Club News 2006 - 2007

Alan McKie
Des Ife 18th August 2006 15:35 GMT

Our 17 year-old defender Alan McKie has been achieving some remarkable results in the high jump this season. In the World Junior Trials & AAA U20's Championship meeting in Bedford in July he cleared a superb 2.01 metres to finish in 3rd place. Then on 13th August he achieved a lifetime best when he cleared 2.07 metres at the National Junior League meeting at Eton. He has now helped his team, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow, reach the National League Finals to be held in Derby in September.

Pedestal Pitch Widened
Des Ife 13th October 2006 16:00 GMT

Today Des & Pam marked out the pitch and increased the width by 12 feet on either side.

Alan McKie
Des Ife 19th January 2007 17:35 GMT

Defender Alan McKie has again improved on his previous best in the high jump this season. Last Sunday he won the Open Indoor meet at Brunel University with a 2.03 metre clearance and then went on to clear 2.06 metres and 2.09 metres, surpassing his previous best of 2.07 metres. He then achieved 2.12 metres and is close to the European Junior Championship height of 2.15 metres.

Alan McKie wins Gold
Des Ife 9th February 2007 17:35 GMT

Alan McKie won the high jump for England U20s on his International debut in the Celtic Trophy meeting on 3rd February. After seeing off Irish international Conal Flanagan at 2.07 metres he went on to clear 2.11 metres. He now has four months in hand to achieve the European Junior Championship qualification height of 2.15 metres.

Alan McKie to represent Great Britain
Des Ife 16th February 2007 16:00 GMT

Alan McKie has been called up into the Great Britain U20s squad to compete in the high jump against The Netherlands at Lee Valley Stadium on Wednesday 21st February. This is a tremendous achievement as he only took up high-jumping last May.

Alan McKie up amongst the Seniors
Des Ife 22nd February 2007 16:00 GMT

At the Norwich Union Jump International between GB and the Netherland at Lee Valley on 21st February 2007 Under 20s contestant Alan McKie (Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow AC) equalled his high jump PB of 2.12m in a competition won by Samson Oni (Belgrave Harriers) at 2.18m. See below for the results which show that he saw off the other Under 20s and Under 23s contestants.

Alan also went closer than ever before to 2.15m, which is the European Juniors qualifying height for this summer. “I thought I was over it at the first attempt,” he said. He described the match format as “brilliant” and explained: “Being able to chat with Rob (Mitchell) and Samson was good. Rob gave me a tip about my run-up, but that remains a secret between us!”

Mens High Jump Results

1 Samson Oni (guest) 2.18; 2 Jan-Peter Larsen (guest) 2.18; 3 Rob Mitchell (GBR, Sen) 2.15; 4 Martijn Nuijens (NED, Sen) 2.12; 5 Alan McKie (GBR, U20) 2.12; 6 Tom Parsons (guest) 2.12; 7 Robbie Grabarz (GBR, U23) 2.09; 8 Roy Van Meel (NED, U18) 2.04; 9 Jasper de Lange (NED, U20) 1.99; 10 Vincent Bos (NED, U23) 1.99; 11 Chris Baker (GBR, U18) 1.89.

Brian Lewis to open cafe in Eden shopping centre
Des Ife 15th April 2007 00:30 GMT

Our coach, Brian Lewis, will be opening and running 'Food Fountain', a small cafe and takeaway, inside the bus station in Bridge Street. The staff slogan will be 'You Name It - We'll Make It' so it will present them with quite a challenge. Please give him your support and custom.

Alan McKie
Des Ife 6th May 2007 11:55 GMT

Defender Alan McKie has won the NJAL high jump at Lee Valley on 29th April clearing a height of 2.10 metres.

Afc Hithercroft’s Season Review 2006-7
Des Ife 6th May 2007 11:55 GMT

This season Hithercroft Youth had been promoted from Division 5 to Division 3 and they had changed their name to Afc Hithercroft, as the ‘Youth’ part of the name was no longer applicable.

August
Three friendly games were arranged for August to give our players the opportunity to play together and to allow new applicants to be auditioned. The first game was against FC Dun & Bradstreet, who would be playing in Division 1 this season, and resulted in a 1-1 draw. Three new players turned out for Hithercroft - Dougie Carswell, Leon Browne and Frank Smith (who was rejoining us after having departed a couple of seasons earlier). Our next game was against Wye Rangers and ended up with a 1-0 win for Hithercroft. Our goalkeeper, Matt Hedges, had left us after last week’s game and so Dougie Carswell took on the keeper’s role until the last 20 minutes when Alan McKie took over. Alex Fryer, Ashley Anderson and Joe McLanahan were given their first outing for the club. Our final friendly was against the Premier Division side Golden Fleece which was won 4-2 by our visitors. Both of the Hithercroft goals came from players new to the club (Simon Woodbine and Andre Neverson) and Alan McKie took on the goalkeeping position again.

September
The league season got under way on 3rd September, Hithercroft again being without a goalkeeper to call on and so Dougie put on the gloves for our 7-2 home win over Biffa. Frank scored a hat-trick with Paul getting two goals and Baz and Simon completing the scoring. The next week was also a home game and we emerged 7-1 winners over Wycombe Marsh R.B.L with Neil Stretton, who was later to become our regular goalkeeper, making his first appearance for us. Baz scored a hat-trick in this game with Paul, Tyrone (penalty) and Frank adding one each and our opponents contributing an own goal. Next up was an away game against Pheasant and, as Neil was unavailable, coach Brian Lewis went into goal. The game was lost 1-4 with Kevin Howell scoring for us on his debut. Brian again went in goal when we went to play Hithercroft Res at Broomwade and we won 3-1, two goals coming from Tyrone and Baz getting one from the penalty spot.

October
For October we had the services of Neil except for the final game when Brian had to cover the goalkeeping position. We started well with a 9-0 away win over Wycombe Hermits, Ashley getting a hat-trick, Baz scoring twice (once from the penalty spot), Frank, Tyrone, Matt Seaton and Kevin Howell adding the others. Kris Clark made his first appearance for our team and David Blackman made his last. The next week was a B & B Cup game away at Pheasant and we gained our revenge over them with an 8-1 win, Ashley again scoring a hat-trick, Baz and Kevin Howell scoring two each and Dewayne scoring once. On 15th we came up against Italia Unita of the Premier Division in the Challenge Cup where we went down 1-7, our only goal being scored by Paul. Our next game, also away, was a league game against Greyhound and we were thoroughly beaten 1-9 with Kevin getting our solitary goal. Our final game of the month was away against Marston 2000 FC in the B & B Cup and we emerged 3-2 winners with Tyrone, Jamaine Humphrey and Frank (penalty) providing our goals.

November
This month started and ended badly for Hithercroft with only ten players available for our first game, away against Biffa. We lost 1-3 with Ashley getting our single goal. We won our next home game 3-0 against Four Seasons with Kevin Howell scoring twice and Ashley once, Dewayne taking up the keeper’s position in Neil’s absence. Kevin Midgley, John and Mike Baldock and Ryan Forbes made their debuts for us in this game. Dewayne covered again in the following match, at home against Wycombe Hermits and we won 5-0 with Baz scoring a hat-trick and Richard McKie adding the others, one from the penalty spot. Our last game was lost to Wycombe Town ‘A’ 1-4, with Baz scoring our goal before having to leave the pitch for the final half-hour with an injury that left just 10 players to complete the game.

December
December saw us win all three of our games with Dewayne covering for Neil in the second and third games. We beat Three Horseshoes 3-2 at home with two goals from Ashley and one from Tyrone. We then went to Wycombe Marsh R.B.L and won 4-1, Ashley scoring twice and Kevin and Tyrone completing our tally. On 17th we travelled to play Rose & Crown Rovers in the B & B Cup and won the game 2-1 with goals from Baz and Ryan.

January
Our B & B Cup run came to and end on 14th when we lost to Division 2 side FC Beacons Bottom. It was 2-2 at the end of normal time, Frank having scored our first goal and Baz scored our second in the final seconds of normal time to send the game into extra time. Baz added his second goal but we went out of the competition, losing 3-4. The next game was lost 2-4 to Greyhound, Ashley scoring both of our goals against the best side in our division. Our last game of the month was away against Four Seasons and we won 7-1 with Ashley, Tyrone and Kevin Howell scoring two each and Frank scoring once. One of Kevin’s goals was scored from the penalty spot.

February
Our first game of this month was away against Three Horseshoes and, with the game scoreless at half time, we succumbed to 3 goals without reply in the second half and this was a most unexpected result that could have cost us the runners-up spot in the division. Our next game was played at home to Pheasant and we won 7-1 with goals from Kevin Howell (2), John Baldock (2), Frank, Baz and Craig. The following week we only managed a 1-1 draw against Wycombe Town ‘A’, John getting our goal. This gave us even more problems regarding our attempts to finish second in the division. Our home game against Hithercroft Res gave us a 7-3 win, Frank getting a hat-trick, Kevin Howell scoring twice, and Baz and Kevin Midgley adding one each.

March
On 11th we again met Hithercroft Res at the Pedestal, this time in the group rounds of the Subsidiary Junior Cup, and lost 1-4. We had scored two own-goals to help our opponents, Frank having provided our goal at the correct end of the pitch. Hithercroft Res are now in an excellent position to go through into the semi-finals. On 25th we had the first of two consecutive games with Chinnor Athletic, the only team that can deprive us of the runners-up position as other Division 3 results had been favourable for us. Our first game was at home and we won 5-2 with goals from Tyrone, Mike, Kevin Howell, Frank and an own-goal by our opponents.

April
On 1st we went to Chinnor’s ground and came away with an identical score-line of 5-2, Baz having scored a hat-trick and Frank and Kevin Howell providing the others. We had completed the league season with a total of 40 points and had to await the results of Chinnor’s remaining three games to find out if we could retain 2nd spot. They had 32 points and needed to win all three games to dislodge us. Chinnor still had to play Greyhound both home and away, Greyhound already being division champions so far having played 17, won 15 and drawn 2. On 8th in the Subsidiary Junior Cup Longwick Sports Club beat Hithercroft Res 2-1 and so we now had a chance to go through to the Semi-Finals. To do so we would need to win our remaining two games to put us level with Hithercroft Res and Longwick. Then goal difference would come into play and so we would need to win by at least 9 goals across these two matches. On 15th we played Longwick Sports Club and, with Neil being unavailable, Alan McKie returned to take over the goalkeeping role. With many players missing we won 3-2 with Baz scoring the first and Kevin Howell adding two more and so needed to beat Red Lion by 8 clear goals the following week. On a brighter note Greyhound beat Chinnor Athletic and so Afc Hithercroft finished the season as runners-up in Division 3 and so gained promotion for the second consecutive season. On 22nd we went to play Red Lion in the Cup and despite a 4-2 win, 2 goals coming from Frank (one a penalty) and Kevin Howell and Mike adding one apiece, we went out of the cup on goal difference and this brought our season to a close.

Alan McKie
Des Ife 14th May 2007 11:55 BST

Defender Alan McKie has won the Bucks County Championships on 12th May clearing a height of 1.95 metres, well below his best height this season.

Alan McKie
Des Ife 1st June 2007 11:55 BST

Last weekend Alan McKie secured a top-ten finish at the UK Inter-Counties Athletics Championships in Bedford. In sodden conditions he recorded a height of 2.09 metres to take equal 4th place and in a couple of weeks he represents the Senior England team in an international event in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Alan McKie
Des Ife 4th June 2007 15:00 BST

On 2nd June Alan McKie won the BAL Division 1 Match 2 at Lee Valley with a superb personal best of 2.16 metres, exceeding the European Junior Championship qualification height of 2.15 metres. Unfortunately this event is not a qualifying event and he has until 23rd June to achieve this. Well done!!!

Alan McKie
Des Ife 7th June 2007 15:30 BST

On 5th June Alan McKie competed as a Senior in the International match in Bratislava, Slovakia and cleared 2.10 metres to finish in 3rd place. An excellent achievement. Onwards and upwards Alan!