Burgess Hill Town
from Your Milton Keynes
Correspondent
The 1-3 defeat at home to Walton &
Hersham on Tuesday night was a bit of a set-back for the lads. After coming
away from Corinthian-Casuals, in their previous game, with three points, the gap
between Ashford Town
This seems to emphasise the important
contribution that both have made in the short time that they have been at the
Club. The presence of Jamie in goal has, in the words of one or two of those
who play in front of him, made all the difference to the confidence of the back
four. This certainly seems to be reflected in his goals conceded per game
record, as he is, statistically, head & shoulders above any other goalie
we’ve had in recent times. Speaking of statistics, here’s an Anorak’s Corner,
as there have been some significant changes in the short time since the last
one. (All figures are as at the start of today’s game).
** Anorak’s Corner **
Goalkeepers: Jamie Riley has an incredible record of
having only been beaten once every 103 minutes – which equates to less than a
goal a game. This is in a different league to the next-best ‘keeper
(statistically) in the past three seasons, who was Jake Whincup, who let in a
goal every 61 minutes. It’s a different story for young Sam Moore, however. The
three goals he let in on Tuesday mean that he is – how shall I put this ? – the
seventh-best of the seven ‘keepers we’ve had during this period, having now
conceded a goal every 40 minutes. (Sam now slips below Dave Wietecha, who left
us with a record of letting one in every 41 minutes).
Strikers: One thing I have done with the list of strikers
is to remove Adrianho from this list – this is because he didn’t actually
achieve the cut-off of 500 minutes on the field during the past three seasons.
This leaves George Fenwick as the front-runner, with a goal every 177 minutes.
Next come two current strikers, but they have changed places after recent
matches – Walid Matata is in second place overall, with a goal every 191
minutes, with Mark Lovell next (with one every 198 minutes). Using Shaun
Bradshaw’s scoring rate as a yard-stick of what defines a striker – and I’ve
already admitted elsewhere that this isn’t necessarily the best benchmark –
there are no fewer than seven “strikers” at the Club at the moment. These are
(in order of strike-rate) Walid, Mark, Paul Jones, Jimmy Bottle, Rob Denness, Sean
Ray and Mitchell Sherwood, whose two penalties in the last two games give him a
rate of a goal every 476 minutes, so that Mitch just sneaks onto the list.
Attendances: The only way for the average attendance
to go, after Boxing Day’s home game against Dover
* * *
The good news today was that the two notable midweek
absentees, Sean Ray and Jamie Riley, were back in the saddle, meaning that Tony
Browne and Sam Moore returned to the bench. There was also a slight surprise in
that Steve Lovell made a straightforward change to what we’ve come to recognise
as his first choice eleven, with Nick Barnes making way for Danny Lye. Danny
was to put in his first 90-minute stint in the league since the game away at
Molesey, last October – in which he scored !
The team, then, was Jamie in goal, with a back-four of Nicky Humphrey
(back at right-back), Sean Ray, Lee Hockey and Daniel Brathwaite, a midfield of
Danny Lye, Ryan Briggs, Anthony Hogg and Mitchell Sherwood (who swapped sides,
out wide, several times with Danny Lye), and Paul Jones and Mark Lovell up
front. Accompanying Barnes, Moore and Browne Dog on the bench were Walid Matata
and Rob Denness; Jimmy Bottle, who was still sidelined with a calf strain this
afternoon, was changed into his kit and appeared to be very much part of the
squad in the pre-match warm-up, but was unable to be named as one of the
substitutes.
The corresponding game at Leylands Park
From the outset, Burgess Hill – yellow & black
quartered shirts, with one black sleeve and one yellow sleeve, black shorts and
yellow sockies – started at a high tempo, with plenty of attacking intent, but neither
side managed to create a clear-cut chance during the first quarter of the game.
Ashford looked solid and organised, but the best they could offer during this
period was a long-range shot from Ryan Briggs, in the 13th minute, which
he pulled tamely wide. At the other end, Jamie Riley was kept fairly busy with
back-passes from his defenders, which he did well to deal with, on this bumpy
pitch – until the 18th minute, when he inevitably eventually fluffed
a clearance. The ball went straight to Burgess Hill’s Scott Marshall, but The
Hillians’ No.4 rushed his first-time effort, and the ball curved away, high and
wide, from the Ashford goal.
It was good to see our most recent signing, Anthony
Hogg, start the game, but he did look a little rusty and slightly off the pace.
He had two opportunities to put a left-foot cross in from free-kicks, in the 21st
minute, but these both came to nothing – although the second of these crosses
resulted in Lee Hockey getting a bang in the face, which required a few minutes
of treatment from Mo Alvi. It turned out that Lee had had his nose broken – but
this didn’t stop him from saying that he’d be OK, and he rejoined the fray in
the 25th minute. That’s the spirit !
In the 23rd minute, a good cross from
Burgess Hill’s Matt Piper bounced around in the penalty area, before Daniel Brathwaite
hoisted the ball behind to safety. The resulting corner was fizzed in, low,
from the left, and appeared to be dummied at the near post. This caused some
panic, momentarily, in the Ashford defence, before being cleared.
The first half hour passed, with Burgess Hill
Town
Ashford’s chance came just two minutes later, and they
made it count, to take a 0-1 lead. It began with Jamie Riley hitting a
free-kick, from well inside his own half, diagonally, finding Daniel Brathwaite
to the left of the Burgess Hill penalty area. Daniel did well to retain
possession, cutting inside before laying the ball off to Danny Lye, who was on
his outside, on the left. Lye marked his return to the starting eleven with a
well-taken goal, side-footing the ball low, past goalkeeper Chris May.
The home side did try to respond before half time,
with a Kenny Hewitt cross, in the 42nd minute, which really should
have picked out a Burgess Hill head, and a shot, which went over the bar from
outside the penalty area, again from Hewitt, in the 44th minute, but
to no avail. For Ashford, Anthony Hogg got hold of a long-range shot, right at
the end of the half, but this effort went just wide, so the visitors took a 0-1
lead into the break.
I’m sure that Lee Hockey would have been willing to
play on with his facial injury, but the half-time diagnosis of a broken nose
meant that it was the Browne Dog who emerged as a substitute for the second half,
taking up his familiar position of right-back, with Nicky Humphrey moving
across to centre-half.
It must be said that, for the early part of the second
half, Ashford had a spell of dominance that they never achieved in the first,
and very nearly went 0-2 up within a few seconds of the restart. Paul Jones,
running on into the penalty area, latched onto a nodded lay-off from Mitch
Sherwood, and hit a spectacular shot which would almost have burst the net –
except that it went just over the bar. In the 51st minute, Jonah got
away with a little shove in David Piper’s back, and attempted to take full
advantage, moving into the Burgess Hill penalty area and rounding gigantic
centre-half Danny Gainsford. Jones went down, appearing to be bundled over by
his towering marker, but Mr Austin, the Referee, was not convinced. Two minutes
later, Danny Lye fed a ball down the right touchline for Jones to chase, and
this drew another foul from Gainsford, as Jonah was in the process of going
around him.
All this was fairly typical of Jones’s performance
this afternoon. He was a constant handful for the Burgess Hill defence, never
stopped running and battling, and showed the pace and confidence to be able to
go past opponents, almost at will. Given the form that he’s in at the moment,
it’s surprising that he’s so far only scored the one goal in 2008. It was also
surprising that his good work failed to create another goal for the team during
this period of ascendancy, but the green & whites did increase their lead
in the 54th minute. Ryan Briggs did well, near the left corner flag,
to fiddle a corner, and took the kick himself. Now I’m not qualified to comment
on Burgess Hill’s marking regime at this corner, and I’m not particularly
bothered about it, but I can tell you that Nicky Humphrey came flying in, met
Briggo’s cross with a powerful header, and the ball flew into the net, as clean
as a whistle. Nicky was excellent today, both at right-back and in the centre
of defence, and has, in my opinion, been one of the players of the season. He
has comfortably clocked up more minutes on the pitch than anyone else so far –
2,638, at the time of writing – and it was great to see him open his account
for the Club, becoming our 13th different goal-scorer this season.
[ Here’s an interesting little trivia question for
you: apart from Nicky Humphrey, which two players have spent the most time on
the pitch ? Answer at the end of the
report. ]
In the 56th minute, Paul Jones again looked
like he was going to score, when, in the inside-left position, he ran onto a
lob, over the top of the Burgess Hill defence, from Sean Ray. Jonah was well
clear, and Chris May hesitated as he came out of his goal. If he had trusted
his left foot, then Jones could have quite easily lobbed the ‘keeper, but
instead he checked, and waited for a chance to use his right foot, eventually
hitting the ball wide of the near post.
The home side equalised in the 61st minute,
and I’m afraid I’ll have to cite the Wenger Amendment here, as I saw very
little of the goal – my view was obscured by a combination of the figure of
Steve Lovell, on the edge of his Technical Area, and the setting sun. What I
did see was the ball crossed, from right to left, through the Ashford Town
In the 65th minute, Burgess Hill Manager
Jamie Howell made his first substitution, replacing Matt Piper with Stuart Tuck.
A little later, the first cries for Walid Matata’s introduction could be heard
from the Ashford travelling support – timed, on this occasion, at 67 minutes.
The play was certainly more evenly balanced after
Steve Harper’s goal, but Paul Jones remained a threat. In the 69th
minute, he latched onto a clearance from the Ashford defence, and went for
goal. Jones beat Tom Edmonds, and then David Piper, as he entered the home
side’s 18-yard box, but the ball then ran away from him, and the chance was gone.
Burgess Hill made it 2-2 in the 72nd
minute. A long shot, from a free-kick, was saved by Jamie Riley, but he failed
to hold onto the ball. Danny Gainsford was there to hit the loose ball past
Riley, but Daniel Brathwaite, heroically, blocked the ball on the line.
Nevertheless, Gainsford lashed the ball home with his second attempt, and
Ashford’s two-goal lead had lasted for only 18 minutes.
Just a minute later, the green shirts were pouring
forward, in search of a third goal, with Anthony Hogg spreading the ball wide
to Paul Jones; Jonesy again rounded Danny Gainsford, but the ball was forced
out for a corner, on the left. Ryan Briggs’s resulting cross went over a crowd
of players in the centre of the penalty area, falling to Mark Lovell, beyond
the far post, but Lovell Jnr’s side-footed effort at goal went over the bar.
This was to be Mark’s final contribution, since, in the 76th minute,
after a fairly anonymous performance, he was replaced by Walid Matata – who is
still the Club’s top goal scorer this season, with seven goals.
In the 77th minute, it was Paul Jones who
was again leading the attack. He had a one-against-one situation with Tom
Edmonds, as another long clearance was launched from the Ashford defence –
although Jones had his back to goal, he managed to turn his man, and draw a
foul which led to Edmonds being shown a yellow card by Mr Austin. Although the
free-kick came to nothing, Jonah had another attempt, in the 81st
minute, turning and shooting from well outside the penalty area, but he sliced
his effort wide.
Ashford’s winner came just a minute later. A cross,
from the right, from Mitch Sherwood found Walid Matata, in the centre. Walid
helped the ball on to Danny Lye, on the left, and just inside the penalty area.
Danny had the time and space to take a touch, before crashing the ball into the
net. This is what a winning goal is supposed to be like, in all the best
scripts – smashed joyfully and decisively into a bulging net ! This was a triumphant finish to Danny’s
return to the team – his second goal of the game, and his fourth of the season
– and it capped a good all-round performance from him. It was a close-run thing
between him and Nicky Humphrey for today’s Man of the Match award – and Paul
Jones’s sterling contribution has already been well documented in this report –
but Danny’s two goals just shaded it for him.
Of course, we couldn’t take the three points for
granted – not against a team that had drawn 4-4 at home last Tuesday – but The
Hillians never seriously threatened to equalise. Romain Le Roux was sent on by
Jamie Howell, in place of Scott Marshall, as late as the 86th
minute, and they had a handful of corners, but Jamie Riley was not called upon
to make a save.
This win, in front of a crowd of 162, moves Ashford
back up to 13th in the league table, just one place, and two points,
behind today’s hosts. If anybody is still counting, we now trail the team in
the fourth and final play-off position by 13 points, with two games in hand –
but it was just good to see the lads come back from Tuesday night’s set-back
with a solid performance, and yet another away win.
[ Answer to the trivia question: Rob Denness, with
1,858 minutes, then Rob Gilman, with 1,800; Jimmy Bottle is next, with 1,786
minutes. ]
Man of the Match
(to go towards
the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Danny Lye
No comments:
Post a Comment