Stutes Leave Badgers UnSETTled…
Bugbrooke St Michaels 1-2 Histon FC…
The Mowdog’s thoughts…
That this was a deserved victory for Histon, there was no doubt and that fact is underlined by the decent number of goal chances fashioned by the visitors, in comparison to so few by the foraging Badgers.
Chances fell to the hosts in the opening moments of the encounter and also before the ends of the two halves, whilst their guests forged openings at regular intervals. Thus the scoreline was always close and a late consolation goal for Bugbrooke at 0-2 behind led to an incentive for the Badgers to push forward in latter stages but in truth there was little to show for it.
The elusive and effective Connor Barnes opened the scoring for Histon and central defender Max York rapped in a second goal after the interval but other goal opportunities went begging too.
How the goal chances panned out…
A quick start saw solid home striker Silvano Obeng sky a shot from an unchallenged position, before Histon replied with a couple of efforts by Barnes, both saved with comfort by home goalminder John Meadows. However, the striker had already made determined and elusive runs through a gap at inside-left between home defenders Bradley Ilunga and the injured Earl Atat’s replacement Harry Slaymaker and the forward soon exploited the space again.
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| OBENG SKIES A SHOT... |
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| BARNES SHOOTS... |
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| ...BUT MEADOWS SAVES... |
He was clearly onside and was able to slip a smart and measured right-footer past Meadows and into the far right corner of the net to fire Histon ahead.
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| BARNES LOOKS CONFIDENT... |
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| ...& HIS LOW SHOT BEATS MEADOWS... |
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| ...TO GIVE THE STUTES A 0-1 LEAD... |
After York drove a free-kick from downtown well over the target for the visitors, a break at inside-right by Badger Lewis Brooks saw him one-on-one with Stutes’ goaltender Jake West but maybe the high bounces of the ball and perhaps a slight delay by Brooks in shooting over the stranded West, allowed the ‘keeper to bat down the ensuing attempted lob at 18 yards.
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| YORK'S FREE-KICK WOULD RISE TOO HIGH... |
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| WEST SLAPS DOWN BROOKS' ATTEMPTED LOB... |
As the half waned, a low drive from distance by Stutes’ left-back and long-thrower Charlie Black rolled not too wide of the right stick.
After the recess, Histon were in the ascendancy and moved the ball more confidently than their hosts, attacking smartly at times, with Barnes the spearhead. An attempted Barnes effort grazed the side of his head and flew right, from whence Jake Kerins drove the ball back across the face of goal, the busy and impish Joe Greenslade-Cross slipped a careful shot just past the right vertical pole, before defender Luke Crisp shot an awkward effort too high. Lively replacement Jake Holman hoisted a lobbed effort from the right across the goalmouth and wide, as Histon pushed forth.
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| BARNES NEARLY CONNECTS... |
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| ...THEN KERINS' LOW DELIVERY FLIES ACROSS THE GOALMOUTH... |
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| GREENSLADE-CROSS FIRES WIDE OF THE TARGET... |
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| ...& CRISP FIRES OVER IT... |
And then York struck…
Following a caution for Badger Ellis Leka, who had dragged back the impudent Holman, the subsequent free-kick was cleared by Bugbrooke but Greenslade-Cross began a second attacking phase. York crossed the ball from inside-left, home skipper Harley Mallard didn’t duck his responsibility and headed clear but only as far as Greenslade-Cross, by that time alone on the offensive left.
His low centre was messed up by two home players and although industrious Histon substitute Alex Stevens-Lee was unable to get in a strike, his action actually wrong-footed the players nearby but York didn’t hesitate and smacked a rising drive into the net from 10 yards.
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| YORK SWINGS HIS RIGHT BOOT... |
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| ...& IT'S 0-2 FOR THE STUTES... |
Meadows dived left to fingertip a Greenslade-Cross away splendidly, before, surprisingly, the Badgers found the net.
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| GREENSLADE-CROSS' SHOT... |
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| ...& MEADOWS' FINE SAVE... |
An error in the Histon defence allowed home replacement Leon Considine to make ground on the right flank, then cross low into the middle, where fellow substitute Sonny Che Knights turned on the ball and shot low but a challenge by Crisp diverted the ball into his own net, leaving West all at sea…
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| KNIGHTS TURNS... |
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| ...SHOOTS... |
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| ...& THE BALL DIVERTS OFF CRISP FOR A GOAL TO THE BADGERS... |
Incredibly, the hardworking home midfielder Bailey Weatherly saw his late chance arrow straight at West but anything other than a victory for the Stutes would have been a steal by the Badgers…
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| WEST HOLDS WEATHERLY'S LATE EFFORT... |
The final words…
Danny Setchell was the creative midfielder for the visitors but certainly he was supported well enough by Joe O’Neill and Tom Binder, with wide players Greenslade-Cross and Mar-Lee Fisher energetic and positive.
All four along the defensive line contributed to Histon’s performance and goalie West was comfortable with the ball at his feet. Barnes though, really shone throughout in his duels with Ilunga and Mallard.
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| BARNES WAS PENALISED HERE... |
The astute Holman and the willing Stevens-Lee from the bench were enterprising and late replacement Jacob Dickson, despite a fleeting cameo appearance looks like he might be a handful for any UCL defence.
The Badgers will certainly improve on their first showing, for on offense they looked awkward and despite the initial threat of wingers Korede Akande and Jamari Hart, things didn’t go their way, often leaving Obeng isolated but heavily shadowed.
Leka, Knights and Slaymaker were efficient and eager Badgers, whilst Meadows was blameless between those two vertical poles…
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| COMFORTABLE CATCH BY MEADOWS... |
So it’s back to the drawing-board in a rather subdued Sett for the Badgers, whilst the Stutes will take the win and strut their stuff…
