retired_destiny1124

17.12.05
Redditch (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)
Our problems with corners continued and it cost us an early goal as Redditch got off on a flyer when Scott Dann deflected a corner past Andy Love- making his return from injury. Andy unfortunately was injured shortly after that and Stuart Cain had to come in for him. We poured on the pressure to try and equalize, but their backline was rock solid and their tackling kept us from getting any good chances to score as we trailed 1-0 at halftime. We kept up the pressure in the second half and subbing on Jamie Horsley and John Connors seemed to help. The equalizer came courtesy of the home side as Sean Flynn scored an own-goal while trying to head away a looping cross. We came close to taking the match, but Connors and Christopher Gilligan both missed close in the late going and we had to settle for the fightback draw. Andy McGregor earned MOM honours for his work in midfield for us. This match completes a nasty stretch of the season. Since the beginning of November, we have only played 2 home matches- out of the 9 played, as all 3 of our Cup/FA Trophy matches were on the road.

retired_kjthes

I'm enjoying this ... particularly as I'm from Holyhead and I had to do a double check to make sure I read the subject correctly. Keep up the good work!

retired_destiny1124

Well, thank you Cro-meister, did not expect to have anyone actually from there following along Hope it will remain enjoyable for you.


***

26.12.05
Holyhead Hotspur (4) Lancaster (0)
This match was closer than the score would indicate and the unsung hero for us was definately Keeper Paul Nicholls, who came up with big saves every time we needed them in earning a clean sheet. It was our turn to get off on a flyer as Stewart Morris' pass allowed Ben Woods to rip a shot past Ryan Yeomans in the opening minute of the match. MOM Michael Tuohy made a dazzling right side run before crossing for James Pike to deflect the ball inside the far left post. Lancaster stormed our end for the rest of the first half, but we kept them off the board thanks to Nicholls. We finally began putting the match away when Christopher Gilligan made a good cross that John Connors, on for Woods, deflected past Yeomans. Pike then capped the scoring as he made it a brace when he deflected a Mark Studley free kick past Yeomans in second half injury time.

***

1.1.06
With the sales of John Mann, Paul Wheatcroft, John Sutton and Lee Davidson final- we are now in the black to the tune of just over 700K. Though the addition of Danny Morgan in a couple weeks will add significantly to our weekly wages, we should still be well under the Board's budgeted amount.

retired_destiny1124

2.1.06
Holyhead Hotspur (3) Vauxhall Motors (0)
We took control of the match early as Neil Teggart delighted The New Oval crowd by scoring a screamer past Saviour Darmanin off a corner from MOM Carl Murkin at 6 minutes for his 1st goal here. We added to that margin when Soloman Henry's pinpoint cross allowed Paul Jenkin to score his 1st goal as he whipped his shot inside the left post. We had a few other chances in the first half, but were content with our lead. We opened the second half more conservatively and kept tight clamps on the visitors throughout the match. Teggart struck for his brace in second half injury time as a beatiful pass from Jenkin set him up to blast one past Darmanin from just inside the edge of the area. The win cost us Mark Studley for the next couple months as he suffered fractured ribs early on in the match.

retired_destiny1124

4.1.06
Nuneaton (0) Holyhead Hotspur (3)
Another match where we proved if we could finish, we could win. Both sides had good chances throughout the match, but we did a much better job around their goal and all three of our goals were the result of beautiful passing combinations. Our first goal came when Stewart Morris whipped a long cross to Jason Osborne on the far side of the pitch. Osborne sent a well-timed pass that found James Pike as he scooted free of his marker. Pike finished well after a quick move with the ball to give us the halftime lead. Nuneaton threatened to equalize early in the second half, but Adrian Bristow cleared a ball off the line and Paul Nicholls tipped an Richard Harris header over the bar. John Connors came on for a tiring Ben Woods and made an immediate impact. Connors found space and MOM Andy McGregor slipped him the ball. Connors put his shot away past Danny Knowles inside the right upright. Pike then clinched the match for us when Jamie Horsley's long, curling pass put him away cleanly and he smashed a shot past Knowles for a brace in finishing off the 3-0 win.

retired_destiny1124

7.1.06
Hednesford (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)
If we had finished as well in this match as our one against Nuneaton- we would have won. Instead we had to fight back in the second half to earn a 1-1 draw at Keys Park. Their goal came later in the first half when our backline got caught scrambling and out of position. That allowed Robert Heath to slip into the area unmarked and he put his shot away past Stuart Cain. It was disappointing going to half behind, because otherwise we had dominated the first half. We kept working in the second half and our efforts finally paid off when MOM Andy McGregor took a pass from Lloyd McGowan and snapped a shot past Craig Parry. We had good chances to win the match, but just were a little bit off on our execution and had to settle for splitting the points.

retired_destiny1124

10.1.06
Stalybridge (0) Holyhead Hotspur (0)
We were fortunate to take points away from this match. Stuart Cain came up with several impressive saves as he kept us from falling behind in the match. Offensively, we did manage a few chances but for the most part we were outplayed in the match. This second long challenging stretch of our schedule- 4 away matches in a row in a ten-day period will finally end with our next match at Leigh RMI on Saturday- seems to have us a bit worn out, despite my efforts to rotate players to keep us fresh. Stalybridge defender Mark Haran earned MOM honours in the match.

retired_destiny1124

14.1.06
Leigh RMI (0) Holyhead Hotspur (4)
We finished off our extended time on the road in fine fashion as we played a superb second half in dumping Leigh RMI 4-0 at Hilton Park. The first half was closely played, but the lead was ours at halftime thanks to Christopher Gilligan dumping a pass over their backline. Neil Teggart outraced Mark Drew for the ball and then fired a shot past James Mann. We built the lead to 2-0 when Stewart Woods showed exquisite timing as he stepped out of a pack on a corner and ripped a volley past Mann for his 1st goal at Holyhead. Leigh's rally attempts were short-circuited when Gavin Lee-Ellison drew a redcard for a professional foul midway through the second half. They couldn't cope with our passing with only 10 men and Drew's desperation tackles caused not one, but two penalty kicks. MOM Carl Murkin converted both of them for the final margin in our 4-0 win. Stuart Cain earned the easy clean sheet.

***

20.1.06
I signed 19 year old center midfielder Jonathan Waugh to a hot prospect contract. This was Waugh's first professional contract and he will likely remain on the Reserves this season.

retired_destiny1124

21.1.06
Holyhead Hotspur (1) Hyde (2)
We deserved the result we received- our poor defending on set pieces allowed them two goals on headers and we wasted many good scoring chances ourselves. This was especially disappointing as we had gotten off to a flying start when Michael Tuohy scored in the 3rd minute. They equalized when Neil Tolson deflected a corner past Andy Love midway through the first half. We hammered away at Mark Westhead, but missed close more times than I care to remember. We had maintained control of the match in the second half, but they converted a free kick as Chris McDonagh deflected it past Love for what would prove to be the match winner. It was a disappointing result for us.

retired_mohinder

lol im from holyhead too, should have used the editor and made the real players :-p