retired_destiny1124

11.3.06
Harrow Hill (0) Weston-super-Mare (0)
A thoroughly boring match for both fans and clubs as neither club could get much offense going. Twice we sent Jason Hallett away free with good passes in the opening moments of the match, but he dallied with the ball both times and Weston defenders made saving tackles. We had one excellent chance late in the match, but Justin Bowler shot over the net from the edge of the six-yard box. We played solid defense and limited them to one shot for the match, but our hodgepodge lineup couldn't manage any offense. I rested both Kevin Braniff and Jamie Slabber because of fitness concerns.

***

12.3.06
You win some, you lose some. Once more, we failed to work out a contract that Kevin Braniff could accept and that will likely be the last attempt. I would love to have him here permanently, but we just can't work out an acceptable contract. On the other hand, our scouts found a very promising keeper- Ian Hutchinson. Hutchinson is an 16 yr old (turns 17 in early June) and has as much raw talent as Lewis Anderson.

retired_destiny1124

14.3.06
Lewes (2) Harrow Hill (2)
We certainly played well enough to win this match- with two exceptions. The combination of Franklin Simek playing his worst match ever for us and Daniel Austen having a subpar match in net left us having to split the points with Lewes in the 2-2 draw. Both our goals came from Kevin Braniff. The first was when Jamie Slabber spun a long pass into space that Braniff ran down and then took around Andy Little before pushing it into the net for his 20th goal. Lewes promptly answered when Simek did a walkabout and Marc Whiteman drove a shot past the off balance Austen to equalize. We took the lead again in the second half when Ryan Ashington crossed beautifully and Braniff flicked it past Little. That lead also didn't last long as Simek's bad pass went right to Ashley Edwards and he laid the ball off so that Whiteman could blister a shot past Austen for his 2nd goal of the match. Both sides missed chances for the winning goal in the late stages. We could have had early goals, but for Slabber's total lack of finishing today.

retired_destiny1124

18.3.06
Harrow Hill (1) Weymouth (0)
It was a long, difficult match for us- but Jamie Slabber made all the hard work pay off when he retrieved his own rebound and drove it into the net for the match winner in the 89th minute. We were having problems solving Weymouth keeper Dean Harris as he made several excellent one-on-one saves enroute to MOM honours. It certainly wasn't our best match offensively and defensively, but Weymouth couldn't hit the net with their chances. Kevin Braniff, Adam Parker and Danny Singh were all stopped by Harris. Slabber's initial shot was parried by Harris, but the rebound was close by and Slabber fired the sharp angled shot into the net past the diving Harris for the dramatic match winning goal. Exeter's win ensured them a playoff spot and they will likely clinch 1st in the next couple of matches- while we try to hold on to 2nd place.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">ECS 18.3.06 (36 played, 6 remaining)1- Exeter 83 pts (+35)2- Harrow Hill 72 pts (+29)3- Hornchurch 70 pts (+23)4- Kingstonian 60 pts (+18)5- Bath 60 pts (+16)6- Havant & W 57 pts (+5)7- Bishop's S 56 pts (+10)</pre>

retired_destiny1124

25.3.06
Cambridge City (1) Harrow Hill (3)
Cambridge City was sharp in the early going and took the lead early on when Carlin Itonga took advantage of indifferent marking to deflect a cross past Daniel Austen. Most of the first half was frustrating as we were having difficulty getting going. Chris Williams demonstrated some of the potential our scouts saw when he dribbled past Dale Binns and boomed a shot past Duncan Roberts to equalize. Shortly after we took the 2-1 halftime lead when Kevin Braniff scored on a soaring half-volley over the diving Roberts. They tried to rally early in the second half, but we knocked a lot of their hopes out when Steven O'Donnell whipped a shot past Roberts off a nice corner kick play. They came close one more time, but Austen tipped Jonathan Stevenson's shot over the bar to keep the final score at 3-1 for us.

***

26.3.06
I was back in the press again today as they were touting me for the now open Carlisle job. I told them, as I had before, that I was planning on staying at Harrow Hill. The Board was again pleased at the committment I was showing to the job here at Larksfield Road.

retired_destiny1124

28.3.06
Despite my comments in the press, Carlisle offered me the job as manager. I politely turned them down.

***

29.3.06
As the transfer deadline approaches, we managed to snag another solid young forward. In continuing to prepare the club for life without Kevin Braniff, we now have Chris Williams and will soon have Rowan Vine. Adding to those two is 20 yr old SC Billy Sharp from Sheffield United. Sharp only cost 2K and asked for a modest weekly wage in return for assurances that he would play. Our forward rotation for next season now looks like- Vine, Williams, Sharp, Singh and Hallett- much better than where we stood before this season (though I still wish I could have added Braniff). Our fans were cheered by the signing of this promising youngster.

retired_destiny1124

1.4.06
Exeter (0) Harrow Hill (5)
Exeter may have the title more or less locked up, but they got a taste of how well we have been playing of late as we obliterated them in a 5-0 rout. A hat-trick from Kevin Braniff was the key, but we also had a two-goal performance from Gavin Bolger. We took advantage of their defensive lapses and kept them under pressure the entire match. Daniel Austen earned his clean sheet with a couple good stops on Sean Devine in the late stages. The win was costly though as Braniff badly sprained his ankle and will likely miss the remainder of the season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1.4.06 ECS (all with 38 played)1- Exeter 84 pts (+30) 2- Harrow Hill 78 pts (+36)3- Hornchurch 73 pts (+23)4- Bath 66 pts (+21)5- Kingstonian 63 pts (+15)6- Havant & W 63 pts (+8)7- Bishop's S 59 pts (+10)</pre>

retired_destiny1124

8.4.06
Harrow Hill (2) Thurrock (0)
Both sides played a physical first half that saw several yellow cards and many fouls. That it remained scoreless was due to fine work by Lewis Anderson in our net and Paul Gothard in theirs. Both keepers had made close-in saves to preserve the 0-0 scoreline. We came out from the opening whistle of the second half and quickly worked the ball down the pitch. The superb passing sequence concluded with Billy Sharp, who had a fine debut, slipping the ball to Gavin Bolger for a hard struck half-volley that eluded Gothard's grasp. Both sides struggled for the crucial next goal and it was Bolger again for us as he took a centering pass from Ryan Ashington and fired it past Gothard from just inside the edge of the area. Anderson was called on to make one more good save against Mike Basham to preserve the clean sheet and the 2-0 win.

retired_destiny1124

10.4.06
This is the worst time of year to be picking up injuries to key players, but now Lewis Anderson will miss the next couple weeks recovering from a severely strained calf. Daniel Austen will have to shoulder the load with Ian Hutchinson moving into the backup role.

***

15.4.06
Redditch (1) Harrow Hill (2)
It looked like we were headed to a 1-1 draw and I was unhappy. We had outplayed Redditch by a large margin, but had gifted them the lead in the early stages of the first half when a miscommunication between Simon Downer and Mark Berry had resulted in Downer knocking the ball past Berry. Simon Hollis was in the right place to pounce on the loose ball and he took it past a diving Daniel Austen before blasting it past Franklin Simek- who was futilely trying to defend the goal line. We had evened the match just before half when Ryan Ashington had hit a beautiful swerving 25 yard free kick past Danny Knowles. We had plenty of chances to take the lead in the second half, but our finishing was atrocious. Near shots, far shots- they were all wasted- most of them weren't even close enough that Knowles would make a move on. Gavin Bolger was the main culprit, as he was the focal point of the offense after I had to pull Jamie Slabber and Billy Sharp off the pitch because they were slightly injured. Bolger made up for all that in heartbeat though as he scored the match winner deep into second half injury time when he smashed home a loose ball from just beyond the six yard box for a dramatic 2-1 road win for us.

retired_joyce

Great story Faramir!

I've read the whole story in one time (only happens with top-stories )!

The title is still possible!

Go for it!

retired_destiny1124

Brammeke- Thanks for the kind words, they are appreciated

Always going for the title

***

22.4.06
Harrow Hill (2) Grays (0)
We continued our winning ways as we managed to fight past Grays 2-0 at Larksfield Road. We pressured them off the opening whistle and after buzzing around their end for a few minutes it was Gavin Bolger's sizzling cross that Jamie Slabber was able to head past Carl Emberson that gave us the lead. Grays were giving as good as getting too and Daniel Austen had to be sharp to stop a couple good opportunities they managed on counterattacks. It was another tough physical match and our catalyst in the second half was James Tevendale who had come on for battered Bolger. Tevendale was everywhere- cutting off their passing lanes, winning headers and making deft passes on the attack. Tevendale's pass was deflected by Richard Thomson, but Danny Singh overpowered the defense and Emberson to hammer the shot home to give us the crucial 2nd goal in what would be a 2-0 win. We lost Singh for the season shortly after that as he strained his back. Due to managing only two draws in their last 2 matches, Exeter has left the door open for us. We trail them by 2 points going into the last match of the season.