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Sat 23rd Jan 2010
League
Hillingdon Borough 0-4 TAFC First team
TAFC goals: Mark Burfoot, Simon Ellis, Ashley Addison, Darren Franklin |
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After the snow, ice and rain there was finally a game of football to watch and despite the lack of competitive action the players had not gone rusty as they continued the impressive form they showed before the enforced winter break. This win means we have picked up 31 out of a possible 36 points and with Aylesbury’s game being called off we went back to the top of the table.
We have had nearly as many games postponed as QPR have had managers but any concerns about the player’s fitness were dispelled by a blast of 3 goals in the last 15 minutes which gave a more realistic scoreline. Phil Casserley has not allowed the players to be idle during the last 6 weeks and the training paid off with a high energy performance throughout. The only concern Phil may have had was the host of chances missed which allowed the home side to still be in the game until quite late.
With Chris Salmon serving a one match ban and Andy Mullins being out for a number of weeks following an operation, Phil brought in new signing Simon Ellis from Chesham and the 22 year old had a very impressive debut, slotting nicely into central midfield alongside skipper Graham Hall and scoring the crucial second goal which finally gave us some breathing space.
Boro’s recently appointed Manager John Nolan was taking charge for the third time and he introduced a number of new players including Romero Pinto and Aaron Lansiquot up front to try and improve their league position of 17th. The two new forwards were a handful but our central defenders Henry Thomas and Brett Court did extremely well to restrict them to very few chances and when any openings did appear they were ably supported by full backs David Salmon and Rob Duncan who provided timely interceptions.
Both sets of players must have had some built up energy because the game was played at a cracking pace from the start. We settled first and Graham Hall sent a shot past the far post after good play by Vinnie Iannone and Simon Ellis. Tony Fields skipped past full back Jamie Di-Guiseppe but his cross was deflected high into the air and both Mark Burfoot and Ashley Addison were unable to put away a presentable chance. Mark Burfoot came into the game as the Premier Division’s leading scorer and it took him only 14 minutes to take his tally to 24 goals for the season. It came after Vinnie Iannone won the ball and played it to Graham Hall whose measured pass sent Burf through a square Boro defence for him to score at the second attempt.
Burf had a great chance to grab his second goal 4 minutes later when Tony Fields once again got the better of the left back and pulled the ball back to him but new keeper Jon Ashwood made a great save with his feet. Tony Fields was having a great game and he slipped a nice pass through to Simon Ellis but once again Ashwood came to his side’s rescue with another fine save. The game was being played at 100 mph but we were finding gaps in the home defence, this time Mark Burfoot’s deft chip set up Vinnie Iannone but his eventual shot was deflected to the keeper. Just past the half hour Mark Burfoot turned provider again with a superb cross but from close range Vinnie Iannone found the keeper instead of the net.
Boro tried to find the muscular Pinto and the elusive Lansiquot but they failed to test Mike Underwood who hardly had a save to make. But with 10 minutes to go to the break Boro made a big push or an equaliser. When they were awarded a free kick they put the ball into the danger area but we had coped quite well with this threat. But in the 36th minute there was chaos in our defence when Mike Underwood failed to collect a free kick played into the area and the ball had to be cleared off the line. But we were not out of the woods and we had a lucky escape when Lansiquot cracked a thunderous shot against the post with the ball then being hacked away untidily to safety. Despite this late bit of pressure we held onto our 1-0 lead at half time and on the balance of play we should have been ahead by a bigger margin.
HT: HB 0 TA 1
We made another good start to the second half with Mark Burfoot shooting over after only 26 seconds. Just over a minute later Graham Hall and Simon Ellis sent Mark Burfoot through who beat former Athletic player Matt Jarvis but couldn’t beat keeper Ashwood who added to his tally of greats saves. Graham Hall flicked a near post corner past the far post and later Ashley Addison was denied a clear path to goal by a good tackle from Jamie Di-Guiseppe.
With only one goal separating the two sides Boro were still in with a chance and the game became more even. David Salmon got across quickly to prevent Lansiquot from breaking through with a terrific saving tackle and Rob Duncan did likewise later to prevent Pinto from causing any danger. We started to give away too many free kicks and this raised the home side’s hopes. Home skipper Matt Jarvis did score but it was rightly ruled out because of a blatant push by Lansiquot. Graham Hall found Mark Burfoot with a clever chip but the subsequent shot was saved by the keeper.
The game became scrappy and disjointed as the referee started to show a few yellow cards as tension started to build and both sides made substitutions and we brought on Darren Franklin for Vinnie Iannone. We desperately needed a second goal to douse the home side’s fire and we were grateful to Mike Underwood for clawing away a dangerous cross from under his crossbar.
With 15 minutes to go we broke quickly and Darren Franklin sent Tony Fields away down the right with a perceptive pass. Tony slipped a nice ball into area for Simon Ellis and the debutant swept it past the keeper to score and give us a second crucial goal. Boro poured forward but we now looked assured and in a commanding position. In the 85th minute David Salmon blocked a short corner that misfired and burst forward himself. With home players out of position David Salmon found Ashley Addison who kept his cool to run through and tuck the ball skilfully into the corner of the net to make it 3-0.
We then brought on Danny Gray and Steve Smith for Tony Fields and Brett Court and put the icing on the cake with a fourth goal in the second minute of added time. Mark Burfoot pulled the ball back to Danny Gray whose fierce shot was superbly saved by Ashwood, but the keeper could do nothing to prevent Darren Franklin heading home the loose ball.
FT: HB 0 TA 4
This was a good performance especially after such a long lay off and it clinches a valuable double over the former FA Vase finalists having beaten them 5-0 at home where Mark Burfoot helped himself to a hat-trick. It was a good day for us with Aylesbury’s inactivity allowing us to go top of the table and rivals dropping points, Colney Heath drawing 1-1 at Kingsbury London Tigers and Dunstable losing 4-3 at Oxhey Jets. Also all 4 of our sides won. This sets us up nicely for 2 local derbies next week, with a trip to Aylesbury on Tuesday whilst Leverstock Green visit The Grass Roots Stadium on Saturday.
Teams:
HB: Jon Ashwood, Dave Pugh, Jamie Di-Guiseppe, Shawn Grant (Sam Jolliffe 64), Joe Corrie, Matt Jarvis (Capt), Tom Windsor, James Linehan (Dujon Desagurante 86), Romero Pinto, Aaron Lansiquot, Lewis Craze (Reece Rake 56). Subs not used: Ben Payne, Gabriel Sigola.
TA: Mike Underwood, David Salmon, Rob Duncan, Graham Hall (Capt), Brett Court (Steve Smith 88), Henry Thomas, Tony Fields (Danny Gray 84), Simon Ellis, Mark Burfoot, Vinnie Iannone (Darren Franklin 72), Ashley Addison. Sub not used: Dave Whicker.
Goals:
HB: -
TA: Mark Burfoot (14), Simon Ellis (75), Ashley Addison (85), Darren Franklin (90+2)
Crowd: 50 |
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(No photos on file)
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