HAMPTON & RICHMOND LOSE OUT TO HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
Match Report by Jake Holmes
HRBFC stumbled after a failed clearance from Holden gifted O’Connor-Ajayi the opening goal of the game, in an eventual 2-1 win to Hemel Hempstead at Beaver Stadium on Tuesday night.
Holden looked to make a routine clearance, taking a drop kick from the edge of his box but scuffed it. The ball never made it above head height and bounced its way straight to O’Connor-Ajayi, who just had to keep his composure and pick his spot.
Backpedalling furiously, Holden tried his best to recover but to no success. O’Connor-Ajayi opened up the scoring, dispatching his shot into the empty net to make it 1-0 in the 20th minute.
Matthews-Lewis doubled the visitors lead 61 minutes in after a very unfortunate deflection looped the ball over the goalkeeper, who had very little time to react. Statisticians will find that an awkward one to record, as it was most definitely a cross turned wayward.
As the game ticked over into added time, chaos descended.
With four minutes left the home side were awarded a penalty after Silva drove through the box and was brought down. Silva stepped up and halved the deficit, launching his strike into the roof of the net and the keeper dived the wrong way.
Before the fans had a chance to stop celebrating the goal, Hemel found themselves in the box. An initial shot was stopped and spilt by Holden, who then brought down the striker trying to recover the lose ball. A penalty was awarded.
White stepped up to take the penalty and Holden guessed the right way, but it didn’t matter. White placed the ball wide of the post, keeping Hampton and Richmond in the game.
Desperation set in, with HRBFC pumping balls forward. Fasanmade chased down a loose pass, prompting Johnson to come to the edge of his box to collect. Both fans and players appealed the keeper left his box to handle the ball, the referee dismissed the claims.
Silva received the ball twice in the box, both in similar positions 60 seconds apart with two golden chances to level the game. The first, he let loose a tame effort. The second, his touch let him down and the defender was able to get across to clear the danger.
How different things could have been: Kader was denied a goal in the 15th minute, with the score 0-0. He glided past the back line and chested the ball down, completing the move with a tidy finish. Celebrations were cut short by the linesman who singled for offside before the ball hit the net.
Offside controversy continued into the game, as Kader was taken down in the box, chasing down a pass. The entire event was rendered academic due to the raised linesman’s flag. Had he been onside, it certainly would have been a penalty.
As the night continued, HRBFC grew in frustration and become more physical into challenges as a result. Frustration turned to nerves, as the defensive unit started to become a mess as half time marched nearer.
Manager Alan Julian decided enough was enough at half time, switching the formation to a back four and swapping Field for Silva.
The change in formation breathed new life into Fasanmade, who got far more involved in the game and worked a variety of good chances to score from.
With 20 minutes left HRBFC started to apply the pressure, as Gardner played a tasty ball into the box leading to a goalmouth scramble. The Beavers had three efforts all blocked by a variety of Tudor bodies.
Hampton and Richmond Borough’s physios had their work cut out, but added to the list was a photographer. Stanley accidentally went through the back of a photographer whilst chasing a loose pass. He made his apologies before returning to position, the photographer looked to make a speedy recovery.