Westview Essex Senoir League
Tuesday 14th March 2006
	AFC Hornchurch	3 - 1	Bowers & Pitsea
Drake 23', Birkett (og) 32' D Cowley 70'		H/T 2-0 Att:414	Mercer 81'

Match Highlights

AFC Hornchurch

Bowers & Pitsea

Drake - GOAL	23
Birkett (og) - GOAL	32
Drake - OFF Heale - ON	45
Holland - OFF Burbridge - ON	66
	69	OFF - Stevens ON - Lander OFF - Reeve ON - Mercer
D Cowley - GOAL	70
D Cowley - OFF Makitu - ON	74
	78	OFF - Hart ON - Lambert
	80	GOAL - Mercer

Match Report by Tony Middleton

The highest gate for a night match of the season turned out for the visit of Bowers. Who only lost by a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the first match. The only change from Saturday’s starting line up was Paul Golby coming in for the injured Nathan Philip, with Ket Koka-Makitu coming into the squad. Bowers got off to a good start, Reeve running on to a mistimed back pass and moving in on goal, but a quick thinking Glen Golby cut off the route to goal. Matt Hayes gained the ball in midfield, his pass through the middle finding Holland, who turned the ball on to Drake, but Thomas covered well to guard the ball out of play. Drake then won the ball in midfield from Barry and played it inside to Holland, who switched the play with a long pass out to Paul Golby on the left, and thence to Sontag, the resulting centre running invitingly across goal, without any takers.

Drake again, this time picking out Danny Cowley and then to Tiffin on the right, his cross being headed away by Thomas. At the other end, a classical miskick by Collier saw the ball skid out for a corner, which Goodwin took, and Danny Cowley headed the centre away for another corner, again taken by Goodwin. This one was played short and Danny Cowley did well to block the hard drive that followed, the ball running out to Goodwin whose cross was held by Collier to relieve the pressure. Tiffin then took the ball off of Stevens, made ground on the right and hit a hard shot which went just past the post. Kana made ground for Bowers, and he won a free kick, which Goodwin hit high over the bar.

Tiffin set off on a long weaving run, and turned the ball in to Holland, who was brought down. Danny Cowley took the kick and found Glen Golby whose header was well saved by Wickens, at the expense of a corner. Hayes’ corner found Holland and his shot was tipped over by Wickens, Tiffin then curling in the corner which Birkett cleared. The opening goal came following what was by now steady pressure on the Bowers goal, when a long ball was pumped up the middle, Drake chased hard, Wickens came out to kick clear, and BILLY DRAKE played the rebound into the net. Another corner quickly followed, and Tiffin’s cross was palmed away by Wickens, who then saved the follow up from Holland. Holland then intercepted the ball near the half way line, raced goalwards, and hit a hard drive inches over the bar.

The second goal came in a similar manner to the first, when Matt Hayes pumped a long ball down the middle, BILLY DRAKE chased hard after the ball, but DEREK BIRKETT got there first, to score with a well placed header. The ball was a Total 90, and Urchins goal total was now 96 for the season. This was Urchins’ fifteenth headed goal of the season. A Danny Cowley free kick reached Holland, who glanced the ball over the bar, whilst a Bowers breakaway was only partially cleared by King and Stevens followed up to hit his shot just a fraction too high. In quick succession Tiffin cut inside and crossed, the ball being headed away, but returned to Nicky Cowley, whose cross was also headed out. Bowers came back again on the stroke of half time, with a Goodwin corner which King headed out for another corner. Goodwin took the kick again, and Collier punched clear.

Plenty to talk about at half time, in particular many mentioned the flock of penguins which had flown over Southend Manor in the Antarctic blizzard what swept the ground, whilst in the club shop, the entrepreneurial manager Tony tried valiantly to sell his easter eggs in a mug. And did Matt Hayes play the ball up the middle or down the middle for the second goal. Could Billy Drake claim it, as he frightened it into the net?

The second half started well for Urchins when Wickens mistimed a long Sontag cross and punched the ball into the path of Holland, but his snap shot was blocked by Wickens who had recovered well, whilst a Hayes corner was headed away by Docherty, and then Hayes followed up rapidly to reach a half hit clearance and his first time shot just dropped over the bar. Holland won a corner, which Hayes took, and Thomas headed away, the ball being promptly returned into the middle, where Wickens punched clear, and Danny Cowley took up the running, and turned the ball out to Nicky Cowley whose first time shot went just over the bar. But Bowers had a chance of their own when Danny Cowley lost the ball to Birkett who slotted the ball along to Hart whose cross was turned out for a corner, which Goodwin took and a powerful drive from Reeve was saved, with King completing the clearance.

Holland chased a long through ball on the right, his cross found Danny Heale, who had not played since his injury on the 21st January, and Heale’s shot was blocked, the ball going out for a throw, which Paul Golby took quickly and Docherty turned the ball out for a corner. Tiffin played the ball short to Nicky Cowley and he turned it low into the centre, where Wickens saved. Holland then chased a long pass down the wing and found Heale with the centre, but Thomas challenged and played the ball out for a corner. Hayes played the ball out to Danny Cowley, whose shot went high over the bar. Wickens had to come out of goal to kick away and Holland promptly played back the rebound into the middle,w here Heale flicked the shot wide. Bowers looked dangerous when they were awarded a free kick ten yards outside the area, but the wall was well positioned and the ball cannoned out for a corner, which Goodwin took yet again, and King headed away, but the ball came straight back into the middle and Paul Golby cleared.

Nicky Cowley’s good run ended in a free kick which Danny Cowley took, Docherty heading away. Ad then Rikki Burbridge made his appearance in place of Holland, but it was Nicky and Danny Cowley who combined to set up the next chance for Tiffin, but his shot was charged down, when perhaps a centre would have been better. The third goal was long overdue, and it came when Nicky Cowley and Burbridge set up the play, the ball running to Hayes and then to DANNY COWLEY who cut in and hammered the ball hard into the net. Rikki Burbridge did well on a solo run at goal which ended with a good shot which went close to the post, and Nicky Cowley set up Sontag whose hooked shot was touched around the post by Wickens. Tiffin’s corner found King but his header was headed away by Thomas. At the other end Collier caught an inswinging corner from Goodwin, and then he threw the ball out to Ket Makitu who made ground on the right.

Heale and Nicky Cowley exchanged passes before Nicky’s cross went begging across the face of the goal, and then Burbridge touched a pass back to Sontag, he slotted the ball to Nicky Cowley whose shot went wide. A Goodwin corner was well held by Collier as it swerved in, and Collier’s throw out to Makitu enabled Ket to embark on a long run on the right but he was crowded out along the touchline. Nicky Cowley found Sontag, whose hooked shot from the edge of the area was tipped around by Wickens, and Tiffin’s corner reached King whose header was headed away by Thomas. A Goodwin corner was punched clear by Collier but JOHN MERCER promptly hit the rebound against the post, and the linesman signalled a goal and the referee concurred, though the East Side did not. A solo run from Burbridge ended with a good save by Wickens, and Heale surprised Wickens with a first time flick which the keeper grabbed at the second attempt.

In the final few minutes, Tiffin dribbled in from the right, his shot being saved by Wickens, when a cross might have been better, Tiffin again with a run and a shot which Wickens saved, and then Nicky Cowley chipped the ball over from thirty yards. Nicky Cowley again, and he ran the ball around Wickens and tapped it into the empty net – well he would have done, had not Birkett raced back and cleared the ball off the line for a corner, which Hayes took and Birkett cleared. Hayes almost got onto the score sheet with a long run and shot which Wickens saved.

And then the final whistle, the cup was brought into the middle, but the presentation was delayed whilst the Urchins went to both sides of the ground and acknowledged the applause of the crowd, lingering long on the East Side. Back to the middle, Nicky comes up to take the cup, and then back again to the Riverside and then the East Side. The dreadful Queen record was played over the tannoy, but despite this, the celebrations continued, the last player leaving the pitch at ten pm.

Video Highlights by Rob Monger

- 23mins. We go in front courtesy of Billy Drake's typical determination (590KB)
- 32mins  Drake forces Derek Birkett into a mistake for our second (650KB)
- 70mins. Danny Cowley scores our third (820KB)
- 81mins. John Mercer pulls one back for the visitors (450KB)
- Championes !!  (615KB)
- Oh, go on then !  (1.3MB)

  Teams

AFC Hornchurch Michael Collier Greg Tiffin Lee Sontag Glen Golby Steve King Matt Hayes Nicky Cowley (c) Danny Cowley Billy Holland Billy Drake Paul Golby SUBS Rikki Burbridge Danny Heale Craig Dennis Ket Koka-Makitu John Hickman

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

Bowers & Pitsea Trevor Wickens Paul Docherty Harry Stevens Derek Birkett Glen Thomas Lee Goodwin Peter Kana Mark Barry (c) Anthony Reeve Michael Hart Darran Bennett SUBS Paul Lander John Mercer Lloyd Lambert

Man of the Match Dedicated to the memory of Jim Bradshaw Danny Cowley

Weather Conditions:  3 degrees. Showers.

Match Officials: Steve Connor with Kevin Preston and Trevor Williams

Match duration: First half 45mins 47secs. Second half 45mins 49secs
 

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