retired_confal2

You had a decent run before those last three games, pity things have been going against you on the pitch recently. Still, keep the faith

Sorry I haven't replied yet but I wasn't in much this week-end -I'll get back to you shortly.

retired_destiny1124

Dave- No worries on getting back with me, idea has been percolating a bit- so no time pressure on it Thanks for the help and comments too

***

6.11.04
Ossett Town (1) Harrow Hill (0)
Our FA Trophy 1st round match featured a trip to face Ossett Town and as has been the case too often this season- we chalked up another frustratingly close loss. The lone goal came in the match when they sprung Paul Eversham and he took it around Michael Jago at the 10 minute mark. We had plenty of chances but their keeper- Mick Clark- earned MOM honours for being a brick wall today. Midway through the second half we scored the equalizer when Arron Davies rapped home a rebound after Clark stopped a low blast by James Tevendale. In another unbelievable offside call- they decided Steve Clark had been offside on the play. Clark hadn't even ventured that far down the pitch. Between losing the goal we scored and Clark's antics in net- we were broomed out of the FA Trophy competition. Even with a patchwork lineup today, I am pleased with our effort, but the results aren't there. Some of that is undoubtably due to my committment to youth- we have little veteran leadership on our side and that lack comes into play in close matches- which is what we have been playing all season.

retired_destiny1124

9.11.04
Harrow Hill (2) Basingstoke (1)
We fell behind in the first half to visiting Basingstoke when our backline shift left Lee Fitzpatrick uncovered and he walked right in and blasted a shot past Daniel Austen. In our unlucky fashion, we missed a couple chances to equalize- including one where the ball just laid on the goal line and we weren't able to reach it in time. A more encouraging sign was how we rallied in the second half. We evened the match when Carl Laurie drove a 25 yard shot off of Ricky Allaway- and the change of direction found keeper Scott Tarr flatfooted as the ball went into the right side of the net for Laurie's 1st Senior goal. We then scored the match winner late in the match when a stellar passing sequence saw Danny Singh slip a pass over that allowed Matthew McGowan to volley the winning goal past Tarr. We had to survive their late rally and barely did- as a skimmed bar in the waning moments brought gasps to our crowd. After that close call, we managed to put away the win.

***

15.11.04
Another forward my scouts thought highly of was Jason Hallett. Hallett was a 19 yr old SC on Canvey Island's reserve side and they accepted my free transfer offer for him. It didn't take long to agree on a contract and I hoped he would help add the layer of depth we need up front.

retired_manpk1

Congratulations on getting back to winning ways.

Good luck with Harrow Hill. I've heard of Harrow Borough before, but this side must be in an ever lower league IRL. :eek:

retired_destiny1124

binny- Thanks for the kind comments Just for the record- Harrow Hill is currently in the Hellinic Division 1- West League.

***

17.11.04
Harrow Hill (2) Thurrock (2)
In a stirring match, we managed to fight back to earn a 2-2 draw in the waning moments against 2nd place Thurrock. We had taken the lead in the first half when Daniel Austen's long kick sent Jason Hallett away and he fired a low shot past Billy McMahon to score in his debut. We were fighting to keep the lead and Thurrock came close several times as Tresor Kandol kept escaping coverage, but also kept missing the net with his shots. Austen made a couple sensational saves to preserve the lead early in the second half, but was undone by his own defender as Kieron Gradwell made a terrible own-goal to allow the visitors to equalize. As we struggled to get our rhythym back, Thurrock's Kerry Butler caught Austen off his line and fired a 30 yard skimming shot into the left corner of the net to stun our crowd as we went from ahead to behind within a 3 minute span. It looked like a loss, but Danny Singh (on for an ineffective Nathaniel Griffiths) managed to slip past Scott Reaney on the dribble and then scored the dramatic equalizer when he blasted a low shot past McMahon as the match was well into second half injury time.

***

19.11.04
Just when it seemed we were getting healthier- Adam Parker will miss the next month due to sending him to rehab following another dreaded groin injury. He will be missed since he was putting in solid efforts every time out and remains one of the few proven scorers on our club.

retired_bbcarr

always nice when a signing grabs a debut goal :thup: hope the results continue to pick up

retired_destiny1124

Simon- Yes, always reassuring when a player kicks in on his debut. Hallett's signing was due to faith in scouts, because I wasn't as sold on his being a good player (after all he couldn't even start for Canvey Island...).

***

20.11.04
Havant & W (3) Harrow Hill (3)
My heart ached after this match- we missed so many excellent scoring chances against 3rd place Havant & W. We fully deserved at least the draw, but this was a match I wanted to win and really thought we were going to. They scored first when our backline overplayed a pass and left Geoff Pitcher to rifle home a shot past Daniel Austen. The next ten minutes of the match featured 5 great chances for us- and we couldn't score. On two of them Gareth Howells came up with dazzling saves. We hit the post once and had not one, but two shots go waltzing along the goal before being cleared away by Havant defenders. Just when we were most frustrated, Jamie McGowan whipped in a long cross and Danny Singh deflected it past Howells to even the match at 1-1. We missed a couple more decent scoring chances and then found ourself trailing 2-1 as our backline bumbled a scramble badly- all they had to do was clear the ball away, but instead stood around admiring each other as Alec Masson drove the ball past abandoned Austen. I was proud of us as we rallied and Jason Hallett scored his 2nd goal in as many matches with a sizzling move past Nathan Bunce before firing it past Howells late in the first half. The second half saw both sides getting good chances early, but nothing coming of them. We took our first lead in the match when James Tevendale (on for a tiring Peter Griffiths- who played really well) made a deft pass that allowed Danny Singh to move in and blast a ball inside the far left post for his 2nd goal of the match. We were desperately trying to keep the lead, but Bobby Howe snaked a 30 yard shot past Austen and they had their dramatic equalizer late in the match. It was a goal they shouldn't have scored. We had one more chance to win the match, but Howells made a brilliant point-blank save on Hallett to preserve the draw. The most important thing that came out from this match was how well Hallett and Singh teamed up at forward. I hadn't expected that kind of dynamite from their pairing, but it was worth seeing if it could continue.

***

28.11.04
I was more than pleasantly suprised when Arsenal's Franklin Simek chose to come on loan to us for the remainder of the season. He also had an offer from Accrington, so it was a bit of a surprise that he chose to come over to us. His addition- though it may upset our defenders a bit- will help a lot as he is a quality center defender and will see as much playing time as he can handle with us.

retired_destiny1124

30.11.04
Margate (1) Harrow Hill (0)
It was a gallant effort, but the referee's 2nd yellow card that took Jordan Fowler off at 30 minutes was a problem we couldn't overcome. They took advantage of overloading our defense and that allowed Che Stadhart to be alone on the corner of the six yard box in first half injury time and he beat Daniel Austen with a low shot for the only goal of the match. We managed a couple chances in the second half, but Danny Singh shot over the net on both of them. We worked hard to keep ourselves in the match, but couldn't find a way to score the equalizer in the close loss.

retired_destiny1124

8.12.04
Harrow Hill (0) Newport Co (2)
It was an all too familiar refrane for us as we squandered scoring chances early in the match and then played hard, but made defensive mistakes late in the match that cost us another loss. With this being a midweek tilt, I decided to rest some players- even though 3rd place Newport was at Larksfield. Our lineup showed the uneveness, but we still earned some good scoring chances in the first half. Michael Husbands returned from his lengthy injury stay to play a solid match, but found himself stymied as Roger Freestone stopped him twice from close-in. Michael Jago was also giving us good work in our net, but as has been our wont, we failed to give him enough help and Sam O'Sullivan knifed through to score the first goal of the match midway through the second half. They then slammed the door on us when they converted a late corner with Scott Young scoring his 1st goal for them. We needed to play much better if we hope to beat a side with quality like Newport. Another injury cropped up as Leke Odunsi will miss a couple weeks with a strained knee.

retired_destiny1124

11.12.04
Carshalton (2) Harrow Hill (0)
This was one of those matches that leaves you feeling like the referee has it in for you. We received 12 foul calls (to Carshalton's 3) 5 yellow cards (to their none) and he sent off Carl Laurie at 48 minutes with his 2nd yellow card. We were already behind 1-0 at that point when they scored a fluke goal in the 7th minute as a looping pass from Matthew Peters sailed over everyone and into the net for an unlikely goal. We kept plugging away despite being a man down and had a few good chances- but couldn't score. They clinched the match in the 82nd minute when a cross was deflected by Ellis Hooper past Daniel Austen after Hooper outleaped Franklin Simek. The loss dropped us to 15th place and we needed a good result pretty badly to break the 3 match losing streak we found ourselves in.