Tobi Joseph started for the first time this season and scored 2 excellent goals as the Urchins ran out 4-1 winners against a good Bury Town. Brad Warner and Theo Fairweather-Johnson were also on the scoresheet.
Saturday 26-August-2017
BURY TOWN 1 HORNCHURCH 4
BT – Tibbles – De’Ath (Jolland 82) – White – Canfer – Fenn – Clements – Wales (Ramadan 65) – Read (Mills 76 – Hughes – Barber © – Aitkens
Subs – Cooper – Yaxley
HFC – Mott – Bentley (Hursit 66) – Porter – Lee – Cooper – Chouman – Joseph – Styles © – Wall – Purcell (Tuohy 82) – Warner (Fairweather-Johnson 76)
Officials – James Turner with Dario Matthewson and Mark Ames
Scorers – Joseph 14 (H) – Mott 38 (og) (BT) – Joseph 71 (H) – Warner 54 (H) – Fairweather-Johnson 82 (H)
Bookings – Purcell 31 (H) – Wall 63 (H) – Warner 66 (H)
Attendance 301
Duration – 47.00 + 49.00
BT – all blue
HFC – all yellow
BURY TOWN 1 HORNCHURCH 4
Manager Jim McFarlane was unable to take charge of this match, and Colin McBride took over for one match as his replacement.
The match took a long time to get going with neither team able to create any openings in the first ten minutes, with the main tactics for the home side being a series of very long throws into the Hornchurch goalmouth by Darcy De’Ath, though they offered little threat, apart from one that Ollie Hughes headed wide of the far post.
Hornchurch took the lead with their first attack of the half, when George Purcell ran along the left wing, and Tobi Joseph neatly glided his low cross into the goalmouth home.
Bury began to press forward; Bradley Barber put a free kick several yards wide of the target, and Sam Mott tipped over a header from a Liam Wales cross, but it was Hornchurch who again came closest to scoring when Purcell was just beaten to a Joseph through ball by Luis Tibbles.
Alex Bentley made a timely tackle on the ever-dangerous Noel Aitkens, and at the other end Ross Wall flicked on to Purcell, whose shot produced a good save by Tibbles. From the resulting corner, Brad Warner played the ball to Purcell on the edge of the area and his hard volley went wide of the upright.
Warner sent a low cross into the middle where Tibbles just grabbed the ball as Wall moved in, and in quick succession Elliot Styles and Nathan Cooper both headed over as corners were floated into the goalmouth.
Mott made an excellent save from a Hughes header, and two minutes later, on 38 minutes, Bury drew level when Bradley Barber sent in a long free kick towards a packed goal area, and Sam Mott could only help it over the line.
Towards the end of the first half Hornchurch began to regain control, and when Mott launched a long kick upfield, Wall flicked on, and Tibbles just beat Purcell to the ball. Almost on the interval, following sustained pressure, a Brad Warner shot came back off the post.
Nine minutes into the second half a Barber free kick was cleared out to the right to Wall, who quickly played the ball forward to Purcell on the right wing. Purcell crossed to Brad Warner who neatly slotted home to put Hornchurch into a lead that they never looked like losing.
Hornchurch were now in command of the midfield, and the third goal followed on 71 minutes. Jay Porter centred from the left and the ball was headed out for a corner. Warner took the corner and this led to another corner, which Warner again took, and Tobi Joseph headed home for his second goal of the day.
Purcell went close with a good run and shot, and Purcell then scored with a magnificent volley into the far corner of the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside, perhaps a very harsh decision.
But the fourth goal quickly followed, when the Bury substitute was dispossessed and the ball ran to Theo Fairweather-Johnson, who rounded the keeper, then, under pressure from a defender, took the ball out towards the edge of the area, where he turned and neatly lobbed it over the keeper and into the net.
In stoppage time Mott saved well from Hughes, and then from Barber, but by then the result was never in doubt.