the goal but Paul dived to push the ball round the post.

The second half got under way at 11.23am and was played without the rain, which kept away for most of the half. In the 56th minute Hithercroft made the first of their two substitutions sending on Zeesham Ullah to replace Shakib Latif. Three minutes later Mike Martin increased the Barn Club lead when he scored their 4th goal. In the 62nd minute Andy Cooper hit a shot that rebounded from the crossbar, coming close to increasing his team’s lead. Jamal Blake came on in the 67th minute to replace Jahmel Sutton for Hithercroft. Baz came close in the 72nd minute when he hit a free-kick just wide of the top right-hand corner. One minute later the referee produced a yellow card to Barn Club‘s Mike Martin, presumably for an unfair tackle. Hithercroft had improved a great deal for the final 20 minutes and were pressing for a consolation goal. Batiste Lopez sent a 25-yard shot towards the top left-hand corner of the net but the keeper pushed the ball wide. Paul also saved from a Jamal Blake shot on 73 minutes and when the final whistle went (2 minutes early) it was the Premier Division side that went through to the next round with a 4-0 win..

Hithercroft M.o.m: Ryan Forbes

Hithercroft team: Neil Stretton (GK), Batiste Lopez, John Harry, Luke Revell, Michael Louise, Frank Smith, Tyrone Francis, Ryan Forbes, Baz David, Shakib Latif, Jahmel Sutton (capt)
Hithercroft subs: Zeesham Ullah replaced Shakib Latif (56m)
Jamal Blake replaced Jahmel Sutton (67m)

Barn Club’s scorers: Andy Cooper (18m), Michael Louise (20m o.g), Liam Doyle (35m), Mike Martin (59m)