It has been quite a struggle sherm and I think that my poor players need a bit more help than reading some of my drivel 
March 2007
Saturday 3rd
Conference South Matchday 32
Bishops Stortford 1 Hemel 0
Jordan Fowler (33)
Man of the Match – Alifie Kamara (Hemel)
Attendance – 509
Having competed well for half an hour it was frustrating to concede a goal from a long range free kick although Tony was first to admit that Fowler’s effort was top notch, the ball curling into the top corner with Bossu well beaten. His team saw a lot of the ball but despite some intelligent promptings from Kamara in central midfield they only forced the home keeper into action once, Keith failing to convert a decent one-on-one after a hopeful punt upfield. A win for Braintree and a draw for Farnborough meant that the two teams immediately above them moved four points clear with ten leagues left to contest.
Tuesday 6th
Conference South Matchday 33
Bognor Regis 0 Hemel 2
Kevin Austin (23), Ian Shields (90 +3)
Man of the Match – Ian Shields (Hemel)
Attendance – 179
A trip to 17th place Bognor offered a glimmer of hope and with the Hemel midfield working hard to close the game down the home side were rendered ineffective for most of the match. Austin glanced home a header from a near post corner by Yoki to open the scoring midway through the first half and for once Tony’s side had a lead to protect rather than a deficit to chase. And protect it they did, defending from the front and closing down their opponents all over the pitch. A red card for young Bognor centre back Steve May in the 84th minute was a welcome boost to some tiring players and teenager Shields made the points safe with a jinking run and shot deep in stoppage time. Their first win in 13 attempts was sweet although a victory for Braintree at home to Farnborough saw the Essex side move out of the bottom three, Basingstoke dropping down to 20th.
Saturday 10th
Conference South Matchday 34
Hemel 2 Newport County 3
Luke Vincent (38, 75) - Kevin Austin (o.g. 39), Charlie Griffin (68), Paul Cochlin (78)
Man of the Match – Paul Cochlin (Newport County)
Attendance – 228
Buoyed by a win at last Hemel started the match positively and on 20 minutes the lively Vincent looked to have put them in front only to be denied by a very late offside flag. Five minutes later the visitors were awarded a penalty but keeper Bossu kept his eye on the ball and pulled off an excellent save to keep the game goalless. The home side took a deserved lead on 38 when Vincent latched on to a well judged long ball to get behind the defence and tuck the ball away neatly. But just 60 seconds later it was all square as Austin misplaced his intended back pass to gift Newport an equaliser. A dreadful goalkeeping error presented the visitors with a second goal with just over 20 minutes remaining as Bossu failed to control a pass from Ness. Vincent scored his second of the afternoon with a close range header with quarter of an hour remaining but parity lasted a bare three minutes, Newport getting the winner from a corner. The defeat was a blow, made all the worse by Farnborough and Basingstoke both winning to leave Hemel adrift at the bottom of the table.
Saturday 17th
Conference South Matchday 35
Hemel 1 Lewes 0
Alifie Kamara (17)
Man of the Match – Joe Keith (Hemel)
Attendance – 223
Centre back Danny Black was absent through injury for the visit of the league leaders so Jon Hogg was called up from the reserves for more first team action. Urged on by young captain Kamara, Hemel were in determined mood and took the lead when the midfielder drifted free from the Lewes defence to head home Gill’s perfectly flighted free kick. The visitors came back strongly but the home defence held out magnificently, Bossu making some key saves and the midfield working manfully to protect their slender advantage and the victory was gained. In the circumstances Tony felt that the win was by far their best performance of the season even though his team still remained rooted at the foot of the table. Farnborough maintained their excellent form with another win, their 8th in the last 14 matches, a period during which they had been defeated just twice. Histon had now dropped into the bottom three and it looked like the relegation places would be contested by five clubs.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | Braintree | 35 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 35 | 46 | -11 | 34 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | Basingstoke | 35 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 49 | 57 | -8 | 33 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | Farnborough | 35 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 43 | 54 | -11 | 33 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | Histon | 35 | 6 | 15 | 14 | 35 | 56 | -21 | 33 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | Hemel Hempstead | 35 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 30 | 54 | -24 | 29 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 10 points deducted from Farnborough</pre>
Saturday 24th
Conference South Matchday 36
Braintree 0 Hemel 0
Man of the Match – Colin Beckett (Hemel)
Attendance – 171
Tony named an unchanged side for the vital trip to Braintree knowing that a win would move his team to within a point of their opponents. The home side made most of the early running but Hemel managed to hang on and reached the interval still in the match. They showed a bit more attacking endeavour after the interval but in truth offered very little threat and the goalless draw was about as much as they could have expected given their level of performance. 16-year-old midfielder Beckett did a man’s job covering his back four and Tony was delighted with his Man of the Match award. A win for Histon moved them up to 18th and Hemel moved a point closer to Farnborough and Basingstoke who both lost.
Wednesday 28th
England were in action in Group E of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign and returned from Andorra with a comfortable 3-0 win to maintain their 100% record and keep them top of the group.
Saturday 31st
Conference South Matchday 37
Hemel 0 Sutton 1
Matt Gray (pen 39)
Man of the Match – Ian Richardson (Sutton)
Attendance – 231
Six games left to play and Tony was really starting to feel the pressure as he tried to convince his team that they could make a miraculous escape and avoid the relegation trapdoor. A goal down at the break after conceding a penalty the manager made two changes at half time and his team made a brave effort to rescue the match but just couldn’t convert their chances into shots on target, let alone goals. Basingstoke and Farnborough both lost again but wins for Braintree and Histon moved them up the table and dropped Bognor Regis down to 19th. Now 8 points from safety with just 15 available things looked grim indeed for Hemel. They faced two keys games in early April as they travelled first to Histon and then to Basingstoke and anything less than maximum points would pretty much mean game over for Tony’s team.
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