Northwood Under 18 2  Hampton & Richmond Under 18 2

Thursday 29th September 2011

Northwood U18		Ryman Youth League Chestnut Avenue, Northwood
Jack Laney	1	Kick Off
Michael Uche	2	7.45 p.m.
Harry Wright	3	H/T
Frederick Barnor	4	2-1
Louis Judge	5	Scorers
Aaron Sutherland	6	Northwood
Nathan Henry	7	Williams, Sutherland
Isaac Alawode	8
Shomari Bridgewater	9
Callum Wright	10
Temitayo Fambegbe	11
Max Easton (1, 45m)	12
Peter James	14
Jackson Kiwanda (11, 80m)	15
Lamin Cole (6, 60m)	16
David Solomon	18

With the previous managerial regime over, the Under 18s were under the caretaker management of Andy Parslow and watched by the new manager and assistant. A few changes to the line up and formation were imposed and the players had the chance to put the disappointment of previous results behind them and focus on times ahead.

A strong start by Woods saw them take an early lead through good work from Tamitao Fambegbe to find Callum Wright, who slotted the ball under the keeper. Clear cut chances were rare in the first half with a lot of the play in the middle of the pitch, but Woods were playing some good football and were starting to get a strong grip on the game. Midway through the first half, though, Woods were punished for not making their dominance count as Williams pounced on a half-chance produced from a mix-up and lack of communication to guide the ball over Laney in the Woods goal and level the match at 1-1.

This galvanised Hampton & Richmond, and they found themselves enjoying more of the possession but still Woods persevered and were rewarded when Nathan Henry was through on goal with Aaron Sutherland available on his right, Henry’s shot could only be parried by the opposition keeper straight into the path of Sutherland who calmly passed the ball into the empty net.

Max Easton replaced Laney in the Woods goal at half time due to a groin injury. The second half continued in the same manner, Woods were dominating the game and were buoyed by the slender lead. The confidence in the passing was clear to see and chances were being created to extend the scoreline. Midway through the half, Sutherland hit the post with a strong header off a Woods corner but no one could respond quickly enough to the rebound and the ball was cleared. Lamin Cole came on for Sutherland who had run himself into the ground and a few players were switched around to different positions.

Fambegbe was causing lots of problems for the opposition defence, while Isaac Alawode and Shomari Bridgewater were forming a strong partnership in the centre of midfield. Another Woods attack saw Cole break down the left into the eighteen-yard box and his persistence saw him overcome one late challenge but was brought down after a second, the referee saw no foul and play continued.

Hampton & Richmond were starting to find their way back into the game and began testing the Woods back line and Easton in the goal who was forced to tip one long range effort over the bar and saw another speculative effort rattle the crossbar. With 10 minutes left, Jackson Kiwanda was brought on for Fambegbe who had taken a lot of bruising challenges throughout the game and could no longer continue. The game was poised going into the final minutes with Woods looking to close down any opportunities that were arising from the Hampton & Richmond midfield and attack.

With two minutes left, however, Fitzsimons broke free into the box and lashed a shot into the top left-hand corner to level the game at 2-2. The action did not stop there, however as Callum Wright had another chance in the dying seconds which the opposing goalkeeper tipped superbly onto the post to deny what would surely have been the winner.

Overall, a point gained after a slow start to the season and the lads are looking more like a team. Although it wasn’t the result that we wanted or, perhaps deserved, it was a significant improvement on previous results.

Report: ANDY PARSLOW