TUDOR TALK

[tapper]

Tuesday 30th October
Southern League Premier Division
Team Bath 3 Hemel Town 2

Given the poor performances in the last four outings for the Tudors, this was a much improved showing against the Students of Bath.
The match was played at a brisk pace throughout, with both sides allowing the other the room to move the ball around on the deck.
Hemel started slightly the brighter of the two sides and took the lead on fifteen minutes, when Ollie Burgess’ hooked cross was nodded on by Chris Dillon to Drew Roberts, and the striker managed to control the ball quickly on his chest before slipping the ball into the far corner of the net from fifteen yards out.
Ten minutes later a good passing move saw Chris Herron gather a pass from Dillon before setting up Burgess with an inside pass - but unfortunately under pressure from defender Adam Green he clipped his first time shot wide of the mark.
The danger man for the Students was always going to be striker Sean Canham however, who aside from starting the game as the divisions top scorer, also has a habit of scoring against Hemel. And it was Canham who sure enough pulled things level on twenty nine minutes, when he lost his marker in the Hemel area to volley home Matt Townley’s free-kick at the near post.
Winger Ben Thomson then struck a fierce shot at keeper Ian Brown as the home side pressed. But from a goal kick it was Hemel who were given the opportunity to go ahead again.
Roberts this time nodded on for Dillon, who found himself one on one with keeper Darren Chitty. But the striker left it too long to shoot, and Chitty closed enough space between them to block the shot across him with his foot.
It didn’t take long for another goal to come though as both sides continued to attack, the Students now taking the lead on forty minutes as that man Canham once more lost his marker in the Hemel box, this time to head Townley’s corner kick home at the near post from six yards.
The final action of the half belonged to the visitors however as skipper Paul Edgeworth produced a rare moment for Hemel fans - a shot from outside the area - only to see Chitty tip his effort over at full stretch.
The second half began in the same manner as the first had left off, but it was the home side (kicking down the slope) that now started slightly better.
On fifty four minutes Mark Coulson was caught out of position as Herron lost the ball and striker Josh Llewellyn raced into the Hemel box before forcing Brown into an excellent stop with his legs.
At the other end keeper Chitty made an equally excellent double save to deny first Dillon from Herron’s deep low cross, and then Roberts from the rebound, but as play moved down the other end, Brown saved well once more, this time to deny Townley who should have done better after being left all alone at the far post from Llewellyn’s cross.
Hemel finally equalized on seventy minutes. Burgess’ low cross from the right wing eluded everyone in the middle, but just beyond the far post Roberts managed to catch the ball before turning and slapping the ball back across the six yard area towards the incoming Dillon. Dillon missed the ball which passed narrowly in front of him, only to see it deflect off defender Shaun Lamb (who had been lagging behind him) and into the net.
The stadium announcer (and most Hemel fans) credited Roberts with the goal (as does the official league stats) but clearly it should have gone down as an “own goal” to the unfortunate Lamb, as there was no way it was going in without his intervention.
The next quarter of an hour became rather frenetic as play continued to move end to end, but the Students looked more and more likely to score again as Hemel’s defence began to tire, and both Canham & Llewellyn brought good stops from Brown again.
The sucker punch did eventually come on eighty four minutes, when Townley once more was allowed a little too much room on the left, and his deep cross found Canham for the third time at the far post - the striker this time rising above Nathan Bowden-Haase to score his hat-trick.
Despite the late home goal the Tudors could still have stolen a point a minute into injury time, when Dillon rose well to nod down Roberts’s cross. But unfortunately for the visitors, chitty was just tall enough to throw himself at full stretch to his right and tip the ball around his post as it threatened to cross his line.
Hemel’s travelling support (bolstered by more than a few of the local Timsbury Tudors) were naturally disappointed in what was Hemel‘s first defeat on the road this season. But if Hemel can find a way of producing the same form at home as they show away from Vauxhall Road, then the recent dip in results should be just a blip on the radar.

Hemel Town:
Ian Brown, Simon Sweeney, mark Coulson, Chris Herron (Matt Gearing), Nathan Bowden-Haase, Yiadom Yeboah, Ollie Burgess, Dean Cracknell, Chris Dillon, Drew Roberts, Paul Edgeworth. Subs (Not Used): Josh Sozzo, Robbie Kean, Steve Sinclair & Adam Martin.

Team Bath:
Darren Chitty, Matt Lock, Shaun Lamb, Dean Smith, Sami El-Abd, Adam Green (Adi Adams), Matt Townley, Dan Dillon (Mike Shannon), Josh Llewellyn, Sean Canham, Ben Thomson. Subs (Not Used): Steve Abbott, Marc Canham & Simon Cooper.

[hhtfc]

I see that little thug El-Abd is still turning out for them...did he decide to try out a few wrestling moves again last night?

[tapper]

Yes on a couple of occasions - Eventually got himself booked in the end.
The referee generally though was reluctant to give us anything. Whilst they seemed for a while to get free-kicks at will. Oh well same old story...

[Timsbury Tudors]

Hemel’s travelling support (bolstered by more than a few of the local Timsbury Tudors) were naturally disappointed in what was Hemel‘s first defeat on the road this season.

Thanks for the mention, tapper!
We had a great time - although our record is now a disappointing - Watched 4 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 3
We're not exactly the lucky charms we were hoping to be!

It's also worth noting that, because of the traffic problems, the team coach didn't arrive until 7.20pm! Not the best preparation for a top of the table clash!

See you at Yate in April!