retired_edmari

2005-06 Winners & Losers

We were heading up, but there were plenty more winners, and indeed losers, around the country and beyond. Below is the end of season round-up.

Premier Division
Champions: Liverpool
Runners-up: Arsenal
Third Placed: Everton
Relegated: West Ham United, Sunderland and Charlton Athletic

Championship
Champions: Crystal Palace
Runners-up: Sheffield United
Promoted via Playoffs: Norwich City
Relegated: Burnley, Derby County and Luton Town

League One
Champions: Nottingham Forest
Runners-up: Doncaster Rovers
Promoted via Playoffs: Brentford
Relegated: Walsall, S****horpe United, Tranmere Rovers and Port Vale

League Two
Champions: Lincoln City
Runners-up: Leyton Orient
Third Placed: Notts County
Promoted via Playoffs: Grimsby Town
Relegated: Carlisle United and Bristol Rovers

Conference
Champions: Accrington Stanley
Promoted via Playoffs: Crawley Town
Relegated: Southport and Altrincham

Conference North
Champions: Alfreton Town
Promoted via Playoffs: Stafford Rangers
Relegated: Harrogate Town and Stalybridge Celtic
Promoted to the ECN: Bradford Park Avenue, Burscough and Gateshead

Conference South
Champions: Weymouth
Promoted via Playoffs: Havant & Waterlooville
Relegated: Carshalton Athletic and Basingstoke Town
Promoted to the ECS: Bath City, Braintree Town and Margate


FA Cup
Chelsea 3 Middlesbrough 0

League Cup
Charlton Athletic 1 Arsenal 2

Community Shield
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 6

LDV Vans Trophy
Nottingham Forest 4 Doncaster Rovers 2

FA Trophy
Grays Athletic 0 Aldershot Town 1

European Champions League
AC Milan 1 F.C. Internazionale 1 (4-5 on penalties)

UEFA Cup
Feyenoord 1 RSC Anderlecht 0

European Super Cup
Liverpool 2 CSKA Moscow 0

Club World Championship
São Paulo FC 0 Liverpool 1

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World Cup 2006
Group Phase (7/6/06 – 23/6/06)
Group A – Angola, Brazil, Sweden & U.S.A.

Brazil opened this years feast of international football with a dull scoreless draw against the Americans, while later in the evening Angola and Sweden also drew. A thrilling first half show gave Brazil a 3-0 win over Angola, while Dahlberg rescued a point for Sweden to keep the group open going into the final matchday. Brazil took their place at the expense of Sweden, with Ronaldinho scoring the only goal. In Dortmund, Angola shocked U.S.A., winning 3-1 to advance to the last 16.

Group B – Croatia, Ecuador, France & Iran
France had little trouble advancing with maximum points from their fairly weak group, beating Iran and Ecuador 1-0 and 2-1 respectively, sandwiching an impressive 5-1 win over Croatia that signaled the French have certainly improved following disappointment in 2002 and 2004. Croatia had beaten Ecuador, and while they lost in style to France the other two sides drew to leave them favourites to progress. A Borhani penalty ruined that and saw Iran through to the next round.

Group C – Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, Serbia & Montenegro & Spain
Saudi Arabia took a surprise early lead in this group, beating Serbia 3-0 while Spain followed closely with a 2-0 victory against the Africans. Saudi Arabia continued the good form holding Spain to a goalless draw while Serbia’s miserable tournament continued with a 5-1 thrashing by Cameroon. Cameroon reached the Round of 16 with a close fought 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia, while Spain topped the group with a 4-0 win over hopeless Serbia & Montenegro.

Group D – Chile, Japan, Poland & Portugal
The two European representatives were favourites and refused to disappoint, both progressing with little trouble. Portugal easily beat Japan 4-1, and Chile 3-0, and drew with Poland 2-2 to top the group. Poland secured their place on the final day, adding a 3-0 win over Japan to their previous two draws. Japan and Chile fought out a 1-1 draw.

Group E – Bahrain, England, Israel & Morocco
England had a simple run to the next phase, picking up the full nine points. Defoe scored in the first minute of their tournament, and further goals from Crouch and Gerrard secured a 3-1 win against Morocco. Bahrain were pushed aside 2-0, and Defoe continued his form with a brace in the 3-0 win over Israel. Israel beat Bahrain 3-0 in their first to stake the early claim for second place, but collapsed to a 4-0 loss against Morocco to allow the African representatives through after they took the points against Bahrain on the final matchday.

Group F – Argentina, Costa Rica, Czech Republic & Togo
Argentina lived up to their pre-tournament recognition among the favourites with a 2-0 win over Czech Republic, while Costa Rica and Togo played out a scoreless draw to keep their chances alive. Argentina then strolled to wins over both Costa Rica (2-0) and Togo (3-0), and after Czech Republic had beaten Togo 3-1 the match between themselves and Costa Rica decided the second qualifier. SolÃ*s and Gómez secured a 2-0 win for Costa Rica to reach the final 16.

Group G – Italy, Mexico, South Africa & Ukraine
Opening day wins for Italy – 2-0 against South Africa – and Mexico – 2-1 over Ukraine – followed by a 2-2 draw between the pair, were enough to see the pair of them through to the knockout stage. South Africa and Ukraine each won one and lost two, playing well but just not good enough to advance from a tough group.

Group H – Germany, Holland, Paraguay & South Korea
The hosts qualified with little trouble and were joined by the other Europeans in the group. A total of just nine goals were seen in this dull group – 8 of them on the final matchday. Holland and South Korea played to a 0-0 while Germany beat Paraguay 1-0, before both of the second round of matches produced no goals. The group then came to life with Germany beating South Korea 4-0 and Holland sending Paraguay home with a 3-1 win.


Second Phase (24/6/06 – 27/6/06)
The only shock of the round – perhaps – saw the hosts Germany fall to Mexico 2-1, with a late Bofo Bautista goal seeing them through. France came from a goal down with Trezeguet instrumental in them beating Angola 3-1. Verón and Crespo saw Argentina through with a 2-0 win over Morocco, and Spain edged out Poland in extra time, the 117th minute winner from Marchena. Amazingly four matches of the eight were decided by penalties, Brazil needed them to oust Iran after a 0-0 draw, while Cameroon and Portugal needed 7 each before Maniche missed to keep the African challenge alive. England had little trouble, for once, scoring all four to beat Costa Rica 4-1 after a 2-2 draw, and a poor show from Holland saw the usually reliable Kuyt and van Nistelrooy miss as they slipped 4-1 to Italy.

Quarter Finals (30/6/06 – 1/7/06)
There’d be a new winner this time round, as holders Brazil crashed out to Cameroon. Emerson had given Brazil the lead long before the last minute Makoun strike took the game to extra time, and Suffo’s 119th minute penalty saw Cameroon through. Sidney Govou scored ten minutes from time to see France into the semis, with the only goal against Spain, and Argentina fought hard to edge out Italy 2-1. A Beckham penalty and Gerrard saw England to a 2-0 win over the ten men of Mexico.

Semi Finals (4/7/06 – 5/7/06)
Cameroon’s valiant effort finally ended at the hands of the favourites, Argentina. Crespo’s early strike followed by a late one from Palacio saw them safely through to the final with a 2-0 win. In Berlin England and France drew 1-1, despite losing both Beckham and Wright-Phillips to minor injuries during the first half. Zidane was the only scorer as England won 3-1 on penalties to book their place on Sunday.

Third Place Playoff (8/7/06)
France took third place with a somewhat flattering scoreline over Cameroon. Giuly scored with a first half penalty but it took late goals from Trezeguet and Zidane to secure a 3-0 win, and finish something of a comeback for Les Bleus.

The World Cup Final (9/7/06)
40 years of pain finally came to an end in the very country they’d beaten to last win this tournament. Argentina took a deserved lead through Ayala with half an hour left to play, but a Lampard penalty 15 minutes later took the game into extra time. David Beckham finally silenced his critics in the second half of extra time with a stunning 25 yard curling strike that flew into the top corner and earned his nation the prestigious trophy.



So, back to sunny Havant, then.

retired_edmari

Summer 2006 Ins And Outs

Out:
Tony Taggart – As planned, Tony moves on to Scarborough, who’ll we’ll meet in the Conference this season. He played a decent part last season when called upon as standby to Rastoll, and will look to carve out a more regular start at his new club.

Jimmy Corbett – The winger was disappointing last year and as a result found himself released on expiry of his contract. As at two months later, he remains unemployed.

Wallis-Taylor has been attracting plenty of interest, from clubs as high as the Championship. £30,000, however, isn’t near at all to the price I’ll consider allowing him leave for.

In:
Magnus Okuonghae – Joins after leaving Rushden without playing a match last year. The 20 year old offers useful backup to both defence and midfield.

Phil Younghusband – The Chelsea graduate and Philippines international joins after being released. A quality finisher, he should get a few goals this season and will certainly get a few games as I hunt for the best duo up front.

Tomi Ameobi – Brother of Newcastle star Shola, Tomi comes in after a decent trial spell. Has a sharp eye for goal and a mean right foot and the 17 year old should prove a good acquisition.

Matthew Bulman – In from Swindon for £1,000 after making 16 appearances last year. The 19 year old looks a decent enough backup, with Ghent stepping up as replacement for the now retired Stiel.

We also have goalkeeper Floyd Croll, formerly of Wigan considering a permanent deal after a decent trial. If he signs he’s likely to be third choice for now.

Our only major target left is a good right-sided wingback. Savage, Town and Corbett all played there last season and did well enough, but at this level we’ll need someone more suited to the position.

Pre Season Friendlies

A poor pre season left us lacking the quality we might need in the Conference, although they were against higher opposition. First up was Championship side Plymouth Argyle, who went behind to a Younghusband goal but came back with style in the second half to win 3-1. Shrewsbury next, and they eased into a 2-0 lead after an hour of play, but two late strikes from trialist Isiah Osbourne – who later joined Cork City.

We put up a solid fight in the last one against Boston, going 2-1 ahead before going down 3-2 in the final 20 minutes of the match. It was an uninspiring pre-season, but hopefully we can forget that soon enough.

7/8/06
The odds for promotion to the football league were released, and didn’t make too much happy reading, with us regarded as 40/1 shots. The main contenders are:

Hereford United and York City – 6/4
Bristol Rovers and Exeter City – 7/4
Dagenham & Redbridge and Morecambe – 2/1

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12/8/06

Marston Road, Stafford – Att: 496
Stafford Rangers v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

We faced another newly promoted side to kick off our season. And boy did it show who’d come prepared for a new division and who’d forgotten they should have stepped up a gear.

We recorded our biggest win after an astonishing first half which left me asking a coach to punch me to check it wasn’t a dream. The bruised cheek confirmed reality.

Younghusband started his career in style, tapping in after a Flood effort had been parried into his path. Flood then provided a beautiful cross for him to volley in a second. He then turned provider with a superb run down the right before a swerving cross found the head of Wallis-Taylor, who headed in number three, and a minute later Lopez neatly placed the ball into the corner after a nice passing move set him free of the defence.

Oh, by the way, we’re 9 minutes into the match now.

The match didn’t quite continue in the same way but there were a couple more goals, Rastoll first with a diving header putting Town’s cross into the net, before Younghusband made the most of a poor backpass to round the keeper and complete his hat-trick. That took us into half time, and Stafford did well to draw the second half 0-0. Just a shame about that first one. I must say there’s been worse starts to a season…

Stafford 0 Havant & W 6 (Younghusband 4, 6, 45, Wallis-Taylor 8, Lopez 9, Rastoll 42)
Ghent 8, Town 9, Wallis-Taylor 10, Wicks 8, Pearce 8, Ford 7 (Harber 10, 6), Lopez 9, Rastoll 10, Jordan 8, Younghusband 10, Flood 8
Man of the Match: Phil Younghusband (Havant & W)


15/8/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 290
Havant & Waterlooville v Stevenage Borough (Conference)

The main task today against strong favourites Stevenage was to prove the season opener was no fluke against much weaker opponents. I think we succeeded.

Our golden chance to move in front came after 27 minutes, with a penalty awarded. Flood saw his effort saved, and his rebound shot saved. He managed to be quickest to the rebound from that too, and managed to hit the net third time lucky.

Flood showed he’s up to this level with a second coming ten minutes later, managing to take it round the keeper and find the net nicely. The visitors had lost defender Michael Staley for the foul that gave away the penalty, and struggled to defend effectively against us. They did however keep us from scoring and managed to pull one back half way through the second half, through Eric Obinna. Flood then saved the best until last, with a super shot from 18 yards making him our second hat-trick hero of this young season.

Havant & W 3 (Flood 27, 37, 88) Stevenage 1 (Obinna 69)
Ghent 7, Town 7, Wallis-Taylor 8, Wicks 8, Pearce 8, Lopez 7, Savage 8, Rastoll 7, Jordan 8, Younghusband 8, Flood 10
Man of the Match: James Flood (Havant & W)

17/8/06

Carl Wilson-Denis finally moved on after 12 months of bench-warming, if that. Horsham snapped up the striker in a deal initially worth £9,000 to us.

19/8/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 518
Havant & Waterlooville v Carlisle United

Carlisle were up there with the favourites to challenge for promotion, and were distant favourites to give us a first defeat.

They failed, but made sure of a tough match to show us better what we’re up against. They couldn’t attack well with my defence continuing their good form, but managed to keep my front pair quiet this afternoon.

They weren’t needed, as Rastoll’s tap-in from Pearce’s cross was all that beat his fellow countryman Willy Guéret. Maybe not as emphatic as the last two results, but it was another three points nonetheless.

Havant & W 1 (Rastoll 21) Carlisle 0
Ghent 7, Town 7, Wallis-Taylor 7, Wicks 7, Pearce 8, Lopez 8, Savage 7, Rastoll 8, Jordan 7, Younghusband 7, Flood 7
Man of the Match: Stéphane Rastoll (Havant & W)

retired_edmari

26/8/06

Bootham Crescent, York – Att: 2,285
York City v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

York started the season joint favourites to seek a place in the football league, but hadn’t enjoyed the best of starts to the term.

Here they showed some quality football, especially in the second half and they fully deserved to take the lead with an hour played. Kieran McKenna scored the goal to put them in front and threaten our brilliant start to the season.

We did however, throughout the match as a whole, create more problems for them than they did for us, and couldn’t be denied a point, eventually secured by a last gasp strike from Lopez.

York 1 (McKenna 61) Havant & W 1 (Lopez 90)
Ghent 7, Savage 7, Wallis-Taylor 8, Wicks 7, Pearce 7, Ford 7, Lopez 8, Rastoll 7, Jordan 7, Younghusband 7, Flood 8
Man of the Match: Guy Lopez (Havant & W)


28/8/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 356
Havant & Waterlooville v Gravesend and Northfleet (Conference)

A dull and quiet match brought little in the way of entertainment to our final match of the month.

We eventually managed to struggle to a goalless draw, seemingly not willing to score and take any sort of control of this match. All we could take in the end was the single point and disappointment was added by the loss of Younghusband to injury. The young striker will miss the next few weeks.

Havant & W 0 Gravesend 0
Ghent 6, Savage 6, Wallis-Taylor 7, Wicks 7, Pearce 6, Ford 7, Lopez 7, Rastoll 6, Jordan 6, Younghusband 6 (Law 47, 6), Flood 6
Man of the Match: Ashley Fuller (Gravesend)

31/8/06

We finally landed a half-decent right sided wing back, in the shape of Eddie McClements. The 22 year old joins from Dartford for an initial £5,000.

Younghusband finished the month on a high, landing the Young Player of the Month award, beating teammate Rastoll into second place. Seb Wallis-Taylor was runner up in the Player of the Month awards, to Halifax Town’s Paul Munster. Rob Newman of Cambridge was Manager of the Month.


2/9/06

Aggborough, Kidderminster – Att: 1,966
Kidderminster Harriers v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

Another uneventful match saw us struggle at Kidderminster, again struggling to move forward and create anything exciting up front.

A good defensive performance kept us safe until Rastoll brought Danny Bacon down in the box. Phil Picken fired in the resulting penalty and the spot kick would prove enough to give us our first defeat of the season.

Kidderminster 1 (Picken pen 66) Havant & W 0
Ghent 6, Savage 6, Wallis-Taylor 8, Wicks 6, Pearce 7, Ford 7, Lopez 7, Rastoll 6 (Town 81, 6), Jordan 6, Ameobi 7, Flood 7 (Law 81, 6)
Man of the Match: Sebastian Wallis-Taylor (Havant & W)

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5/9/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 1,524
Havant & Waterlooville v Aldershot Town (Conference)

Aldershot were distant favourites for their visit this evening, but never really showed why as they struggled to attack past the half way line.

McClements enjoyed a solid debut, putting in an assured performance at the back and showing some good moves getting forward, even coming close to scoring with a long range effort sailing just wide. Otherwise it was a fairly average performance in a match we should have taken three points from, but in the end had to settle for just the one with a number of chances well saved by Nikki Bull.

Havant & W 0 Aldershot 0
Ghent 7, McClements 7, Wallis-Taylor 8, Wicks 7, Pearce 7, Ford 7, Lopez 7, Rastoll 6, Jordan 7, Ameobi 7, Flood 6
Man of the Match: Sebastian Wallis-Taylor (Havant & W)



9/9/06

The Shay, Halifax – Att: 2,579
Halifax Town v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

Injuries were coming all over the place lately and leaving us struggling to hold position in the top half, and we lost more to the physio room today. Wicks fractured his ribs and may be out until November, Ford strained a thigh and could miss a few weeks, and Lopez left the pitch with an injury that proved minor and won’t keep him out.

Nevertheless we fought on for a well earned point, despite going behind to an early goal from Shaleum Logan. Halifax should’ve extended the lead during the first half but we probably dominated the second, and deserved a late equaliser from Hall.

Halifax 1 (Logan 4) Havant & W 1 (Hall 81)
Ghent 8, McClements 7, Wallis-Taylor 8, Wicks 6 (Whelan 3, 7), Pearce 7, Ford 7, Lopez 5 (Town 45, 7), Rastoll 6, Jordan 8, Flood 6 (Hall 45, 7), Law 7
Man of the Match: Sebastian Wallis-Taylor (Havant & W)


16/9/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 1,288
Havant & Waterlooville v Dagenham and Redbridge (Conference)

Our first win since the excellent run that began the season lifted us back into the playoff places. The victory was certainly deserved but wasn’t taken in the prettiest fashion against fellow playoff hopefuls Dagenham.

They did in fact take the lead against the run of play at the end of the first half, through winger Paul Bruce’s long range strike, but they struggled to build on that after the break.

The pressure eventually forced a costly mistake with former West Ham youth Anwar Uddin heading in an own goal, and a late strike from Flood secured all three points, which we held desperately onto during an extremely nervous six minutes of injury time at the end of the match.

Havant & W 2 (Uddin og 71, Flood 89) Dag & Red 1 (Bruce 45)
Ghent 7, McClements 7, Wallis-Taylor 7, Whelan 8, Pearce 7, Lopez 7 (Okuonghae 76, 6), Savage 7, Rastoll 6, Jordan 6, Flood 7, Hall 7 (Baptiste 76, 6)
Man of the Match: Phil Whelan (Havant & W)


19/9/06

Wessex Stadium, Weymouth – Att: 1,387
Weymouth v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

Weymouth, who beat us to automatic promotion last season, hadn’t set the world on fire since coming up and were sitting half-comfortably around mid table.

We were running on a severely weakened side, today also missing Jordan due to his sending off at the weekend, Wallis-Taylor after he picked up too many yellows, and Baptiste starting up front with both Ameobi and Hall struggling for match fitness.

With that Weymouth took the lead here, after Okuonghae brought down Ian McSween. McSween got back up to happily bang home the penalty, and the hosts looked like taking all three points with us struggling for creativity up front.

We did however secure a single point with Flood knocking in a neat equaliser before the break, and a dull second half left the scores remaining all square.

Weymouth 1 (McSween pen 29) Havant & W 1 (Flood 43)
Ghent 8, McClements 7, Briscoe 7, Whelan 7, Pearce 7, Lopez 7, Savage 7, Rastoll 6, Okuonghae 4, Baptiste 7, Flood 8
Man of the Match: Matthew Ghent (Havant & W)


23/9/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 1,895
Havant & Waterlooville v Canvey Island (Conference)

Canvey were languishing bottom of the league but gave us enough problems to steal the points in front of a record home crowd. And our injury woes continued with Tom Jordan stretchered off with a broken foot that’ll keep him out until 2007. Loan signing Simon Spender, from Wrexham, debuted in place of McClements today.

The only goal was scored by Phil Whelan, who beat Boylan to a well placed cross only to head past Ghent. It never looked enough to win the match but there were way too many missed chances, most notably Flood firing a late penalty straight at the keeper.

It was a painfully disappointing result and the loss of another vital player left us rather short all over the place.

Havant & W 0 Canvey Island 1 (Whelan og 15)
Ghent 6, Spender 6, Briscoe 7, Whelan 7, Pearce 6, Lopez 6, Savage 5, Rastoll 6, Jordan 6 (Okuonghae 11, 6), Ameobi 5, Flood 6
Man of the Match: Danny Potter (Canvey Island)


26/9/06

Town Ground, Alfreton – Att: 852
Alfreton Town v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

Both of us had been promoted for this season, with today’s hosts having won the Conference North in April. Our season was so far inconsistent, but good enough for us to sit in mid table as we aim to safely survive and perhaps challenge the top half. Alfreton were slipping towards the lower part of the table lately.

The match was again a quiet one and remained goalless until half way through the second half. We’d been marginally stronger despite being short of 5 or 6 first choice players once more – today added to by Flood fracturing his ribs, and took the lead with Ameobi latching onto a superb pass from Town, before neatly placing the ball under the keeper and into the corner.

The lead lasted just five minutes though before Jonathan Stevenson tapped in from a few yards out to level the scoring. He added another moments later from a difficult angle which proved enough to send us to another poor defeat.

Alfreton 2 (Stevenson 73, 75) Havant & W 1 (Ameobi 68)
Ghent 6, Spender 7, Briscoe 7, Whelan 6, Pearce 6, Lopez 7, Town 7, Rastoll 6, Okuonghae 7, Hall 6, Flood 7 (Ameobi 44, 7)
Man of the Match: Jonathan Stevenson (Alfreton)


30/9/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 990
Havant & Waterlooville v Exeter City (Conference)

Exeter were floating around the playoffs so far and kept in position today with the expected victory, ending our miserable September which has seen us slip to 14th in the division.

The only goal came early in the match, with Tim Ryan’s searching cross flicked into Glenn Cronin’s path, and he made no mistake in beating Ghent and firing the shot into the far corner.

In the second half we moved up a gear and both Hall and the fit-again Younghusband came close to earning a point or more, but once again we struggled to defeat.

Havant & W 0 Exeter 1 (Cronin 6)
Ghent 6, Spender 7, Briscoe 7, Whelan 7, Pearce 6, Lopez 7, Town 7, Rastoll 6, Okuonghae 6, Hall 6, Younghusband 6
Man of the Match: Matthew Gill (Exeter)

Manager Alex Inglethorpe’s form recently secured him second place in the September Manager of the Month vote, with Hereford’s Graham Turner taking the accolade. Wallis-Taylor was again runner-up to the Player of the Month, this time to Dennis Oli of Grays. Mark Quinn secured two out of three for Hereford.

We also made a new signing early the following morning, with Azariah O’Garro joining on a free-transfer, having left Coventry in the summer. The 19 year old midfielder steps in as backup for the moment, but with the injury plague he could well play more than expected.


9/10/06

This year, following promotion, we missed out on the first couple of phases in the FA Cup and only enter one hurdle shy of the First Round. In that final qualifying round we’ll face a tough trip to Stevenage.

retired_edmari

11/10/06

Recreation Ground, Grays – Att: 2,473
Grays Athletic v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

Another dull match up in Essex at least saw us get a point on the board. The first half produced little excitement but the match livened up after the break.

Michael Kightly, a former Southend player who’s been one of the Grays stars this term and a potential target should I have the money for him, put the hosts in front with 20 minutes to play – but my plans to buy him this term went out the window when he suffered a broken leg in a challenge with McClements.

The loss of him clearly left Grays struggling to attack, and they eventually lost the fight to stay ahead deep in injury time. David Town’s threatening run was ended by Andrew Sambrook pulling his shirt, and the substitute fired in the penalty.

Grays 1 (Kightly 69) Havant & W 1 (Town pen 90)
Ghent 7, McClements 7, Briscoe 7, Whelan 7, Pearce 7, Ford 7 (Wallis-Taylor 70, 7), Lopez 7, Rastoll 6 (Town 70, 7), Okuonghae 7, Ameobi 7, Younghusband 7
Man of the Match: Sam Pearce (Havant & W)


21/10/06

Broadhall Way, Stevenage – Att: 3,168
Stevenage Borough v Havant & Waterlooville (FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round)

Stevenage were the better side on paper and the favourites to progress, but we beat them easily earlier in the season in the league, and they were again under-performing today.

They came close to a lucky win though, with skipper Eric Obinna putting them ahead early in the match. On recent form and the array of missed chances from us, it looked like that would be enough to see them through.

After the match we’d lose more to injury, with Whelan – who’d only played today after a course of injections – to miss 3 or 4 weeks, and McClements to miss a similar spell after a hamstring injury sustained during the match.

However we secured a deserved place in the FA Cup, with late goals from Younghusband – his first since the opening day hat-trick – and an excellent strike from Lopez.

Stevenage 1 (Obinna 19) Havant & W 2 (Younghusband 72, Lopez 85)
Ghent 7, McClements 6, Briscoe 7, Wallis-Taylor 7, Pearce 8, Ford 7, Lopez 8, O’Garro 7, Okuonghae 8, Ameobi 7, Younghusband 7
Man of the Match: Guy Lopez (Havant & W)

23/10/06

The win boosted morale a bit and boosted the bank balance by £10,000, and we secured one of the ties of the round.

We were handed a dream trip to the 33,000-capacity Pride Park to face Derby, currently pushing for the top in League One.


28/10/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 687
Havant & Waterlooville v Woking (Conference)

An impressive first half performance saw us back into winning ways in the Conference, continuing the good form from the cup.

Chris Neal had already been forced into a couple of good stops early in the match, and was finally beaten when Lopez beat him to reach a beauty of a cross from Younghusband at his near post, and headed in the opening goal. The lead wouldn’t last long though, as Ghent desperately chased a weak backpass from Spender. The stranded keeper could only watch as Sam Aiston found the empty net from 40 yards out.

Neal did well and was the only man who kept the scores level, but was beaten once more just before the interval. Ameobi and Spender combined well for the latter to cross into Lopez. The African then headed down for Savage to run in and hit the winning goal. The second half offered little goalmouth action despite both sides ending up with 10 men. George Corrie went for the visitors, and a few minutes later Sam Pearce saw red for us, leaving us another man down.

Havant & W 2 (Lopez 11, Savage 45) Woking 1 (Aiston 14)
Ghent 7, Spender 7, Briscoe 8, Wallis-Taylor 7, Pearce 7, Ford 8, Lopez 8, Savage 7 (Poate 65, 6), Okuonghae 8, Ameobi 7 (Hall 65, 6), Younghusband 7
Man of the Match: Lee Briscoe (Havant & W)

1/11/06

Terry Brown was Manager of the Month for October. The Aldershot boss won after leading his team to third place with three wins out of three. Paul Munster was player of the month for the second time this season, and Sean Rudd of Forest Green was the Young Player of the Month.

The Memorial Stadium, Bristol – Att: 6,300
Bristol Rovers v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

A very tough match awaited us in Bristol, with us 10-1 outsiders at the bookies for a win here.

The prediction proved a good one as the defence was subjected to an immediate onslaught from the home attack, and only a stunning all round performance from my defence and midfield kept us at 0-0 during the early part of the match. As we got nearer half time, we stepped up a gear in attack and began troubling Sam Ashton in the Rovers goal. Lopez had the best chance but headed harmlessly wide after an excellent run and cross from Ameobi.

The second half was more of the same, with Rovers relentlessly attacking and unbelievably not scoring, while we had an occasional attack.

With little over ten minutes remaining, Jay Smith conceded a free kick just outside the area. Mark Ford finally showed that power he had last year, as the free kick truly flew past the wall and the keeper into the back of the net. That stunning free kick was enough to secure a superb victory, lift us back into the top half and certainly kept the confidence bubbling ahead of the trip to Derby.

Bristol Rovers 0 Havant & W 1 (Ford 77)
Ghent 6, Spender 9, Briscoe 8, Wallis-Taylor 8, Gray 8, Ford 8, Lopez 8, Savage 8, Okuonghae 7, Ameobi 7, Younghusband 7
Man of the Match: Simon Spender (Havant & W)


4/11/06

Pride Park, Derby – Att: 16,421
Derby County v Havant & Waterlooville (FA Cup First Round)

The bookies had us 15-1 today and this was one where we didn’t expect to make a surprise. Derby had destroyed Barnsley 4-0 a week ago to climb to 3rd place, while our form was reasonable but nothing special. Still, sixteen-and-a-half thousand fans must mean a decent income from ticket sales. Well over £150,000 in fact, more than doubling our balance.

We gave our hosts a decent challenge, but their finishing was excellent and they deserved the win, perhaps not by the scoreline in the end. Giles Barnes opened the scoring midway through the first half with a stunning effort from 30 yards, which swerved with awesome power into Ghent’s top right corner. They missed the chance to go further ahead before half time though, with �ñigo Idiákez firing a penalty straight at Ghent.

The favourites eventually overcame our fight though, with second half strikes from Alan Maher and Seth Johnson seeing them safely through to a second round tie against fellow League One side Yeovil.

Derby 3 (Barnes 22, Maher 55, Johnson 85) Havant & W 0
Ghent 6, Spender 6, Briscoe 7, Wallis-Taylor 7, Pearce 7, Ford 7, Lopez 7, Town 6, Okuonghae 6, Law 6 (Ameobi 6), Younghusband 6
Man of the Match: Seth Johnson (Derby)

retired_ruska

Good story this. Get em to Europe. :thup:

retired_edmari

Thanks Heward... I'm trying my best but a long way to go yet!

7/11/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 1,418
Havant & Waterlooville v Morecambe (Conference)

At the tail end of last month, an FA Cup win carried on into the league and saw us pick up a couple of good wins. Unfortunately the same worked in defeat, and we slumped to defeat here.

Jonny Howson put Morecambe in front early, scoring from the edge of the box after a lovely through ball from Lee Howlett.

The second half was the lively one, though, and it was all square just over ten minutes in when Jim Bentley headed a Younghusband cross past his own keeper. A minute later we were in front when another good Younghusband cross was poked into the net by Lopez.

We found time to balls it up though, with Howlett heading in his first Morecambe goal to level it again, before a late penalty from Stuart Barlow provided the 38 year old his 135th career goal, and three points for Morecambe.

Havant & W 2 (Bentley og 57, Lopez 58) Morecambe 3 (Howson 12, Howlett 62, Barlow pen 82)
Ghent 6, Spender 7, Briscoe 7, Wallis-Taylor 6, Pearce 6, Ford 6, Lopez 7, O’Garro 6, Okuonghae 5, Ameobi 6, Younghusband 7
Man of the Match: Lee Howlett (Morecambe)


11/11/06

Pirelli Stadium, Burton-on-Trent – Att: 563
Burton Albion v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

A good first half display meant little after a terrible match here. Ameobi’s stunning effort had put us ahead before being cancelled out by Jon Shaw moments before the break, before Nigel Clough’s strugglers tore our further weakened – with Younghusband and Spender on international duty – side apart in the second half.

A poorly directed pass from Ford fell straight at the feet of Barry Hastings, who proceeded to easily beat Ghent to give his side the lead. Andy Hylton extended the lead ten minutes later with a powerful header on the end of a perfect cross from Ally Beck, and late in the game Aaron Webster saw his cross from wide on the left beat everyone to end up in the back of the net and end a miserable afternoon for us.

Burton 4 (Shaw 45, Hastings 47, Hylton 58, Webster 83) Havant & W 1 (Ameobi 28)
Ghent 6, Briscoe 6, Rastoll 7, Wallis-Taylor 6, Pearce 6, Ford 6, Lopez 6, O’Garro 6, Okuonghae 6, Ameobi 7, Hall 7
Man of the Match: Andy Hylton (Burton)


18/11/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 976
Havant & Waterlooville v Cambridge United (Conference)

Spender was back from his appearance for the Wales U-21s, but Younghusband was injured during Philippines’ 2-0 defeat to Thailand.

Cambridge eased in front twice during the first half, with Nathan Joynes scoring both goals, but both times found the match leveled again. Ford instantly equalized the first time, with another of his stunning free kicks from well outside the box, and the second was equally brilliant with Mark Hall finding the net from a near-impossible angle on the edge of the box.

The second half was all Havant though, and we took the deserved lead through Lopez, who capped a good passing move by knocking Ameobi’s through ball past Jamie Waite. Hall doubled the lead by volleying in Pearce’s corner from 12 yards, before Federico Turienzo was first to a poor clearance and had little trouble beating Ghent. Law eventually made it safe in the dying moments, dispossessing Waite about ten yards outside his area, before rounding the keeper as he tried to backpedal and finding the empty net from distance.

Havant & W 5 (Ford 21, Hall 45, 62, Lopez 55, Law 90) Cambridge 3 (Joynes 19, 29, Turienzo 69)
Ghent 7, Spender 8, Briscoe 8, Wallis-Taylor 5, Pearce 7, Ford 8, Lopez 8, Town 8, Okuonghae 7, Ameobi 8, Hall 8 (Law 70, 8)
Man of the Match: Simon Spender (Havant & W)


25/11/06

The McCain Stadium, Scarborough – Att: 926
Scarborough v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

Matthew Wicks was back in the side after his lengthy injury absence, in a match that also saw prolific striker Flood on the bench, but made the worst of starts when he brought down Ian Cox in the area.

Former Hawk Tony Taggart struck home the penalty in front of his old fans. Taggart earned another penalty deep in first half stoppage time, tripped in the box by Wicks again, and he stepped up to double the lead over his old club.

Taggart was on fire and played a part in setting up the third goal for Kevin Nicholson, which was more than enough to bury our hopes for any points here.

Scarborough 3 (Taggart pen 13, pen 45, Nicholson 50) Havant & W 0
Ghent 6, Spender 7, Briscoe 7, Wallis-Taylor 6, Pearce 7, Ford 7, Lopez 7, Town 7, Wicks 6, Ameobi 7, Hall 6
Man of the Match: Tony Taggart (Scarborough)


28/11/06

Our entry into the FA Trophy will come at the First Round this season, where – following today’s draw – we’ll face either Sutton United or Billingham Synthonia at Westleigh Park in two and a half weeks time.


30/11/06

A number of contract extensions were announced, with eight of the seventeen expiring in the summer tied up for another year. Town, Ameobi, Hall, Croll, Whelan, Okuonghae, McClements and Harber all get another year at the club. Meanwhile Gray, Davis, Poate, Champion, Pethick, Annon, Sharp, Howells and Baptiste won’t be offered anything at least for the time being.

We also were handed what looks a routine draw for the FA Trophy, with Billingham Synthonia to travel to us a fortnight on Saturday.

1/12/06

Paul Trollope was November’s manager of the month after a 100% record last month at Kidderminster. His defender Kieran Rafferty was the best player, while Phil Picken, also of Kidderminster, was runner up to Hereford’s Stuart Fleetwood was the best youngster. Simon Spender was third in the last of those awards.

The latter part of November also saw the financial balance creep past the £300,000 milestone – thanks mainly to the ticket sales from the Derby match earlier in the month. Not bad for a so-so Conference side, and hopefully Demott will allow me a nice chunk of that in the summer to try and build a promotion-capable side for next season.


6/12/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 946
Havant & Waterlooville v Tamworth (Conference)

Guy Lopez and Mark Hall held their head in their hands as this match came to its end. They’d both missed gilt edged chances to put the game beyond doubt before we only took a point from it.

The aforementioned pair were the reason for that point however, scoring one each to put us in front after Gary Wiltshire’s early goal. As the match neared the end Lopez put a sitter harmlessly wide and Hall watched his diving header sail inches wide of the post, before Wiltshire broke forward to hit his second and take a lucky point back to Tamworth.

Bad news however, as during his first match back James Flood left the pitch injured again. It proved to be hamstring trouble that will keep him out for up to a month.

Havant & W 2 (Hall 11, Lopez 52) Tamworth 2 (Wiltshire 6, 80)
Ghent 6, Spender 7, Briscoe 8, Whelan 6, Pearce 7, Ford 6, Lopez 7, Rastoll 6, Okuonghae 6, Flood 7 (Ameobi 59, 6), Hall 7
Man of the Match: Lee Briscoe (Havant & W)

retired_edmari

9/12/06

Edgar Street, Hereford – Att: 3,281
Hereford United v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference)

Hereford were top of the table and showed why this afternoon with a simple victory while allowing us little room to create chances in attack.

First half strikes from Wesley Byrne and Stuart Fleetwood saw them ease to two goals ahead, before we even began getting forward with much purpose.

We came close a few times, Ford and Briscoe both forcing good saves from Gareth Tucker, but Ipoua scored midway through the second half to dash any hopes of a thrilling comeback.

Today saw Spender play the last game of his three month loan deal, and the Welsh defender is at the centre of a bidding war as we try to keep him on permanently. Six other clubs have made offers to Wrexham, including Halifax and Alfreton.

Hereford 3 (Byrne 9, Fleetwood 24, Ipoua 64) Havant & W 0
Ghent 6, Spender 7, Briscoe 7, Whelan 7, Pearce 7, Ford 6, Lopez 7, Rastoll 6, Wallis-Taylor 6, Ameobi 7, Hall 7
Man of the Match: Tony James (Hereford)


16/12/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 282
Havant & Waterlooville v Billingham Synthonia (FA Trophy First Round)

A bad afternoon in front of goal saw us slide to a scoreless draw against minnows Billingham Syn. The visitors were restricted to absolutely no attempts at Ghent’s goal, and but for some poor finishing – particularly from Rastoll who could have scored a hat-trick or more – would have sunk without trace to heavy defeat. In the end, wasted chances and a replay on top of the busy fixture schedule.

Havant & W 0 Billingham Syn 0
Ghent 6, McClements 6, Briscoe 7, Wicks 7, Pearce 7, Ford 7, Lopez 6, Rastoll 6, Wallis-Taylor 6, Ameobi 7, Hall 7
Man of the Match: Lee Briscoe (Havant & W)


20/12/06

Central Avenue, Billingham – Att: 963
Billingham Synthonia v Havant & Waterlooville (FA Trophy First Round Replay)

Another disappointing performance saw this tie stretch to 210 minutes – plus injury time – without a goal to break the deadlock. Once again Ghent didn’t have anything to do, while we made Billy McDonald give the performance of his life in stopping any of 22 attempts find his net.

In the end though despite 37 attempts to 0 across the two matches, only penalties would split the two sides. The hosts started positively scoring all three, as Hall’s penalty struck the post between successful kicks from Ford and Law left them 3-2 up. Town scored as Barnes and Dunn missed to leave Pearce the job of scoring to put us through. He didn’t, firing straight at McDonald, but Wallis-Taylor scored after Perkins missed to put us into Round Two, and a home tie against Thurrock. Just.

Billingham Syn 0 Havant & W 0 (3-4 on penalties)
Ghent 6, McClements 7, Briscoe 7, Wicks 7, Pearce 8, Ford 7, Lopez 7, Rastoll 6 (Town 45, 7), Wallis-Taylor 7, Ameobi 6 (Law 45, 7), Hall 8
Man of the Match: Sam Pearce (Havant & W)


23/12/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 909
Havant & Waterlooville v Forest Green Rovers (Conference)

We edged to the half way mark of the season with another point to take our tally to 29 for the season so far. We weren’t safe by any means, but similarly we weren’t a million miles from challenging in the upper part of the table.

The scoring here was done and dusted quite early, with Kyle Matthews putting the visitors ahead just a few minutes in, before Lopez made it all square within ten minutes of said opener.

Today we were arguably the lesser side on the pitch, so I felt fairly relieved to walk away with something. But it could have been a merrier Christmas with a better performance here.

Havant & W 1 (Lopez 12) Forest Green 1 (Matthews 3)
Ghent 7, McClements 6, Wallis-Taylor 7, Wicks 6, Pearce 7, Ford 7, Lopez 7, Rastoll 7, Whelan 6, Ameobi 6, Hall 7 (Younghusband 84, 6)
Man of the Match: Guy Lopez (Havant & W)


26/12/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 862
Havant & Waterlooville v Stafford Rangers (Conference)

For from equaling the awesome performance in winning 6-0 away from home on the opening day of the season, we collapsed and lost in poor fashion in a supposedly simple Boxing Day match at Westleigh Park.

Wallis-Taylor was lost to injury once more early on, however he should luckily be back within a week or so, but his presence was missed in defence and a first half double from Nathan Smith, before he himself was off injured after the break, wrapped up the three points for the visiting side.

Havant & W 0 Stafford 2 (Smith 27, 43)
Ghent 5, McClements 6, Wallis-Taylor 6 (Town 6, 6), Wicks 6, Pearce 6, Ford 7, Lopez 6, Rastoll 6, Whelan 5, Ameobi 6, Younghusband 5
Man of the Match: Richard Acton (Stafford)


30/12/06

Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 683
Havant & Waterlooville v York City (Conference)

2006 came to an end in poor fashion with another home defeat.

We took an early lead with a cracking effort from Younghusband, but just as we were looking to move further in front we lost Wicks to a red card. Forced to tinker with tactics, we were left struggling to create much and attack.

In the last few minutes before the break York finally broke through, with goals from Josh Clarke and Adrian Forbes dragging them in front before half time.

Towards the end they confirmed it with a stunning strike from Andy Bishop, and this last few days of the year meant 2006 could quite happily do one… bring on 2007!

Havant & W 1 (Younghusband 5) York 3 (Clarke 41, Forbes 44, Bishop 79)
Ghent 5, McClements 6, Briscoe 6, Wicks 5, Pearce 6, Ford 8, O’Garro 5, Rastoll 5, Whelan 5, Ameobi 6, Younghusband 7
Man of the Match: Tom Kearney (York)


1/1/07

Glenn Cockerill of Woking was Manager of the Month for December, following his record of four wins in five during the last month. Gareth Sproule and Ashley Fuller, both of Gravesend, took Player and Young Player awards respectively.

Swedish striker Börje Sundvall, who has 3 caps for his country, joins from Laholm on a free transfer move as the transfer window reopens.