Lord Crumb

Hornchurch 1) 2-0 (0 Sutton Utd

Our full team returned for this game and we enjoyed a return to form. I was dubious for the first ten minutes because Sutton came at us strongly but once we got over our nerves, things became easy for us. Once Law got bundled over on 26 minutes, we never looked back. Burwood converted the penalty and we were on our way.
We strolled through the rest of the game, Salt finished the game midway through the second half with an easy tap-in.
A workmanlike performance but very efficient. Culshaw and Burwood were dominant in defence.

For the FA Trophy First Round we are drawn at home to Wealdstone. I expect no repeats of our FA Cup calamity.

The cracks are beginning to show in the team, the only way I was able to sign the players was to assure them that they would play regularly. Obviously a few players haven’t figured that often and are now unhappy. The goalkeepers have all complained about being rotated around, now Beasley and Willis are voicing their concerns. Time for me to stop lying.

FA TROPHY FIRST ROUND
Hornchurch 1) 4-1 (1 Wealdstone

Wealdstone put up a valiant struggle but in the end we simply outclassed them. They didn’t help themselves when one of their defenders got dismissed needlessly. It took 40 minutes for us to break through, courtesy of Ian Duerden. We were rocked though when the away team equalized soon after. Allaway fumbled the ball and it bobbled into the path of their striker, who tapped it in at close range.
We came into the second half with a renewed sense of purpose. They found it very difficult to deal with Gareth Law and he soon scored twice, giving us a nice cushion. I brought on Beckford and he scored just before the end, allowing us a very comfy victory.
Our wingers were the key to this game, Buckley and Coburn provided a great service. Law was superb in the conversion of the chances provided.

After the game a host of my reserves cornered me and voiced their discontent at their role in the squad. None of them want to leave the team though!

Hornchurch 0) 1-0 (0 Bognor Regis

We totally dominated this game, Bognor didn’t get a look in. However it took an injury time winner from Law to finish our opponents off. A game we deserved to win.

Lewes 0) 1-1 (0 Hornchurch

A tough game against second placed Lewes. They performed better than us for most of the game. We took the lead with our only chance of the game, a deflected Coburn free kick in the second half. It didn’t take long for them to equalize though and we had some frantic defending to do throughout the rest of the game. We held on for the draw though.
It was a good defenders game, Burwood in particular played well.

Maidenhead 0) 0-3 (1 Hornchurch

With a lot of my regulars tired, the second string took to the pitch and they had a pretty easy time of it. Tolley was much more efficient in front of goal in this match and grabbed the first two. Burwood scored the last, he came steaming in from a corner. Maidenhead had chances of their own, their lack of finishing prowess explains their low position.
Danny Vella enjoyed his time on the left wing, he was our key figure.

Lord Crumb

My scouts enjoyed their 2 month trip to Denmark, unfortunately they didn’t find me many players. As soon as they have reported in, I send them off to Finland. Maybe they will strike lucky there. I’d love to sign the next Jari Litmaenen.

FA TROPHY 2ND ROUND
Folkestone Invicta 1 )1 -3 (0 Hornchurch

I had a league game coming up in midweek so I kept the dame side that defeated Maiden head. The only change was that I rested Heathcote, replaced him with Vella and brought in Beckford onto the Left Wing.
A nervy beginning to the match, Folkestone had a very narrow formation, so I tried to shift all my attacks down the wings, it wasn’t a successful stratagem and for the first 25 minutes Folkestone were all over us. Only some brave keeping from Stones and woeful finishing kept them out. I took the shackles of my team and they began to play better football. Both Wray and Woods had good chances soon after the changes were made. I was just beginning to relax when Folkestone scored, a superb Munday free-kick just before half time.
Twenty minutes into the second half we had still failed to make any inroads, I brough off Rickers and Tolley and brought on Heathcote and Duerden. I moved Vella to the Left Wing and placed Beckford as the left sided attacker. We were now playing 4-3-3.
My gambit paid off, Folkestone were slow to adapt, Vella provided our equalizer, he raced down the left wing and crossed for Duerden, who nodded it in. Not long afterwards a Wray cross found Woods, his shot was saved but it found Beckford, who made no mistake.
It was at this point that I made another change, Beckford was knackered and he made way for Marshall, who replaced Mas at Right Back. I reverted to my normal formation and Mas was the only defensive midfielder I had.
Folkestone didn’t really trouble us and on 82 minutes, Woods added a 3rd, he dribbled past the central defenders and this time, his finishing was much better.
The referee announced four minutes of injury time, as I noticed the board, Lee Marshall brought down a Folkestone defender just as he was clean through on goal. As you can guess, he was sent off and we’d have a hairy 4 minutes to endure.
Fortress Hornchurch held. We were through to the next round.

We are drawn away to Hemel Hempstead for the 3rd round of the FA Trophy. They have quite a few good experienced players, so could prove a tough nut to crack.

Hornchurch 1) 2 -0 (0 Welling Utd

A potentially difficult game against sixth placed Welling. The first quarter hour was uneventful, but things livened up when a Heathcote Free Kick was deflected in by the wall. The defences remained tight for the next fifteen minutes, then things began to liven up. Duerden had a header just over the bar and then on 35 minutes, Tolo Mas brought down Danny Slatter in the area. Greg Goodridge stepped up arrogantly.... and blasted the ball over, how I laughed!
The second half started off with a bang, Stones saving superbly from a header. Soon after Welling made our job much much easier when Elliot Ward got himself sent off for dissent.
I brought on Woods for Duerden and instructed him to make runs into Wellings weakened left side. This soon paid dividends, Law picked up a through ball but was muscled off the ball, Woods picked it up and finished superbly. We now had a cushion.
Wellings threat was nullified for the rest of the game, we ran out handy winners.

Hayes 2 )2 - 1( 1Hornchurch

Hayes started of strongly, testing the defence with a few long range efforts but we took the early advantage. Marshall provided an excellent long ball that split the home defence. Law raced through the gap and finished well, 1-0.
Hayes continued to pressure us and were well worth their equalizer 11 minutes later. They had finally found their range. They took the lead on the half hour mark, a splendid Ryan Robinson freekick. We were under the cosh for the rest of the and rarely got a look in.
I tried to change our formation in the second half but it was useless. We underperformed today and Hayes deserved to win.
Nicholas Stones had a bad day in goal, time for a change I think.

bartley_m

Good Start LC :thup:

Lord Crumb

Thanks Spav and Bartley, provided I don't smash this disc as well, they'll be more updates soon.

Lord Crumb

It is Monday the 13th of December, soon It’ll be the hectic Christmas season and I want my boys to be ready. I institute a rigorous fitness regime, similar to the Pre Season Schedule.

We have some very tough games ahead of us. Three of our opponents are in the top ten, including in-form Grays and Weston Super Mare.

Hornchurch 0 )3 -0 (0 Weston-Super-Mare

I changed formations for this game in an attempt to cease our recent slight dip in form. I plumped for a straight back four, with Beasley joining Salt in Central Midfield.
We had most of the possession in the first twenty minutes but Weston had most of the shots, fortunately long range efforts that failed to trouble Stones. Soon after we received the first good chance, Duerden was free on the wing and crossed for Law, whose shot was well saved.
The rest of the half was somewhat dull. As soon as we got the ball into the box, Weston would stifle us for space and remove the danger.
For the second half I moved our attacks to the flank and attempted to spread the play. It took over 25 minutes for the play to liven up, it proved to be a substitution that did the trick, Ben Woods came on for the weary Duerden. Soon after he pounced on a Burwood free-kick and slotted the ball just past their keeper. Advantage Hornchurch.
It took Weston a little time to put an offensive forward but eventually they started to threaten. On eighty one of their players got free in the box and hit the bar.
Five minutes before time Heathcote converted a free-kick on the edge of the box. That was just the cushion we needed! Woods put us further ahead when he capitalized on a Weston defensive comedy of errors. He received the killer ball from Skelton.
We finished worthy winners, Woods proved very effective.

Cambridge City 0)0 -1 (0 Hornchurch

I rested Beasley and Heathcote for this game, Vella and Skelton were promoted to the first team. Cambridge are mid-table at the moment but could still pose a threat.
We attacked right from the kick-off, Duerden getting free in the box, his shot was easily saved though. Cambridge replied almost instantly, their retort being saved by Stones in similar fashion. Culshaw was on hand to shepherd the ball out of play.
It was a lively first ten minutes, chances almost seeming to fall in a tit for tat fashion. The game did die down though and it took another fifteen minutes for the next chance. That was a Law effort that went well over.
The half finished goalless, Duerden missed the best chance of the half, blasting the ball over at close range. In his defence he was under pressure from a defender. Law also broke free in similar fashion but had his goal disallowed.
I put Woods in Coburn’s slot for the Second half, I hoped that his dangerous on the ball skills would prove dangerous.
It took fifteen minutes for us to score, the ever reliable Salt was responsible. An assured finish just inside the box. Now we’d be on the defensive though.
Near the end of the game I was forced into the unusual situation of putting a defender into attack! Tolo Mas was the man and he had a great time. He had five point blank chances and missed every single one, each shot failing to test the keeper.
We had a scare late on when a Simpson shot was disallowed for offside but the home attack lost momentum when Itonga got himself sent off for a second bookable offence. We held on.
Buckley was superb on the wing and Salt’s contribution was vital.

A good start to our Christmas program.

Lord Crumb

Boxing Day has arrived and we have a stern test in the shape of rivals Grays.

Hornchurch 1) 1- 1 (0 Grays

A very tight first half, it took over half an hour for the first meaningful chance and it fell to the opposition, Martin of Grays striking the bar with a long range shot. I noticed that we were getting swamped in midfield, so I ensured that Beasley spent all his time in the centre.
It was through wingplay that we took the lead, Buckley delivering an excellent cross for Law, who finished well. We held the lead till half-time.
The second half took a while to heat up, it did once I brought on my substitutes. Grays had changed to a 4--4-3 and began to swamp my midfield. On 65 Thurgood broke through our defence and forced a good save from Stones, Vella picked up the ball and started a counter, the ball reached Law in the area but his shot went out for a corner.
The second half was pretty tight, clear chances being few and far between. It took a freak for Grays to equalize, a Togwell cross from the Right Wing curving wickedly over Stones into the net.
The rest of the game wasn’t short on chances but it did lack goals. The highlights were another Grays shot that came off the bar and a mazy Woods run that was poorly finished.
In all a credible draw. Buckley had another superb game on the wing, he was only overshadowed by the Grays keeper. Beasley had an awful game in midfield, didn’t do himself any favours in his battle to be recognized as a first team player.

Thurrock 1) 2- 0(0 Hornchurch

We stay in Essex for the next game of our Christmas season. It was a tough first half for us, Thurrock were dominant and took the lead just before half time, a Kandol header looping over Stones.
I didn’t make many changes in the second half, I just pushed my players up a bit.
I changed to a more attacking formation for the second half but the luck just wasn’t with us. We had difficulty creating chances and Thurrock went further ahead thanks to a long range Plummer effort. They held onto their advantage without really breaking a sweat.
Not a bad performance strangely enough, Stones was the weak link in goal.

Contract renewal comes around. I offer everyone a new contract except for Jon Willis who hasn’t figured in my plans. I place him on the transfer list.

Hornchurch 0 ) 0- 1( 1 Dorchester

If there was any game I expected to win it was this one. However we were very below par in this one and fell to a 1-0 defeat. The chances were just not there for us. In short, we were lacking.

A mixed bag over Christmas, maybe I’ll revert to our old formation, not really convinced by the new style. I am also frustrated by my inability to come up with an all out pull a goal back strategy, we usually seem to fade if we go behind.

Hornchurch 1 )1 - 3(1 Bishops Stortford

We humiliated Stortford at their ground, this was a much closer match however. Until the second half when Bishop’s played the much better football.
The only consolation was a freaky Woods goal. Stones cancelled that out with a bizarre punch into his own net, his form got progressively worse from there.
We lost, Stones had another dreadful game and will find himself short of two weeks wages. I also savage him in the press, If I can’t shame him into a decent performance, then he’ll have to go.

Wealdstone offer 5k for Willis, I accept.

A worrying spell of form, I have no idea how to salvage things.

The fans rip into Stones, they are very unimpressed by his efforts. I also learn through my sources that poor Nicky dislikes me. Probably too late to patch things up. On the list he goes.

Jon Willis finally leaves Essex for Wealdstone, I wish him luck, he didn’t do anything wrong, he just didn’t figure.
The rebuilding starts here.

I am willing to take counsel on this, changing formations has done nothing for us, I'm so desperate I might even try a 3-5-2, something I haven't dabbled with since CM2!

Lord Crumb

One way to solve my current woes is to add to my coaching staff. So it is with great fanfare that I unveil two new members of the Hornchurch team. Tony’s Cottee and Godden. Both are excellent all-round coaches . Godden will take over the responsibility for the Goalkeeping duties.

St Albans 1) 1-1 (1 Hornchurch

A frustrating game for us, our defense was still a little creaky and when we did get the upper hand, their goalkeeper denied us.
We took the lead early on through a long range law effort, sadly they replied soon after. The rest of the game was a litany of missed chances. Law was clean through on goal once, Duerden had a similar opportunity. Every time their keeper saved them,.
I thought the sending off of their Central Defender would help us. It didn’t much. Even another dismissal just before the end didn’t help us.
The rot was ended but a draw to a lowly team like St Albans is still unsatisfactory.

Hornchurch 0) 2-0 (0 Redbridge

A tight dull game. It only came alive in the second half, when Redbridge had a man sent off. Ben Woods came on soon after and scored both goals. He is making a very good claim for a regular place. Duerden can feel him breathing down his neck!

FA TROPHY 3RD ROUND
Hemel Hempstead 1) 3-2 (1 Hornchurch

We were let down by our keeper Ovendale in this game. His opposite number played superbly. Tolley and Woods grabbed the goals for us.
Not a bad performance, Ovendale was the weak link though. I appear to have serious goalkeeping difficulties, none of them are capable of consistency!

Lord Crumb

Harrow Boro come in with an offer for Nicholas Stones. They put 3k on the table. I’ll be happy to lose that deadweight!

I am successful in the vast majority of my contract negotiations. The bulk of my team will stay with me for a further two years. The only rebel is Danny Vella, who has rejected £160 a week and a sizable assist bonus. He is my only cover for Heathcote at LB, so I may be forced to delve into the market soon.

Havant & Waterlooville 0)1 -3 (1 Hornchurch

A real six pointer of a match, Havant are 4 points behind us and have enjoyed much better recent form. Fortunately I had a much stronger team available than the side that lost at Hemel. I decided to put solidity above flair, I would ensure that my defence was sound.
The major change I made was the inclusion of Ben Woods as partner to Law. He has been much more prolific than Duerden.
The game got off to a shaky start, inside 5 minutes Holligan got free in our box and forced a save out off Allaway. However we settled down and Havant started to make a few mistakes of their own. The passing between their defence was awful and it wasn’t long before we had taken advantage, Salt intercepted the ball in midfield and released Woods , who had just enough legs to get off a shot, a telling shot! One Nil to us.
The rest of the half was just a case of cementing our dominance. Woods was released again on the half hour mark, unfortunately his finishing was off. Gareth Law solidified our dominance just before half time though. He was under pressure all the way into the box but his finish was sure. An excellent position for us to be in.
It should have been obvious that Havant would attack from the off. They caught me unprepared before I could get my defence in place, Holligan dribbled splendidly on the wing and crossed for Gordon, who caught Allaway slightly out of position.
I decided to go on the defensive. Mas and Vella replaced Coburn and Buckley. I swapped Marshall for Mas. It would be dreary counter attacking football from now on!
Not a bad decision! Heathcote intercepted the ball in defence and began it all. Lynott supplied the killer ball and Law once again shrugged off the opposition and scored. We had our advantage again.
Havant perspired heavily but apart from a few near misses were unable to breach the box. Law had a good chance to earn his second Hattrick of the season but he hit the side netting after rounding the keeper.
A superb team perfomance, especially from Lynott in midfield and Law. My faith has been restored after this fine performance.

My happy spell continued the following afternoon when I accepted an offer from Harrow Boro for Stones. I look forward to his departure.

Hornchurch 1) 2- 1 (1 Weymouth

Despite their fatigue I kept the same side that vanquished Havant. Weymouth are in 6th and should prove a stern test.
Things didn’t start well for us, Kirk Jackson was hit in the face by the ball and deflected the ball into the net. We put the away team under a lot of pressure following that and soon made chances, both of them following to Woods. The first he blasted over, the second was far more accurate and we had our equalizer!
The rest of the half was a tight affair, Salt headed the ball over from a Law cross and Allaway did well to palm away a Jackson shot. 1-1 at half time, the away time had a slight edge over us!
We dominated the first twenty minutes of the second half. Havant were lucky to survive another Woods dribble, he blasted over the bar but on 59 minutes Law struck. He recieved a Heathcote cross and converted well.
We effectively nullified them for the rest f the game and had some decent chances of our own on the counter. We held on quite comfortably for the win.

Nicholas Stones has finally left, not before letting me know how much he dislikes me though. I thoughtfully withhold his pay-packet.

Newport County 2)2 -2 (1 Hornchurch

Why is it that we seem to falter against the lower teams. At Newport we had an awful first half and conceded two goals in the space of ten minutes. Culshaw had a dreadful start and was a liability in defence.
On the upside Law clawed a goal back just before the interval, he has some excellent work from Woods to thank.
Half time and 2-1 down, the home team have played by far the better football. Things drastically need to change!
The second half began in faltering fashion but we played the better football. Woods had a good chance which went over but it was from the set piece that we leveled the match. Coburn’s kick deflected off the wall and went in.
The chances were few and far between after that, I’d say we just shaded it. A point gained when I was sure we’d thrown the match away!
Coburn’s and Salt’s effective midfield game saved the day for us. Culshaw did improve slightly in the second half but it was still a performance to forget from him.

Lord Crumb

The footballing world was rocked by the dismissal of Alex Ferguson. His sacking was a little perplexing, Man Utd were 4th in the table, eleven games unbeaten and were still in all cup competitons. In fact they had just made the League Cup final. So his sacking is a mystery. Steve Bruce is the bookies favourite to take over.

Coburn is out for almost a month with a groin strain picked up in the last match. Wray will deputise for him.

Hornchurch 0)1 - 0 (0 Carshalton Athletic

It has been a busy footballing month and now was the chance to avenge ourselves on the team responsible for our first defeat in the league. Carshalton are in real relegation danger, as a Sutton fan I’d love to help send them down.
Coburn was replaced by Wray and Marshall was tired, so he was replaced by Mas. Both teams were slightly fatigued.
Carshalton fought hard in the first half and by far had the best chance, Allaway stretching himself to reach the ball. We got stronger as the game went on though and began to achieve half-chances. Nothing solid though and the fans were disappointed at half time.
The second half continued in dull fashion. Our best chance fell on 59 minutes when Lynott headed over from a corner. With 20 minutes left I decided to change things around . I brought on Skelton for Lynott and changed to a normal 4-4-2. I instructed Heathcote to bomb down the left flank more.
The minutes ticked away and still no joy. A lot of fans would have missed the last gasp goal. I wonderful team move that mainly involved Heathcote, Vella and Wray. The move was finished by Salt, who arrived late in the area. A last gasp winner.
Carshalton were defensively sound, they were just unable to last the distance. Heathcote and Salt were the keys to our victory.

The Margate manager Chris Kinnear, tried to gee up his mid table flops by putting the frighteners on us. I was not impressed I have to say.

Margate 1 ) 1-0 ( 0 Hornchurch

A very dull game, Margate took the lead early on with a free kick and never looked like scoring afterwards. Sadly neither did we. Very disappointing to lose especially considering Kinnears Pre-Match comments.

It is no surprise that Steve Bruce is appointed Man Utd manager. It remains to be seen whether he can turn their fortunes around!

Eastbourne Borough 0) 0 -3 (1 Hornchurch

Eastbourne are bottom of the table but for the first 20 minutes they were dominant. It was only when we changed to a counter attacking formation that things improved for us, we tore through their 4-3-3 like a hot knife through butter.
Woods was a constant danger and he got the ball rolling. He was hungry for a goal , their keeper had denied him a few times, just before the interval he got his reward though with a trademark dribble and goal.
The second half was a litany of spurned chances, Duerden (who had come on for Woods) proving especially wasteful. He redeemed himself at the death though, with 2 well taken goals.
All of our goals came on the break. Salt was especially incisive with his through balls. He Duerden and Woods had especially good games!

A tougher test was ahead of us, this time Basingstoke were the challengers. Ernie Howe decided to taunt me before the game. I expect my players to respond better to the criticism this time.

Hornchurch 2) 3-0 (0 Basingstoke Town

We have had problems against teams playing 5-3-2 in the past. Basingstoke put us under some early pressure but we restricted them to long range efforts. As time went on we got surer of foot and on 35 minutes we struck paydirt, Law chases a through-ball and finished with ease.
Just before the end of teh half we hit them on the counter. Salt provided Law with another superb through-ball, once again Law didn’t let us down. His 20th of the season.
Basingstoke started the stronger in the 2nd half but it wasn’t long before we put the game beyond doubt. Woods this time on the end of a Buckley through-ball.
The rest of the game meandered away comfortably. Basingstoke suffered the final indignity of getting a player sent off for dissent. A good game for us!
Salt put in his best performance of the season, all he lacked was a goal.

Lord Crumb

We have developed a weakness on the Right Side of defence. Lee Marshall is out for two months with a torn groin muscle. Tolo Mas has a lot of First Team time coming up.

Hornchurch 0-0 Lewes

An incredibly dull game that rendered all the spectators insensenate. Lewes came with a very negative attitude and marked all my players out of the game. Our best chance came late on when Duerden had a half-chance.
Lewes played very physically. Both Wray and Salt picked up injuries, Wray is out for a week! A very negative game.

Sutton Utd 0) 0-2 (2 Hornchurch

A slightly weakened team took the field. Woods was shifted to the Right Wing and Duerden reclaimed his place in attack, for all of 8 minutes. He collided roughly with Matt Gray and was carried off the pitch, Tolley replaced him.
Sutton are comfortable in mid-table, however they put up a dismal show in the first half. Tolley and Law combined well and grabbed a goal apiece by the interval.
The second half was a case of consolidation. Sutton tried to break through but their accuracy was dreadful. The only sour point was that Heathcote was also injured by Gray.

Bognor Regis 0 )1 -1 (0 Hornchurch

An entertaining first ten minutes, with both teams getting into their opponents boxes. Twice in the twenty minutes my strikers challenged the keeper, Woods and Law were denied however. The rest of the second half settled down and neither team had a meaningful chance. Their keeper denied us all too often.
We managed to hit the Bognor defence before they settled in the second half, Coburn testing their keeper from long range. We didn’t get another chance for ten minutes, it took the introduction of Tolley to change things. He received the ball after some good play from law and fired the ball off their keeper, who did well to reach it!
Bognor upped the pressure a little and gained an undeserved equalizer just after the 70 minute mark, Steele heading in from a corner.
The game ended level, the excitement just petered out!

Hornchurch 1) 3- 0(0 Maidenhead

Another game against lowly opposition, Maidenhead sit in 20th place. I was not surprised that they came with a totally negative attitude.
It took half an hour for us to gain a meaningful chance, Law being denied by the keeper. It took a late arriving defender to break the defence, Culshaw finishing superbly from a Heathcote cross. We remained comfortable until the stroke of half time.
The second half was just as easy as the first. Adam Buckley scored his first goal for the club, Law acting as the provider. Coburn finished the game off with a splendid free kick.
Our easiest game of the season, though certainly not our best performance of the season.

Welling Utd 0 ) 0-2 (1 Hornchurch

It was obvious from their 4-3-3 formation that Welling intended to attack from the start. That made them vulnerable to my patented defensive counterattacking formation. It didn’t take long for us to take advantage of their reckless attacking posture. Law blasting a shot directly at the keeper in the opening minutes and shortly later Buckley put us ahead with a good finish on the edge of the box.
Welling didn’t fold as quickly as expected, they continued to pressure and our counters weren’t as incisive as usual. However by the end of the half they’d only had a single meaningful chance, well saved by Allaway.
It didn’t take long for us to make our mark in the second half. A successful counter at last. Woods raced down the pitch and crossed to Law, who let fly from distance. His shot took a slight deflection and went in. Now we were comfy!
The rest of the game was meaningless really. Nothing exciting happened. We just strolled away with it

Recently we have been winning games quite easily. However we haven’t been exactly entertaining. Very solid nothing else. We may be getting a rep for being dull and negative.