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Sunday 5th September 2010
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Matches played Saturday 27th September 2008
AFC Hull on a roll....but it's disappointment in Shield.
After a last minute defeat in their opening game of the season, AFC Hull turned things the following week, but must have been a little daunted to have to travel in their next fixture to face AFC Preston 2nd on their Sandhill Country Park ground which has become something of a fortress, with Preston boasting a two year unbeaten home record as they gained promotion out of Division 2.
AFC Hull were out of the blocks quickly and created an number of chances in the first ten minutes, and their early dominance was rewarded one minute later when tireless midfielder Dale Carty responded first to a rebound and shot low past the keeper to put the visitors a goal up.
With only a bare eleven players available, Preston were struggling when injury forced a change in goal, allowing the injured player to remain involved but disrupting the team formation, and thereafter, the team struggled.
There was no let up in the pressure from AFC Hull and wave after wave of attacks rained in, and Hull came close to doubling the lead.
On 21 minutes a surging run by defender Rio Buckley to the by-line was abruptly ended when he was chopped down, and Referee Sprangle had no reservation about awarding a penalty. AFC Hull's Sean McFaul stepped up to take the penalty, but to Preston's relief he sent it just wide of the post.
AFC Preston, buoyed by the penalty miss, earned a penalty of their own from a rare attack, when keeper Craig Lindley was adjudged to have brought down a Preston attacker in a one-on-one situation. Lindley, however, immediately made amends, tipping the spot kick over the bar, and AFC Hull carried their narrow lead into the break.
The second half saw AFC Preston come out in determined mood and took the game to AFC Hull, and their pressure earned an equaliser on 59 minutes from a corner which was headed home by Kev Fenton from close range.
AFC Hull then stepped up their game, and went close following a number of quick breaks, before striker Tony Tummon broke through the defence to send a shot over the keeper to restore the lead on 69 minutes.
This spurred on the visitors who continued to apply pressure and sealed the points on 78 minutes when a loose ball in the area fell to Nathen Nicol on the corner of the 6yd box and he made no mistake.
While this was the first game Preston had lost for a long time, it was a little ironic that their fellow promotees, Pinefleet Wolfreton Tigers, who themselves had not tasted defeat for a long time (other than in and after last season’s championship decider at Preston) should also lose for the first time this season, and to Swiss Cottage who had started this campaign with successive defeats!
Swiss Cottage ended last season in good form, and that form returned this week, in a game described by the defeated Pinefleet manager as one best games he has seen for a long time.
Chances at both ends made for a very entertaining game, and Pinefleet’s Steve Miller could have had a hat-trick before the break, but it wasn’t to be, largely thanks to Swiss keeper John Scott and the half ended scoreless.
When the goals came, quickly after the resumption, they were scored for Swiss in the 47th minute by Craig Firzpatrick, and on 55 minutes when Ben Bassett increased the margin further.
Pinefleet got back into contention when Jason Stevens replied from the penalty spot but a penalty conceded by Pinefleet on 75 minutes allowed Paul Allen to restore Swiss’s two goal cushion, and this consolidated a very satisfying 3-1 success for Swiss.
Geoff Wednesday are finding the way to goal a problem, and drew a blank for the third successive week, this time against Anlaby Park FC, who, it has to be said, do have a miserly defence.
The match was one way traffic for much of the first half, as Wednesday gained corner after corner, but without applying the finishing touch. When a clear scoring opportunity did materialise from the penalty spot, when Adam Grimmer was upended in the box, James Brash stepped up to open his side’s account, but he was denied by a fantastic save from Anlaby keeper Neil Cavany who dived correctly and parried the ball round the post.
The second half saw Anlaby come back at Wednesday, and disaster struck when Wednesday keeper John Hawkes went to clear a back pass and the ball went clean under his foot, and the grateful Mike Mews just had to follow the ball and place it into the net. The final fifteen minutes saw Wednesday again apply pressure on the Anlaby goal, but to no avail.
AFC West Hull C made the short trip to King George V playing fields in the hope that they could at least register their first goal of the season and avoid a second drubbing, which, on paper, looked a distinct possibility as opponents Hull Inter Sports had suffered a similar ignominy the previous weeks.
Injuries and work commitments left manager Darren Purchon scratching his head to field a full team and matters it looked even worse when regular full back Leon Merryless and Callum Drury reported in as injured, but Drury was, nonetheless, forced into action.
Hull Inter almost immediately took the lead as the West Hull defence were caught asleep and only a brilliant save from keeper Phil Burgess, diving low to his right, denied the home side the lead.
There then followed wave after wave of attacks from both sides, until, with 10 minutes elapsed, Mark Knott slid a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Jamie Green who slotted it past the out rushing Inter keeper, to give West Hull the lead
This success gave West Hull the lift they needed, and four minutes later Scott Wakelin's solo run resulted in West Hull’s second goal.
Another two minutes, and Jamie Green netted his second goal when Simon Collins sent him clear with a dream of a pass from deep within his own half, and with the Inter defence still reeling from these quick goals, Callum Drury played a clever one-two with Craig Collinson and netted again from just inside the area.
Hull Inter Sports lifted their game and for the next twenty minutes piled on the pressure, but a combination of poor finishing and smart defensive tackles left them scoreless.
Injury saw Jamie Green replaced by James Garner who soon set up Mike Neylon and he finished from close range, and just before the break Scott Cullenden netted to completed a very satisfactory first 45 minutes for West Hull.
The second half saw the Inter enjoy the lion's share of possession as they applied pressure on the West Hulls defence, andwhile the build up play was very skilful, it lacked penetration.
When Hull Inter Sports beat the defence, they came up against keeper Burgess who denied them with some outstanding saves.
The introduction of Danny Matcham renewed the desire within West Hull, and with his combination of quick feet and blistering pace, he set up chances Dave Blake, Ian Dowd and Mark Knott who all went close.
home side, and carried the ball into the opponents half before firing a rocket shot from 35 yards which left the keeper a mere spectator as it whistled past him into the back of the net. With net still shaking from this shot Scott Wakelin netted his second.
With 10 minutes to go, the injured Drury was replaced, and a positional switch saw Darren Purchon enter the fray in goal while Burgess tried his hand as a makeshift striker.
With time running out Danny Matcham's pass found Mike Neylon and he netted his second of the game with a Windass-type Wembley volley to conclude the scoring.
The Lair were looking to extend their excellent start to the season in the Premier Division and were involved in a thrilling end to end game with Kingburn Athletic Reserves.
Kingburn gained an early lead after a well placed lob beat the on-coming Lair keeper Mike Hamlett, only for Shaun Hunter to equalise after following in a flick on from a free kick.
This gave Lair the jump start they needed and they went onto lead 3-1 at half time after two very well taken goals from John Longthorn, the first an angled shot from out wide after rounding the keeper, and the second, a header in the top corner after some great built up play.
Lair eased off in the second half and allowed Kingburn back into the game when they scored from a corner. Chances were coming fast at both ends with both defences doing well, until a penalty was awarded to Kingburn in the final minute which resulted in the spoils being shared from what was a very entertaining and well refereed – by Alan Slater - game of football.
Old Modernians (Leeds) graciously agreed to a minutes pre-match remembrance for long term Pinefleet Wolfreton Secretary Dave Hopkin prior to this Yorkshire Old Boys’ Shield game and then settled quickly and displayed neat football which had Pinefleet on the back foot, and within the opening minutes went desperately close hitting both the crossbar and the post.
Pinefleet slowly began to get a foothold in the game but the situation changed on 25 minutes when they were reduced to ten men when retaliation produced a red card, whilst the instigator of the fracas, Modernians Matt Whiteley, escaped with yellow.
After this, Pinefleet were always battling against the odds, but they managed to keep Modernians out until the 70 minute.
A Modernians free kick was well plucked out of the air by keeper Darren Hemmings, but the ball squirmed from his grasp and was turned across goal, where, still with plenty to do, Modernians’ Mike Sproats headed the ball with precision into the net.
Pinefleet pressed for an equaliser and only a brilliant save by the Modernians keeper Tyrone Sarucen prevented Liam Stafford from levelling, but Pinefleet were then caught out by a huge clearance by Sarucen which looked to have beaten Tony Barley, though he left the ball on a call from keeper Hemmings, and Modernians John Wilson, who had just entered the fray, nipped in, latched onto the ball, and literally lashed an unstoppable shot into the back of the net in one movement.
Pinefleet tried their best to claw their way back into the game, and Andy Waller, who was rapidly losing composure, sent in a shot which was curling into the top corner, but again the Modernians keeper produced a fantastic one handed save.
The result was a deserved victory for Modernians who played with discipline and composure throughout the 90 minutes.
A reduced number of Amateur League teams now operate in the Yorkshire Old Boys’ Shield, and after the first round the only representative left is first time entrants Eddie Beedle, who recovered from a 3-1 deficit to overcome East Ardsley Wanderers.
Hull Athletic held Colton Academicals to a 1-1 draw at 90 minutes and after extra time, but the penalty decider saw the Hull side go down by a 4-2 shoot-out margin.
AFC Preston do not seem to be able to kick start their season yet, and went down heavily to East Leeds Trinity OB.
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Match Reports
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24th April 2010
17th April 2010
10th April 2010
3rd April 2010
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