TILBURY 0 HORNCHURCH 1

[Dagger03]

Saturday 13-February-2016

TILBURY 0  HORNCHURCH 1

 

TFC – Bogard – Webb (Pooley 82) – Cook – Danny Smith – Nightingill – Game © - Elsom (Mead 67) – Carlile – Richmond – Cundle – Kurt Smith

Subs – Jaggs – Hanlon

 

HFC – Mott – Chouman – Styles © - May (Dove 84) – Cooper – Goodacre – Eyong – Collis – St Aimie (Freeman 72)  – Purcell – Bdntley

Subs – Knight – Thompson

 

Officials – R Kendall with A Loe and J Killen

 

Scorer – Freeman 73

Bookings – Cooper 15 (H) – Freeman 76 (H)

Attendance 102

Duration 45.00 + 48.00

Weather – 5 degrees, drizzle, strong cross field wind

 

 

TILBURY 0  HORNCHURCH 1

 

Hornchurch signed Tambeson Eyong and Kieron St Aimie during the week, and both featured in the starting line up, whilst Billy Coyne has joined Aveley.

 

With Aaron Gayle, Nic Brown and Leon McKenzie all missing with injuries, Hornchurch were only able to field four substitutes, whilst Tilbury was without Danny Glozier.

 

On the soft pitch, with a strong cross wind, and in persistent drizzle, both teams had difficulty in adapting.

 

In a first half where neither team managed a shot on target, and where play was largely confined to midfield, it was Tilbury who created the first scoring chance, when Nathan Cooper conceded a free kick, which was floated into the goalmouth from the left wing, and Cooper headed the ball over his own crossbar for a corner.

 

Two minutes later St Aimie flicked a long ball out of defence on and George Purcell ran forward. As keeper Clarke Bogard rushed out, Purcell lobbed the ball over his head from forty yards out, and it drifted wide of the post in the cross wind.

 

Greg Cundle made a good run in from the right, but his cross was deflected away for a corner, and the best chance of the half came when a Joey May free kick found St Aimie, and although his header beat the defence, it also went wide of the far post.

 

Hornchurch had one further chance in the first half, when Bogard sliced a badly timed back pass away for a corner.

 

Eyong had been prominent in the first half and shortly after half time he made a powerful run in from the left wing, and his hard drive was blocked and eventually scrambled away.

 

Purcell then ran on to a good pass on the right wing, and his low cross passed invitingly across the goalmouth, before being deflected for a corner.

 

Eyong featured in the next attacking move, with a good pass to Dave Collis, whose centre from the right was punched away by Bogard.

 

Hornchurch enjoyed the territorial play but clear-cut chances were few and far between.

 

Jim McFarlane then made what turned out to be an inspired substitution, sending on Ricky Freeman in place of St Aimie. And two minutes later Freeman was ideally placed to place the ball firmly in the net, following a free kick which was played on by Eyong.

 

Three minutes later Freeman was shown a yellow card when the referee decided that he had not retreated ten yards from a free kick, a decision which was as surprising as it was unpopular.

 

Charlie Dove replaced May, though he had to wait a few minutes as May was involved in two attacking moves which led to corners, and Dove was closest to increasing the score when he just failed to reach a through pass, which keeper Bogard kicked away to safety.

 

In stoppage time Tilbury twice almost broke through, but Jed Chouman and then Nathan Cooper were quick to spot the danger and played the ball firmly back upfield.