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Tuesday 7th September 2010
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Matches played Saturday 14th February 2009
It's grim as matches again decimated - but determination pays off for Paull and Hull Athletic.
Match day last week was Valentine’s day which should notionally be a ‘sunny’ day, and for a change, that was exactly how the weather was, but unfortunately this was after another week of miserable wet weather, and yet again all the planned football for the area was decimated, excluding the reliable pitch at Paull, and the 3G pitch at Hull University which bucked the trend!
Determination to get a game played – any game – was the intention at Paull where the original League Cup fixture had been cancelled to accommodate an ERCFA cup game (which takes priority), leaving Paull Wanderers without any opponents, but when other games fell by the wayside, Hull Athletic and Paull Wanderers got their heads together, and, with approval, arranged to play an outstanding Division 1 fixture with Hull Athletic willingly conceding home advantage.
The issue was still not clear cut, and a 9.00am pitch inspection was required before the go-ahead was signalled but when play began at 2.00pm, only two minutes were required before the first goal came, with Paull’s Mark Sexton helping Hull’s Chris Rawson’s effort from a corner into his own net.
If this goal had a touch of good fortune about it that could not be said of Hull Athletic’s second effort after 30 minutes when a long ball over the Paull defence was latched onto by Hull’s powerhouse centre forward Gareth Jones, who was in action for the first time since November, and from his solo run, he hammered the ball into the net.
Paull Wanderers pulled themselves together in this good spirited match and reduced the deficit when James Sexton and Karl Smith played a short corner to each other before Sexton put the ball into Danny Wilbor’s path and he slotted the ball past keeper Shaun Leamon.
With half time approaching, Paull levelled the scores when veteran, but talisman Terry Thompson was involved in some nice play from which the ball again arrived with Danny Wilbor who duly slotted home.
The second half saw the match pattern repeat as Hull Athletic had just two shots on goal from Gareth Jones and Tony Wilson, but both were made to count, and Paull were again faced with rescuing the game.
Paull kept Hull under pressure but missed 2 or 3 good chances before manager James Sexton decided to go for broke with 15 minutes left, and changed the attacking formation and it paid off instantly when James Sexton found substitute Mike Robson who cleverly chipped the Hull keeper, Leamon.
Soon afterwards, Paull thought they should have been awarded a penalty when Robson was brought down but the referee saw the incident differently and awarded a goal kick.
With the game coming to its conclusion, Paull keeper Liam Smith hit the ball upfield and found James Sexton, whose hurried shot was miss-hit but fortunately found the head of defender Darren Dennison who was in an advanced position - the right place at the right time - to head in the ball, completing the second comeback!
Both sides agreed afterwards that neither deserved to lose, and considered a draw to be a fair result, with Hull Athletic particularly pleased to be back in action ….at last.
The only other games to take place followed each other at the University where AFC Hull entertained Sculcoates Amateurs Reserves in the third round of the ERCFA Intermediate Cup, followed by Branshome Athletic facing Sutton Fields Rangers in the same competition.
Early on, Sculcoates proved they were a dangerous side when a free kick from just outside the box was struck at goal, and goalkeeper Craig Lindley did well to get down low to his right to keep the ball out of the net.
After a slightly nervous start, AFC Hull settled into the game and began to create chances. An infield pass from Ashley Smith found Mark Friston on the edge of the Sculcoates box, but Friston's shot went wide of the mark. Two minutes later Sam Nicholson got the better of the Sculcoates defence and lobbed the visiting keeper but was unlucky to see his effort drift over the crossbar.
Controversy erupted after twenty-three minutes when Ashley Smith was scythed down by Sculcoates' number six. The studs-up tackle, however, was seen as worthy of only a yellow card by referee Mr Hitchcock.
Six minutes later, Dale Carty and Sam Nicholson combined brilliantly to put Mark Friston through on goal and Friston calmly placed the ball past Sculcoates goalkeeper James Hitchcock to make it 1-0. Sam Nicholson almost increased the lead moments later rushing through the Sculcoates defence only to have his shot well saved by Hitchcock.
With only two minutes of the half remaining, Sculcoates equalised through a sublime Danny Jones strike from twelve yards out, which Craig Lindley had no chance of stopping.
Just before half-time, Sam Nicholson picked up a second yellow card for an innocuous-looking challenge, leaving AFC Hull to play the second half with just ten men.
AFC Hull started the second half much better than they ended the first – playing their own brand of flowing football rather than trying match Sculcoates' very physical play.
Three minutes into the half, Tony Tummon found himself in space but smashed the ball wide of the upright.
With an hour gone, Dale Carty burst through the Sculcoates defence and struck at goal, only to see his effort go narrowly over the crossbar. AFC Hull's ten men remained well in contention as Sculcoates failed to exploit their one-man advantage.
On sixty-seven minutes, what seemed like disaster struck, when, against the run of play, a defensive mix-up allowed Sculcoates' Sam Mortimer to strike the ball past an unsighted Craig Lindley to put the visitors in front.
AFC Hull were far beaten – a Tony Tummon break on seventy-four minutes was stopped only by a well-timed tackle from a Sculcoates defender.
With fifteen minutes left, AFC Hull manager Ricky Jagger re-shuffled his pack, bringing off hard-working midfielder Sean McFaul and bringing on the more attack minded Nathan Nicol.
With just five minutes to go, Craig Lindley kept AFC Hull's hopes alive with a marvellous piece of goalkeeping, which denied Sam Mortimer his second goal of the game. One minute later, Tony Tummon, looking suspiciously offside, raced clear of the Sculcoates defence, and rounded James Hitchcock in the Sculcoates goal and seemed to take an eternity before finishing from point-blank range, putting AFC Hull back on level terms.
Tummon nearly grabbed a second, two minutes later with a twenty-five yard shot, which Hitchcock did well to get a hand on, and turned the ball over the bar.
On eighty-eight minutes, with AFC Hull pressing, a Sculcoates half-clearance fell to Damon Brooks twenty yards out and Brooks’ shot through a crowded penalty area took a deflection on its way into the back of the net to give AFC Hull the lead and subsequently victory, booking a place in the quarter-finals against Humber Premier League opposition Kinnersley or Inter Charter.
Bransholme Athletic gained a hollow victory over Sutton Fields Rangers after Sutton Fields had the better of the earlier play but had the heart knocked out of them when centre forward Stuart Waudby sustained a badly broken leg, which necessitated a 30 minute hold-up whilst an ambulance arrived, and overshadowed the whole game.
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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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