Pheasant - League (05/10/2008)
2008 - 2009 Season, Afc Hithercroft



For a change it was a wet day at the Rye for this game with rain falling constantly throughout. This formed puddles in the centre of the pitch that slowed the ball down and the grassy areas were very soggy, causing the ball to speed up. Afc Hithercroft had seven subs for this game, one being Baz David who was about to make his return after having been out following an ankle injury.

At 10.32am the game got under way and within a minute Hithercroft were awarded a corner kick on the left. Frank Smith sent in a high ball which was cleared as far as Ryan Forbes who hit a 30-yard shot over the Pheasant crossbar. In the 11th minute Norman McCorkell narrowly missed the Hithercroft goal when he hit a shot as he ran in. On 16 minutes Frank sent in a head-height ball from a corner kick on the right, the keeper dropped the ball but went down on it as Jahmel Sutton ran in to try a shot. Hithercroft then suffered a few injuries, first John Harry and then Niko Catigoudis receiving arm and shoulder injuries respectively and then, on 32 minutes, Tyrone Francis had to leave the field for a few minutes whilst an ankle injury was treated. On 44 minutes Frank hit a shot from about 25 yards but the Pheasant keeper leaped up and tipped the ball out. At the interval neither team had managed to get on the score sheet.

At 11.23am the second half began and, after 10 minutes, Pheasant had taken the lead. Dom Bryant chased the ball into the 18-yard box as Neil Stretton came out to clear it but the ball came out of Neil’s hands and Dom ran on to hit the ball into the middle of an empty net. On 59 minutes Niko Catigoudis came off to be replaced by Baz, making his return after a long absence through injury. Seven minutes later Hithercroft made another substitution, sending on Mark Charman to replace Jason Guy. In the 69th minute Frank played the ball down the left, Baz collected it and brushed off a defender before hitting the ball into the net to level the score. However, three minutes later Baz went down having hurt his right ankle, the same one that had kept him out of the game for weeks. After a few minutes it became obvious that Baz would be unable to continue and so Jamal Blake went on as his replacement. On 71 minutes Pheasant sent the ball into the middle and Norman McCorkell struck the ball into the Hithercroft net to retake the lead. Hithercroft tried hard to get an equaliser but were unable to do so, the game ending in a 2-1 win for Pheasant.

Hithercroft scorer: Baz David (69m)

Hithercroft M.o.m: ?

Hithercroft team: Neil Stretton (GK), Jason Guy, Luke Revell, Dan Allman, Ryan Forbes, John Harry, Frank Smith, Tyrone Francis, Niko Catigoudis, Ross Drabble, Jahmel Sutton (capt)
Hithercroft subs: Baz David replaced Niko Catigoudis (59m), Mark Charman replaced Jason Guy (66m), Jamal Blake replaced Baz David (69m)
Unused subs: Shakib Latif, Michael Louise, Matt Turner, Glenn Allman

Pheasant scorers: Dom Bryant (55m), Norman McCorkell (71m)