Ryman League Division One North
Saturday 25th November 2006
	Witham Town	0 - 7	AFC Hornchurch
		H/T 0-2 Att: 133	S Parker 3', Cross 31' Janney 60', Foyewa 77' 78' McFarlane 80', Collins 90'

Match Highlights

Witham Town

AFC Hornchurch

	3	GOAL - S Parker
	31	GOAL - Cross
Murs - BOOKED	51
Hill - OFF Hawes - ON	52
	60	GOAL - Janney
Humphrey - OFF Johnson - ON	62
	64	OFF - Purdie ON - Fletcher
	68	OFF - Tomlinson ON - Collins
	70	OFF - Lee ON - Foyewa
Sadler - OFF Holmes - ON	74
	77	GOAL - Foyewa
	78	GOAL - Foyewa
	80	GOAL - McFarlane
Revell - BOOKED	89
	90	GOAL - Collins

Match Report by Tony Middleton

An unchanged starting line up from the one which won at Flackwell Heath, but many of the away following was more interested in the social club prior to the start, where they were serving very large and mouth watering breakfasts. Inside the ground the food was just as good, which made the trip down the wet and very windswept A12 worth the effort. The waterlogged drought ridden Essex ground was in remarkably good condition considering the volume of water that has fallen. Urchins lost the toss and kicked down the slope into a very strong sun.

Witham, roared on by their lone supporter with two drums which he banged incessantly, had two players making their debuts, but they were forced back right from the start, Glozier’s free kick finding Parker, who returned the ball and Thomas put it out for a throw. Witham were struggling to gain possession, and when they did cross the half way line it was only to concede a free kick for a foul, which was taken by Purdie who lofted the ball from the right touch line into the area, where it was touched on by Cross to Styles, and thence out to Kris Lee. Over it came, McFarlane and SIMON PARKER went for the ball and it was Simon who got there first. The celebrations started right away and it appeared that the referee waved a yellow card, though it was subsequently confirmed that no card was waved.

One up and Karl was on the phone to Sid to relay the news across the web. Urchins were dominant, and Parker played a great pass out to Janney whose low cross was well saved by Crumpen, who was already having a busy time in goal. A through pass then found Parker streaking goalwards, and he tried to lob the outrushing Crumpen, who did well to grab the ball as it sailed goalwards. Witham briefly came back when Murs tried a solo sortie through the middle but was stopped by Tomlinson, and then Bostock dispossessed Gary Hill and sent Janney away. Inside to Parker and down he goes but no penalty was given. Bostock tried to lob the keeper from near the half way line and Crumpen held the ball right under the bar, and then McFarlane found Tomlinson who turned and played an inch perfect pass to Cross, who in turn touched on to Janney, whose centre went begging with Lee not able to reach it. Parker to Lee, and Kris turned to fire in a good shot that Crumpen turned around the post, Glozier’s corner being headed away by Revell. A good run by Rowell on the left looked dangerous but Bostock covered well to prevent the cross and a similar move from Hill also found Rowell with his centre going way across goal. Hand ball by Revell saw Tomlinson float over a free kick which Lee headed across goal with no one able to provide the final touch.

Urchins have recently been accused of failing to shoot from a distance, but this was forgotten when Janney and Parker combined to set Styles up, with Elliot’s 30 yard drive cannoning away off a defender. Parker found Cross whose hooked shot was deflected for a corner, and Janney’s kick was plucked off McFarlane’s head by Crumpen. And then came the second goal – a high centre from the left, a scramble in front of goal and GARRY CROSS was there to hammer the ball home. Two nil and it was looking good.

In came Tomlinson from the left, his pass found Cross whose shot skimmed the post, and when Lee was fouled in full flight Tomlinson’s free kick went across the face of the goal. A mishit goal kick saw the ball fall to Lee who turned and sent Parker away, and he tired to lob the keeper who did very well to grab the ball. On the interval it was Parker to Janney and he sent Lee clear on the left, and from his centre Tomlinson headed over.

The illuminations were switched on at the interval, and Urchins were now kicking up the slope, which looked even steeper in the shadowy floodlighting. The pitch was standing up well, despite the heavy rain of the previous 24 hours, but the main talking point was whether the Urchins could turn their supremacy into goals. Max of course was telling whoever was prepared to listen how the youth team won here a couple of years ago, the story getting better with each telling. The tea bar was being run off its feet, most unusual as tea bars do not usually run anywhere.

The second half started with two identical low crosses from the right, first by Cross and then by Janney and both were cleared upfield, but from the second of these the ball was played back to Lee, who slid a pass out to Parker and Simon played it back into the path of Lee who somehow managed to miss from right in front of the goal, the ball bobbing up as he went to touch home. A Tomlinson free kick reached Parker and he played it back to Tomlinson whose centre was headed powerfully goalwards by Lee, but just wide of the post. As pressure mounted four successive centres, three from Tomlinson and one from Cross, were scrambled away in just a few seconds, but a goal looked a certainty when Bostock sent Parker racing clear and homing in towards goal, with Revell’s tackle conceding what appeared to be a certain penalty and an equally certain red card – the referee decided that he had played the ball, even if the ball did look more like Simon’s ankle, so play continued.

A goal was threatening with every move and it came when Janney started a good run on the right, took a return pass, and almost from the touch line MARK JANNEY looked up, and floated the ball home off of the far post. Some might say it was a centre, but it was always going into the net. Fletcher, Foyewa and Collins all came on, and for a short time Witham enjoyed their best period of the match, with two corners, the first being headed over by an unmarked Saffer and the second being cleared upfield only to be played back by Johnson to Hawes who was pulled back for offside. Chris Thomas came up and hit his shot high over the bar, so high in fact that it cleared the rugby posts on the nearby Witham rugby ground and won the match for the home side by three points.

And so on to goal number four, with the hundred Urchins supporters now in full voice. And the goal started from Dale Brightly, who had the unusual task of fielding the ball, and he propelled it hard upfield, where Parker turned inside Revell and slotted through to AMOS GOYEWA, who, with all the centre and left side of the goal to shoot at, fooled the entire defence by neatly slotting home between Crumpen and the near post, and it was AMOS GOYEWA, less then a minute later, who scored goal of the match, when he took Janney’s pass deep on the right side, and turned and hammered the ball home from a very narrow angle.

Amos nearly got his third inside two minutes when he broke clear again, but Crumpen saved well. The sixth goal came when at first it appeared that Collins had overhit his corner, but JIM McFARLANE rose high to head back, over the defence and into the net for an excellent goal, with Parker making sure it was home. Parker again, and he was thwarted by Crumpen, who was having an inspired match – not that he had much choice in the matter. The final goal came right on time – the referee did not add anything on at all – when Janney went streaking through the middle and was scythed down. One yellow card later, and up stepped DAVE COLLINS to fire the ball powerfully past the massed wall and into the net. Seven nil. It did not beat the nine nil win at home to Dulwich but is this a record away win?

Video clips by Rob Monger
- 3mins. Simon Parker gives us an early lead
- 31mins. Garry Cross volleys in our second
- 60mins. Mark Janney scores an unusual goal
- 77mins. Amos Foyewa makes it 4-0
- 78mins. Amos Foyewa scores his second
- 80mins. Jim McFarlane heads in for 6-0
- 90mins. Dave Collins makes it 7-0

  Teams

Witham Town Stuart Crumpen Chris Thomas Lance Forrester Grant O'Donnell Glen Revell (c) Dean Pennant Danny Powell Andre Humphrey Danny Saffer Gary Hill Olly Murs SUBS Jack Humphreys Gavin Bensley Adam Holmes David Hawes Lee Johnson

- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 * 12 14 15 16 17

AFC Hornchurch Dale Brightly Jordan Bostock Danny Glozier John Purdie (c) Jim McFarlane Andy Tomlinson Garry Cross Mark Janney Kris Lee Simon Parker Elliot Styles SUBS Amos Foyewa Ron Fletcher Jamie Southon Dave Collins Ainsley Gasper

Man of the Match Nominated by ...

Weather Conditions:  7 degrees - clear at start, some drizzle. Wind speed variable up to 20mph

Match Duration: First half 46mins 10secs. Second half 45mins 5secs

Match Officials: B Holderness with L Wood and R Wooding
 

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