Hinton match reports

Waiting for some one to write the match reports, Come on don't be shy?

Have you sold your raffle tickets?  If not please sell them, the money goes back into your club HINTON FC

16th November Cup Hinton 3 v 3 Leominster,  Extra time 2 v 2, Penalty Shoot out 2 v 4

Football games I think, don't get much better than this one, in a fixture that was switched to Leominster in the morning due the tacky playing surface at Broomy hill. 

The Leominster Town team are looking a strong outfit this year, and have already defeated the Hinton team, once this season with a five goal margin, so today was going to be leveller in many ways.  Hinton were looking strong with Luke Semple and Rod Haslam returning to the available squad, but it was the home team that took the advantage early on to steady their performance, but this advantage was short lived as Haslam changed a formation with Darren Birch coming into the game to replace Brad Matthews, into a midfield position and Semple moving forward.  This change produced the equalising score when Semple sprung into the air to win a header to release Neil Walmsley who instantly saw a scoring opportunity from 30 yards and unleashed a volley that bulged the net with the keeper stranded.

The game moved end to end with Leominster always looking a threat , with wide a strong wide playing style and Sam Bowen providing experience, strength and drive up front by the bagful.  The Hinton defence was maintaining a good solid foundation and Chris Fox was a stalwart of this throughout the match, but Fox was supported throughout by Simon Thompson, who is rolling back the years this season with a  sustained display of calm defending and then Callum Ditchfield, and Shane Cuss are applying the youthful ambition to get forward to attack as well as defend.

It wasn't just the outfield players that were performing well as the swift home attacked and were frequently testing Kai Bond, who despite not always having to produce a save, when he did he was more than up to the challenge and was tasting the Leominster grass on more than one occasion, with excellent saves. This was no more in evidence than when a soft penalty was awarded, and Bond saved the penalty strike, but unfortunately Bowen was swift on to the rebound to score. 

This third goal saw the locals retake the lead, but then the Walmsley, Semple combination created a space for Semple to race clear and deliver a calm finish to level the scores again.  The game was well and truly alive and the quality of play from both sets of players was excellent, Ben Chambers was finding space to keep a passing flow for Hinton, while Mike Marsden produced another robust game of closing and hassling the creative talent of the opposition.  The Leominster players looked a little lost in the game they found themselves in and they started to push higher up the field and continued to deliver threats from corners and found some success to regain the led.  The high line was retained by the home side and Steve Cuss, who is securing a selection a forward position in the Hinton line up, Semple and a returning Brad Matthews all found themselves in situations where they were open on goal, and it was finally Matthews who broke through and rounded the keeper with a shinning finish, 3v3!

The game was widely open and the quality stayed, with Leominster crashing in a fourth score and looked to have sealed a victory with only minutes in the 90  remaining, but a corner from Matthews travelled to the far post and pressed the home defender into a poor clearance into his home net.  Extra time loomed.

The legs in all players were feeling this game, and it is doubtful if many of these players have seen past 90 mins recently?  Off we went as the sunlight started to fail and the floodlights started to illuminate the playing surface, Haslam made some changes and Josh Rees, Semple, Walmsley and Chambers were all involved with these, and Hinton were looking good and positive for this result.  But in the first added 15 minutes a fifth goal was achieved by the town outfit, but this Hinton side has developed some spirit and were not out of this competition, and with another redesign of the players on the pitch, Haslam finished with his selection and at the turn it was all to play for in the last 15 minutes.  Leominster remained high up the pitch and Matthews gain found a huge amount of space behind the defenders to finish his second goal of the day, and Hinton's fifth!

With the teams  looking exhausted we were now into a penalty shoot out, and unfortunately at the final whistle Leominster were all happy, and Hinton hit a post and placed  another spot kick wide, and fell out of this cup competition.

Great game, great performance. These Hinton players should move on with this display, as it is again closer to standard required to be successful. 

9th November League Hinton 2 v 2 Lads Club Reserves

 Shaun Glover finished the Hinton scoring today with a goal oozed,  culture and style that will hopefully be matched with a stunning Movember offering by Glover at the end of the month.  Glovers finish gave Hinton a deserved lead at 2-1 within the final minutes of a sticky encounter with Lad club reserves, who were fully manned up today following the postponement of the West Midland league fixture of their first team.  The lead was short lived unfortunately as the visitor equalised immediately with a long range shot by ex Hinton player Jordan Cullen whose long range shot was misjudged by normally assured Kai Bond .

The game was a long way from a classic, and Hinton FC had worked during the  morning to get the fixture on following the heavy rain of the morning.  The visitor scored first when Mike Marsden was harshly adjudged to have committed a foul on the edge of the penalty area, and another Hinton old player Connor Herbert fired home under the body of Bond.  The game was a lively encounter with plenty of chances being created, with Bond being the busier of the keepers in stages, whereas Hinton were shooting wide of the goal at the other end, with Marsden, and Bradley Matthews leading the attempts on goal.

The second half was more interesting and Hinton looked more spirited in attack and  Neil Walmsley scored for the second week running, when a speculative cross was missed by the keeper, Matthews and Glover to be poked into the net by the hard working midfielder.  The Broomy hill team looked in control of a scrappy match and Steve Cuss was denied a score by the keeper when a strong shot was acrobatically saved, and from the resulting corner Callum Ditchfield looked to have scored, but the ball was adjudged not to have fully crossed the goal line.

Additional chances also came to Marsden, Walmsley, Matthews and Josh Rees with no successful until the final minutes master class in cool by Glover. 

Attendance 25

2nd Nov 2013 Cup Hinton 4 v 0 Fownhope

Hinton blew away Fownhope at a blustery Broomy hill this afternoon, in a match that was over by halftime  as Hinton took full control and had put the result beyond the reach on the country club.  The opening score cam from a  superb cross field pass by Neil Walmsley to Shaun Glover who then  pulled the ball back to an advanced Callum Ditchfield to shoot at goal only to see the thunderous shoot deflect to Brad Matthews to place the ball into the net via a glancing touch off a Fownhope defender.  Matthews recent scoring streak continues to lengthen again this week, and throughout the game Matthews was a constant threat to the villagers.

The second goal was so close to appearing, when Matthews turned to provider as he slipped a measure pass through to Steve Cuss, who was unfortunate not to get a full connection, but this was corrected  moments later when Cuss did run through on to goal to hit a rare left foot shot well and on target, only to see the rushing keeper get a hand to the shot, but the power was enough to see that ball bulge the net for a second deserved score.  The Hinton crowd swelled in numbers by a healthy attendance by the reserve team squad who were without a game this weekend, were then t witness to the best goal of the day , that Walmsley  finished calmly after some creative passing by Cuss and Matthews, as he cut inside the defender to place calmly into the net.  At 3-0 the Fownhope keeper had had enough and executed a fantastic temperature tantrum, and removed his shirt, and left the pitch.  10 minutes later he returned to the playing surface to receive a booking and delivery a good performance for the remainder of the contest.

The game was over as contest with the score line at 3-0 ,  but the back bone of the display was provided with the resolute defensive efforts of  the whole team  and led in example by Kai Bond who again exhibited a selection of fine saves, in the wind assisted conditions that favoured Fownhope in this period .  The number of occasions Bond was called on was limited by the strong displays of Shane Cuss, Simon Thompson, Chris Fox and Ditchfield, who all maintained focus and reduced Fownhope to few opportunities.

The return to play after halftime was eventful, as the frustrated visiting centre back was soon receiving a red card for a wide kick out towards Matthews, and the reduction in numbers seemed to gel the visitors and despite the midfield craft and creativeness of Shaun Glover, Mike Marsden, Walmsley and debut player Ben Chambers the chances seemed to dry up, as both Glover and Chambers found the keepers confidence had returned to produce  good saves from their shots on target, and so it fell to Cuss to grab his second score of the match to complete the tie with minutes to go.  It  looked as if a clean sheet was going to be secured until the visitors rounded a Bond on the edge of the box  to shot only to find Ditchfield on the goal line to block a shot with a diving chest to deflect the ball wide of the goal

A good win with crowd attendance of 30