HOLWELL SPORTS 1-5 HINCKLEY AFC: THE INDEPENDENT, HONEST & LIGHTHEARTED MATCH REPORT + MORE IMAGES...

 Hinckley’s Devastating Start Defeats Holwell…

Holwell Sports 1-5 Hinckley AFC

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

It really is tough to enjoy a match which is basically over by the half-hour mark, which this encounter was. Maybe a goal or two back by Holwell before the break might have made the second period more interesting but when visiting skipper Lewis Rankin twisted like he was showing off his roller-skating abilities and shot his team into a 0-4 lead by the interval, the remainder of the contest was rarely exciting and a formality.

IN THE MAUVE...

Holwell had been caught by a goal from a really neatly taken free-kick in the opening moments, then before they could even feel bad about it, a deflected shot flew past goalie James Phillips and Sports were two behind. The third goal was one from a theatrical farce, before Rankin added his strike.

Certainly Holwell pulled themselves together to regain some pride after the recess but they could only muster one goal in a match of few real chances other than those which were scored. Jordan Smith netted the home goal, not Luke Smith, as I wrote on the caption for the video clip. Apologies to Jordan…  

However, a late strike by AFC replacement Ryan Harkin settled the encounter once and for all and it did appear that soon afterwards an error by the officials wrecked Charlie Evans’ chance to be credited with a hat-trick on the day… More of that later…

Things became unpleasant at times after half-time and the referee struggled to keep control once or twice but he did miss a kick by AFC’s Drew Kear into the back of Sports’ Aaron Black, which caused a rumpus before the break but of course none of the officials spotted it. I’m glad I wasn’t videoing at the time…

LETTING OFF STEAM...

CAUTION...

HAS SOMEONE BROKEN WIND?

In truth, with a forward already out (Kyle Reek was sent-off in the previous match) the last thing Holwell needed was for their leading scorer Harry Allcock to leave the field clutching a hamstring during the opening 45…

However, AFC trundled on at the top of the league, Evans’ first goal of the two he claimed on the day was Hinckley’s 100th in the league this term and their trip to Belper United in a fortnight looks a tasty fixture already…

RANKIN APPEARS TO BE ABOUT TO PUNCH A LINO'...

That quick Hinckley start…

Home left-back Liam Chapman, who played with spirit and resolve throughout, fouled Tyson Knight from behind some 40 yards out, inside-right channel. Tom Weale clipped an interesting set-piece towards the right post area and Jack Edwards had made a swift diagonal rush towards that area, reaching the ball just as it bounced. He reached out with his right boot and flicked an instant shot between Phillips’ legs into the net, just as Sports’ Luke Peberdy crashed into his own ‘keeper… 

0-1...

1-0 became 2-0 after a run by Evans saw him pass for Edwards who closed in on goal at inside-left but Phillips advanced well to block the midfielder’s effort. The rebound fell though, left of goal, to Evans and his angled shot deflected off a defender’s boot over the helpless Phillips and into the far side of the net.

0-2...

The third goal was probably even more embarrassing for scorer Evans to celebrate than it was for Sports to concede… A right-flank cross by Kear drifted beyond Phillips but although Evans leapt at the far post, he couldn’t reach the ball with his head. The ball though struck the upper part of the inside of the post and bounced over the goal-line off Evans’ back, for he was facing the other way… Unbelievable…

0-3...

Evans would assist for goal four, when he fielded the ball out on the right. His pass to Rankin saw the experienced forward turn, turn and turn again, sending Sports’ Karl Whymark this way and that, before planting a 12 yard shot into the left side of the net with Phillips likely unsighted. 

0-4...

Hinckley’s other offense prior to the break…

Strangely there wasn’t much of it… Another low Edwards shot was well saved, diving low to his left by Phillips and really, that was it as actual chances went… Four goals from five good chances? Not bad at all…

Holwell as an attacking force…

Peberdy shot too high before the break and two Scott Mooney efforts from downtown resulted in catching practice for AFC’s rather redundant ‘keeper Matt Hill. Indeed, the gloveman’s pink uniform remained pink, with no real signs of mud-brown staining it at all… Shaw nearly connected in front of the AFC goal in a rare goalmouth flurry but Luke Wilson and the impressive Ben Vallance held their AFC team together with strength in the rearguard. Visiting full-backs Kear and Mikkel Hirst were thus able to overlap regularly but even after the interval, only a Tom Bendle header for Holwell, which flew too high and Smith’s goal worried the guests at all.

Substitute Aiden Black fed the ball inside from near the byeline and Smith struck a low first-timer which flew into the bottom left corner of the net, beyond the dive of Hill. 1-4 still left the hosts with too much to do though and of course, Harkin’s goal put the lid on the match…

1-4...

Tom Weale…

No goal for the wily midfielder but a clever assist for goal one and an audacious one for goal five. He took the ball on his chest and volleyed a pass through the middle for Harkin to chase. The striker got clear of Shaw and seeing Phillips hesitate slightly, ran towards the penalty spot before shooting easily into the bottom left corner of the net.

1-5...

And yes, Mr Weale, we did spot those two or three jinking movements, leaving tacklers in your wake…

The unpleasantness…

It probably stemmed from Kear’s little kick at Aaron Black but after half-time, Holwell’s Bendle and Chapman were cautioned in quick succession, although one or two others were fortunate to escape a card. There was a melee in the Holwell 6 yard box which saw Wilson battling for a loose ball but he was penalised for kicking at it when Phillips (might have) had a hand almost upon it. Contentious moment number one…

SPECTATOR HAPPINESS...

DISCUSSING WHAT NO-ONE SAW.
I DID THOUGH...

Contentious moment number two arrived when Hirst burst to the left byeline and passed low for Evans to turn the ball into the net. However, the home players and the surely unsighted linesman on the far side decided between them that the ball had gone out of play… 

A Holwell replacement who had been warming up nearby subsequently told me that the ball hadn’t passed over the byeline… Badly done, officials… OK it was already 1-5 but had that counted, Evans would have had a hat-trick and of course goal-difference will be important to every team at the season’s end…

The final words…

Oddly, Hinckley’s pacy winger Isa Abrahamu really wasn’t as effective as he would have hoped, partly because home right-back Ash Hibbitt was rather quick himself. Abrahamu was not pleased when he was replaced…

WHAT'S MATT HILL SAYING?

NO GOAL, THEN...

Jeremie Agholor made a couple of late runs when he entered the fray for AFC but the guests were always handily served by Knight in the defensive midfield area and of course the precocious Edwards, who started and finished the game well. 

Hinckley’s Vallance really does strike a dead ball cleanly on occasions, reminding me a little of Studley coach Simon Fitter’s timing, when he played for Bromsgrove and a host of other teams in the Midlands.

Holwell’s Mooney worked industrially for his beleaguered team but Shaw was immense, mainly because he had to be and in all honesty, his team-mates fought gamely until the inevitable and painful end…

TEAMS:

HOLWELL SPORTS:

JAMES PHILLIPS, ASH HIBBITT, LIAM CHAPMAN, KARL WHYMARK, CHRIS SHAW (CAPT), TOM BENDLE, JORDAN SMITH, LUKE PEBERDY, HARRY ALLCOCK, SCOTT MOONEY, AARON BLACK.

SUBS:

DAVID HAZELDINE, IAN BITMEAD, JUNIOR GASKIN, AIDEN BLACK.

HINCKLEY AFC:

MATT HILL, DREW KEAR, MIKKEL HIRST, TYSON KNIGHT, LUKE WILSON, BEN VALLANCE, LEWIS RANKIN (CAPT), TOM WEALE, CHARLIE EVANS, JACK EDWARDS, ISA ABRAHAMU.

SUBS:

BEN WHITEHEAD, DOM ALLEYNE, RYAN SLINN, JEREMIE AGHOLOR, RYAN HARKIN.