TUDOR TALK

[tapper]

Tuesday 4th March
Southern League Premier Division
Hemel Town 3 Corby Town 2

A disappointing crowd of just 121 turned out on a cold miserable night, to witness the Tudors scrape a home win at the last against a battling Steelmen side.
The first half belonged mostly to the home side as visiting keeper Martin Davies floundered in the sudden near blizzard conditions that swept across Vauxhall road.
Chances for Chris Dillon and Ollie Burgess came and went, and defender Adam Jones saved his keepers blushes when he hooked the ball off his line after Davies had nearly punched a Burgess corner kick into his own net.
But at the other end it was Corby who took the lead when Daniel French’s long range shot on sixteen minutes somehow beat keeper Ian Brown at his near post.
Within a minute however Hemel were level, when Davies made a hash of stopping a weak shot by Harry Hunt and Jones (trying to blast the ball clear out of his area) hit the incoming Paul Edgeworth - the ball rebounding into the now empty net.
Against the run of play Corby went in at the break ahead. A deep corner kick on forty three minutes found the head of Phillip Watt and he easily guided the ball past an unusually static Brown & into the far corner.
After the break it was the visitors who pressed forward with Hemel at times struggling to defend their lines as they sat too deep. Corby for all their possession however failed to create too many real openings, and it was Hemel (now playing lump it and hope football) that proved to be the more likely looking to score again.
The equaliser came on the hour from the penalty spot. Skipper Edgeworth stepped up to score easily past Davies, after referee Rathbone had awarded the kick on the advice of his linesman for a rather dubious handball against Chris Glarvey.
Hemel supporters weren’t complaining however and now strove to encourage their side to get forward at every opportunity. Corby to their credit though showed that their fifth from bottom status is probably temporary as they continued to push the Tudors all the way.
The winner eventually came with just two minutes of normal time left. Dillon picked up a pass on the left wing and cut inside Watt, before unleashing a pile driver effort from twenty yards that deceived Davies and flew into the far corner of the net.
The defeat was a little harsh on the Steelmen who fought well, but no complaints in the end from the Tudor faithful as the result moves the team back up to seventh spot in the table.

Hemel Town:
Ian Brown, Simon Sweeney, Mark Coulson, Adam Martin (Graham Hall), Nathan Bowden-Haase, Yiadom Yeboah, Ollie Burgess, Matt Gearing, Chris Dillon, Harry Hunt, Paul Edgeworth. Subs (Not Used): Steve Jackman, Enoch Boateng & Sam Styles.

Corby Town:
Martin Davies, Adam Jones (Liam Nicell), Phillip Watt, Chris Glarvey, Stuart Wall, Wayne Diuk (Ian Nimmo), Robbie Maddox, Robert Hughes, Tony Battersby, Steven Diggin, Daniel French. Subs (Not Used): Chris Difante, James Gould & Gareth Jones.