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Northwood Under 18 2  Hillingdon FC Under 18 2

Thursday 10th November 2011

Northwood U18
Middx Senior Youth Cup
Chestnut Avenue, Northwood
Max Easton
1
Kick Off
Aaron Sutherland
2
7.45 p.m.
Jamie McKay
3
H/T
Lamin Cole
4
2-1
Louis Judge
5
Scorers
James Waldron
6
Northwood
Nathan Henry
7
Wright 2
Sam Beecham
8
 
Callum Wright
9
 
Pranav Amarnath
10
 
George Holland
11
 
   
-
12
Luke Fox (10, 99m)
14
 
Michael Elderfield ( 7, 67m)
15
 
Temitayo Fambegbe (8, 59m)
16
 
-
17
 
 


The Woods went pretty close but they ended this Middlesex Senior Youth Cup tie still looking for their first victory of the season.

The side has altered quite a bit since the change of management a month ago, and it is a very young looking team that took the field for this contest, with most of the boys still only sixteen. It means that they have quite a bit of growing up to do in their tough Ryman Youth League games during the remainder of this season, but this match against Southern Counties Youth League team Hillingdon was quite closely fought throughout.

The Woods were gifted a fifth minute lead as visitors goalkeeper Ben Clargo made a hash of gathering a through ball and it ran loose for Callum Wright to roll into an empty net.

Hillingdon responded well but were unable to breach the home defence and then the Woods had a couple of chances which would have taken the game away from the visitors. After 27 minutes Wright raced through onto a ball from Sam Beecham and although Clargo managed to get one hand to his shot the ball bounced towards goal. It looked like going in but the ball slowed and a defender just got back to clear.

Seven minutes later it was a repeat as Nathan Henry put Wright in again and he lobbed the keeper into the roof of the net. However, the ball sprung back out quickly from the corner of the net and cleared and neither the referee, or assistant were confident enough to give what looked a clear goal from where I was standing.

Just two minutes later, a defence-splitting pass up the other end saw Ben Denham-Smith with just Max Easton to beat and he slid the ball under the ‘keeper to level the scores. Stung by that, the Woods were back in front on 38 minutes when the impressive Jamie McKay swung in a cross from the right and Wright stooped to head home unmarked and make it 2-1, a lead they held comfortably to half-time.

But Northwood lost their way a bit in the second-half, losing the tempo they had competed with during the first forty-five minutes and the visitors pulled level again after 55 minutes when Lewis Sparks beat two defenders as he cut in from the left and fired in at the near-post.

Clargo pushed a George Holland shot wide as the Woods tried to regain the lead but it was Hillingdon who went closest to winning in normal time. A good run from Denham-Smith set up Adam Mohammad for an easy chance but he fired wide of an open goal and then Matt Reynolds saw his effort come back off the post.

In extra-time, it was Northwood who took control again and efforts from Holland and McKay were the closest to winning the match but in fact the thirty minutes produced very little goalmouth action and it went to a penalty shoot-out.

Hillingdon went first and Easton was particularly unlucky as he got hands to three of their five successful efforts without managing to keep any of them out. One of them actually rebounded straight up only to bounce and spin back into the net. For the Woods, Wright, McKay and Lamin Cole all found the net but Holland put his shot over the bar and that was the only difference as Hillingdon went through 5-3 on penalties.


Report: ALAN EVANS



         
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