14/11/2015 – Hedinghams United FC versus Little Oakley FC Reserves

ESSEX & SUFFOLK BORDER FOOTBALL LEAGUE                  DIVISION ONE

 

HEDINGHAMS UNITED FC:      3.       LITTLE OAKLEY FC RESERVES: 2.

 

Date:   Saturday 14^th November 2015.                    Venue: Lawn Meadow, Sible Hedingham

 

If I thought last week was wild, windy at wet, then welcome to Lawn Meadow at Sible Hedingham, home of Hedinghams United FC, as here it was very cold and you have a pitch with probably the most pronounced slope in the ESBFL. That said, and I cannot say the pitch would be a leveller as both teams tried to adapt to the driving rain a greasy ball and a heavy pitch with a good grass covering.

 

I was welcomed by Club Chairman, Gary Heather, and another committee member whose name has slipped my mind but that gentleman then ran the line and who after supplying a welcome cup of tea they proceeded to update me on the plans for the clubhouse and the future, we wish them well in this project. Little Oakley FC Reserves had been riding high in the league and were second placed before kick-off with the home team sitting in sixth place, three points behind but with two games in hand, so I did expect a close game.

 

The Match Official for this fixture was local referee, Andrew French, no I’m not stalking him, despite this being the third match I have watched him officiate this season, and after the respect handshake and a minutes silence for those who lost their lives in the overnight atrocity in Paris he started the match which would be heavily influenced by the weather.

 

Little Oakley got the game going, kicking down the slope, but within one minute the ball entered a thicket behind the lower goal and proceeded to deflate so a change of ball was quickly made. The early pressure came not unexpectedly from the home team, who are having a much better season this year having appeared to have struggled for several preceding years. They managed to pin the visitors inside their own half despite Duly trying a long shot from just inside the home half with keeper George (L) standing on the edge of his penalty area, fortunately the ball drifted just too high and wide but it was the first real effort at goal from either side. Pyman went down rather theatrically under a challenge from Roots (D) with referee French waving aside any calls for a penalty or even a free-kick but when Mills fouled Pratt thirty-five yards out Duly stepped up to take the free-kick which Chandler headed clear for the first corner. Mid-fielders Argent and Good received some words from the referee after a small altercation with Duly taking a corner on the right only for Mills to be impeded as he tried to clear the danger. On ten minutes a through ball from Smith found Pratt clear but ahead of the defence when the ball was played so play was brought back for an off-side decision despite keeper George (L) making sure that no goal would be scored if the decision had been over-turned.

Little Oakley seemed buoyed by this better passage of play and another move started at the back with Roots (D) getting the ball forward to Elmer, then Eades before a cross from Pratt was caught by keeper, George (L). The visitors kept that momentum going and on fourteen minutes Roots (D) was fouled by Welch, just outside the penalty area, but despite four players forming a defensive wall LIAM DULY struck a fine dipping effort over their heads with the ball dropping low into the corner of the net and with the keeper unable to make any attempt to save. The Hedingham response as almost immediate as on seventeen minutes Pyman was fouled by Good, wide on the left side, Argent stepped up to play a low cross into the penalty area and with most players missing the loose ball it fell to BARRIE PULLINGER, lurking near the far post, to turn the ball goalwards and beat keeper Long, low to his left hand side. With the playing surface becoming heavier players were seen struggling with keeping their footing but Eldridge managed to take a run down the right side but could only place his chipped effort wide.

As we approached the half-way mark both teams had put in a lot of effort, Argent found Pullinger who took on Kioussis up the slope to gain a corner kick, whilst at the other end a ball from Duly ricocheted off a defender to reach Good who lobbed the decent chance just over the cross-bar. George (S) got himself involved in an off-the-ball situation with Smith and received a caution with respective skippers Pyman and Kioussis called together to get their players to calm down as things appeared to get a bit heated, however, Smith had obviously not listened as within minutes he was also cautioned for a needless foul on George (S). Pullinger put Crush through on goal with keeper Long, winning the one-on-one chance, saving with his body and when play broke downfield Duly scampered away down the left wing finding Pratt who nudged the ball on to Good but Chandler was on hand to clear. Duly then set up Pratt whose cross found Elmer but his weak touch eluded the gaping net, with Elmer then fouling Jones as he chased down another short clearance, the players shaking hands in acknowledgement of the clumsy challenge. Webb intercepted another cross from the left side by Good and with play moving swiftly up-field, Pyman chested the ball down from a forward pass by Webb then lost his footing when trying to retrieve the loose ball and both teams continued to challenge every decision in this close contest. Eades found Good, this time on the right side but poor control by Duly allowed the ball to skip through to the keeper. With just three minutes to half-time, Little Oakley took the lead, as when Pratt found space down the right wing, he drifted past Jones and sent a low cross goalwards where JAMIE SMITH turned the ball home from inside the six yard box, but the home team also had a chance to draw level when Pyman inexplicably managed to miss an almost open goal, this from a low driven cross by George (S) after Kioussis had failed to head the ball clear.

 

HALF-TIME:       1 – 2

 

At the half-time restart, Little Oakley replaced Eldridge with Roots (J) with Roots (D) switching to the right side of the visitors defence but it was central defender Kioussis who received a warning from the referee for a poor challenge on Pyman. Duly and Roots (D) got the ball forward to Pratt but once again he was too quick off the mark and was rightly flagged off-side but pace from either team against any defender who had to turn and chase could well produce a match winner. Hedinghams themselves, well four players at least, were caught off-side as they retreated up the slope after an attack but all turned to chase the long clearance from George (L). Five minutes into the half and Pratt was again frustrated by the linesman’s flag, another correct decision from where I stood sheltering under a big oak tree with Roots (D) feeding Good whose pass found Pratt however the experienced Mills moved across to guide the ball back to his keeper. For the visitors, Duly had been the playmaker through midfield with Pratt always trying to use his pace to get onto the long ball forward, whereas for Hedinghams George (S) and Argent where firstly defending then playing good balls forward to Crush and Pyman with Pullinger often pulling away from his marker and make use of any space.

Ten minutes into the half the visitors replaced Good with Harte and George tested the referees patience to receive another verbal reprimand, but this time it was obvious this was his last chance, talk about playing on the edge! Pratt continued to chase long balls up the slope and as the rain continued it was getting gradually darker but still light enough for the referee to see Webb foul Pratt from behind, just as he approached the penalty area. When Hedinghams used the slope to their advantage, Crush slipped past Kioussis with a deft movement of his body, moving forward to play the ball wide to Pyman, then on to Webb, whose first time shot cannoned off the back of Roots (J) for a corner. Argent floated over a high ball towards the far post where JAMIE CHANDLER rose above everybody to head firmly home for the equalising goal and suddenly this game came to life again. Chandler was soon in action again, chasing back, uphill to not only catch Pratt but also make a fine tackle to dispossess the visitors forward but the visitors did persist in this long ball approach and perhaps played into the hands of the home defence where Chandler and Mills looked more solid this half.

This half it was Hedinghams who now, perhaps, had the advantage, playing down the slope, we had witnessed four goals but neither goal-keeper had really been troubled as evidenced by the lack of saves required to be made but from now on with twenty minutes to play this game could still fall either way. Jones blazed past the right hand upright and Hedinghams replaced Crush with Tyler whilst Webb took out Pratt, in full flow and perhaps was lucky to avoid a caution as the offence, by almost the last player, was just outside the penalty area with Pratt running across the pitch from left to right. Once again Duly lined up the free-kick but watched agonizingly as the ball drifted just wide of the left hand post and cross-bar. More free-kicks followed as players from both sides tired, Long just managed to smother, a loose ball at the second attempt this after the ball had looped up off a block tackle made by Kioussis and we entered the last ten minutes.

Was a draw at this stage a just result, probably yes, but players did not seem keen to keep the scores level as first Eades embarked on a run from his own penalty area with the move continued by Pratt until George (L) held the weak shot, whilst at the other end Pyman gave chase across the penalty area only to be bundled over by Kioussis who conceded the penalty without any argument. With usual penalty taker Pyman injured from the tackle it was left to SAM GEORGE to stroke home the penalty kick with the home team celebrating and with Pyman being replaced by Madeley. Jones handled a cross by Duly who took the free-kick but still could not reproduce a free-kick like his goal in the first half and Little Oakley kept up their approach with Roots (J) getting the ball to Pratt but the shot from Duly found the safe arms of George (L) and with the last action Mills dived into a challenge and cleared when Elmer threatened right on full time.

 

FULL TIME:        3 – 2

 

Well, I expected a close game and this was what we witnessed, all players must have been exhausted after all the effort put during a game playing in atrocious conditions and when the scores were level it became a one goal lottery, a piece of skill or a mistake so the penalty decided the end result.

 

This week my selection for a Man-of-the Match, I had earmarked several players, Pratt, Kioussis and Duly worked hard for Little Oakley FC Reserves, the latter player having scored with a finely struck first half free-kick. However, despite further decent performances from Pyman, Pullinger, and George (S) the latter two had also scored it was the third Hedingham scorer and defender Jamie Chandler that gets my vote, solid in defence all afternoon using his pace on numerous occasions in the second half to stop the threat of the equally quick opposition forwards.

 

Teams:

 

HEDINGHAMS UNITED FC         Colours: Red & Black Shirts, Black Shorts, Red & Black hooped Socks.

Liam George., Daniel Webb., Samuel Jones., Danny Welch., Jamie Chandler., David Mills., Ryan Crush., Keith Argent., Barrie Pullinger., Alec Pyman (C)., Sam George.

 

Manager:                        Nicholas O’Dell.

Used Substitutes:             Tom Madeley., Callum Tyler.

Unused Substitutes:         Nicholas O’Dell.

 

 

LITTLE OAKLEY FC RESERVES:   Colours: Blue & Black shirts, Black Shorts, Black Socks.

Ashley Long., Adam Eldridge., Daniel Roots., Nathan Kioussis (C)., Richard Green., Jamie Smith., Liam Duly., Matthew Good., Daryl Elmer., Jamie Eades., Robert Pratt.

 

Manager:                        Gary Kioussis

Assistant Manager:           Paul Beasley.

Used Substitutes:             James Roots., Reece Harte.

 

 

Referee:                        Andrew French                (Halstead).

 

 

Man of the Match:          Jamie CHANDLER                                        (HEDINGHAMS UNITED FC)