MILTON UNITED 1-2 HOOK NORTON: FULL MATCH REPORT...

Norton Hook the Points From The Heights With Late Eyre Strike…

Milton United 1-2 Hook Norton

The opening league game for these teams produced a decent encounter, bossed in the first period by Hookie, whereby the guests really ought to have been more goals ahead than the very early Dan Watkin rebound, following a fumble by home ‘keeper Lee Wise. The slope, the breeze and the ascendancy were all with the visitors and Milton rarely bothered Hookie goalie Kurt Fox. The second-half was more of a contest, with the hosts protecting Wise better and breaking themselves with more menace, equalising through Daniele Piscopo with a spectacular shot off the crossbar but then dodging the bullet twice, when Wise was unable to hold onto free-kicks by Watkin and left-back Niall Higgins, although his defenders bailed him out both times. Eventually though, Milton felt aggrieved when Hookie won the ball in defence, the ever dangerous (but unpopular with referee Marcus Brown) Hook Norton forward Stevie Howkins initiated a break and fed his skipper Joe Eyre for a wonderful winner from outside the penalty-box, just minutes from the final whistle. Disaster for the improved United, joy and a deserved victory for Hookie, for whom Watkin was excellent throughout, Dan Reeves a real danger on the flanks and Eyre a solid leader.

STEVIE HOWKINS RECEIVES THE KICK-OFF...

DAN REEVES DOING WHAT HE DOES...

Tom Austin and Frankie Merola were the two home players to test their guests before the break but Austin’s free-kick was off target and Merola’s header from a corner was nodded off the goal-line by the alert Matt Keenan, wearing 16, not 6… The visitors though were rampant after Watkin’s goal, which stemmed from sustained attacking. Howkins’ downward header had beaten Wise, Merola hacked the ball from his goal-line, Howkins fed Luc Thornton on the left, received the ball back again and twisted clear of Austin, before firing in a shot from 19 yards, which bounced in front of Wise, who fumbled it onto the boot of Watkin and the central defender simply couldn’t miss. 

0-1 EARLY...

STEVIE HOWKINS KEEPS CLEAR OF THE REF...

Wise was then subjected to a number of crosses, which he often had trouble dealing with, dropping one behind him, fumbling a corner won by Howkins’ deflected low centre and leading to Thornton’s wasteful finish but managing to get slight punches on a couple of other deliveries, before Howkins intercepted the unwise Wise’s later pass to a defender but was saved on that occasion by skipper Jon Stott. A couple of headers bounced wide of the Milton goal, from attacking right-back Nathan Bott and the powerful James McMahon, who would suffer an injury and be replaced by Dan Newman prior to the interval. He did smash a 40 yard volley over the goal-frame from Howkins’ hook on for Hookie however, but then Reeves got away on the right soon afterwards, onto another astute Howkins pass but Stott deflected the ensuing low centre. Thornton shot too high and later straight to Wise, Howkins had a shot blocked and then drove a free-kick off the top of the Milton defensive wall, before the half ended with a corner for the guests, which saw Watkin frustrated with a bundled shot past the left upright.  

STEVIE HOWKINS HAS EXITED STAGE-RIGHT, AS JOE EYRE PLEADS ON HIS BEHALF...

...BUT THE REF HAS THE FINAL WORD.
MAYBE...

OOPS, A LITTLE UNWISE...

DAVIES & WISE: NOT A BUNDLE OF LAUGHS FOR THEM IN THE OPENING HALF...

HOWKINS & WATKIN SIZE UP A FREE-KICK...

Drizzle spewed onto the turf during the break and it was interesting that Hookie did a short ‘warm-up’ before the second period started, whereas the hosts waited for the whistle to sound. Yet it was Milton who looked to start the half more strongly, finally beginning to win aerial balls more regularly and despite a low Eyre shot wide, Scott Davies and company kept their guests away from their penalty-area, something they hadn’t done too well before the interval. Indeed, United broke clear to score an unlikely equaliser, Piscopo latching onto a punted clearance, which led to Dean Snelling and Bott being stranded and the winger getting away to slam a rising shot against the underside of the crossbar, the turning ball then entering the net like a Monty Panesar spinner.

PRE-HALF WARM-UP MARK 2...

THE NIGHTS ARE DRAWING IN...

PARITY!

GOAL FOR DANIELE PISCOPO...

Milton saw an offside flag raised when a Davies back-header bounced off the crossbar, striker Adam Bruce had a couple of efforts blocked by a more engaged Hookie defence, Davies headed wide, as a couple of corners threatened and one clearance by the visitors bounced off replacement Patrick Howe’s shins but straight to the relieved Fox. A late, if hurried effort by Merola cleared the goal-frame by some distance but at least the hosts had given a better account of themselves, backed by the slope and the breeze after the half-time rest.

MILTON PRESSURE HOOKIE...

Hookie still managed to threaten more directly however and Watkin, who had made a first-half surge, almost Beckenbauer-like, headed downwards but into a Wise pair of hands, but also fired in a 23 yard drive, which lifted, swerved then dipped only just past the left angle of bar and upright, before Higgins’ 22 yard free-kick was fumbled by Wise, with a defender helping him out and no Hookie nearby to capitalise like Watkin had earlier. Howkins, who had been penalised a couple of times during the first 45 minutes, harshly he felt, and had thus been ‘addressed’ by the referee, was instrumental in the visitors’ offensive play during the final 25 minutes, setting up both Thornton and Reeves for very dangerous left-flank crosses and then nodding the ball inside for Thornton to threaten at the right post, where only a fine challenge by Davies saved parity. 

A Watkin free-kick from 25 yards lashed into Wise’s chest, allowing left-back Mark Burton to thrash the ball clear, as no Hookie again reacted to the rebound but the visitors won the game late, through the ingenuity of Howkins and the shooting ability of his skipper. A challenge 20 yards from his own goal by Eyre and Reeves on Austin led to the United man falling but the referee was not impressed by the United calls for a foul, so Eyre ran forth, shoved a pass left towards Howkins and ran in support. Howkins didn’t take the ball cleanly but recovered to square the ball to Eyre, who veered left and powered a great left-booter past the flailing Wise and high into the right corner of the net… A fitting winner. 

THE SKIPPER STRIKES...

...& HOOKIE TAKE THE POINTS...

Certainly a much improved second-half by Milton but they just didn’t have enough to upset Hookie, whose determination won through in the end. Watkin continued to impress for the guests, alongside Snelling, as did Reeves, with Keenan and Eyre always prominent and Howkins a trickster. Jon Naish battled in midfield for the hosts, Merola prevented a score and was prevented from scoring with goal-line clearances and Davies defended more stoutly after the break, as did skipper Stott. Piscopo took his goal well and threatened on rare occasions but the game will surely be remembered for two fine left-footed strikes by the two number elevens…

TEAMS:

MILTON UNITED:

Lee Wise, Ben Taylor, Mark Burton, Jon Stott (Capt), Scott Davies, Frankie Merola, Tom Austin, Jon Naish, Niall Hodgkins, Adam Bruce, Daniele Piscopo.

SUBS:

Connor Forster, Ben Hummel, Patrick Howe, Harry Dalton, Carl Bolton.     

HOOK NORTON:

Kurt Fox, Nathan Bott, Niall Higgins, Dean Snelling, Dan Watkin, Matt Keenan, Luc Thornton, James McMahon, Dan Reeves, Stevie Howkins, Joe Eyre (Capt).

SUBS:

Dan Newman, Dan Knight, Charlie Hill (not the Southam United Chairman, I presume…), Joe Davies, Matt Dixon.