Hill Form Improves Again

Cambridge Utd Invitation Tournament 

Hill were invited to attend a High Standard indoor tournament at The London Soccerdome. The best teams from the EJA (Thurrock, Stanway, Concord, Broxbourne and Tilbury)were invited along with semi professional teams and West Bromich Albion. Interwood from the Ech League were also in attendance.

Two groups were formed playing 4 round robin matches with the playoffs at end sorting out 1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th and so on.

Starting with a tentative 0-0 against West Brom, Hill then beat Stanway, Tilbury and Interwood without conceding and therefore meeting a strong Broxbourne team in the Final.

Controlling the game comfortably they eased into a 1-0 lead and looked to play the game out but conceded a last minute equaliser and entered a Pen shootouts which was immediate sudden death. One pen later crowned Champions.

A good workout and a pleasing day.

Hill push on with gutsy win away...

 Broxbourne Borough FC 1-2 Buckhurst Hill FC. EJA Herts Div League26/10/14

Apologies firstly that the resident Roving Reporters were either working on Government matters, hiding because Liverpool failed to impress or were observing tactics at The Bernabeau leaving the Manager to scribe some words on our performance.

A warm October afternoon saw another reason for having 19 boys signed....a 13 man squad with absentees for injuries, rep games, trials and trips abroad....the thoughts of told you so never entered the mind :)

New formation and tactics set and a fast pulsating start see Swan breakthrough on the halfway, carry powerfully through and hit a 30 yard rising drive into the corner of the net. Broxbourne stunned and the away support feeling comfortable but not the coaches. All teams in this division are capable and Borough do not collapse but regroup and retain a bit of possession.

Midfield two Johnson and Harris take the strain and allow Grace time and space to become influential. Hill hit the woodwork twice and work the keeper several times but do not add to the lead ....something we need to work on. Boroughs dangerous moments come down the flanks but rotation of full backs Basi, Barrett and Harrison works well with the balance of Emerson left side.

Heading to half time Boroughs CM makes a fantastic run and looks certain to equalise only for Emerson to get across and ease out the problem. The frustration of the CM is clear and he fouls then unfortunately chooses the wrong word to the Ref and has to leave the field.

Half time and in control but boys will be boys and and the foot comes of the Gas. Boroughs loan CF makes a great run to byline and acute angle drive sees the equaliser hit the net. Game on and advantage Borough.

Hill spend the next 15 minutes trying to wrestle the game back but without success and danger building. Coaches sometimes earn their keep and on this occasion we will claim the plaudits. Reverting to a 3-5-2 we gain composure and control and above all territory.

With 10 to go a sweeping move sees Jethva move the ball to Brookes who cuts inside and feeds Johnson, a good first time ball into the feet of Swan sees the Shoulder drop and a spin away from the marker. He then feeds a lifting pass to the onrushing Bolton who at full pace sees the keeper flying out and calmly lifts the ball over and into the net. Special mention for the Goal Celebration of Bolts Senior seen only by the writer but well worth a beer or two at Christmas.

Hill play the game out and continue with their improvement and movement up the table.

Prostar Green FC 0-1 BHFC, London Cup 1st Round, 19/10/2014, U14

Hill were handed a tough draw for the first round of the London cup. Although this was a team they beat comfortably in last years run, intel suggested ProStar were not the same team that lost 9-0 last year and so it turned out. Hill edged a tough and well fought match and could have paid the price for not taking their chances in the first half.

The game started well for Hill. Despite Prostar challenging fiercely for every ball and giving our midfield a tough time, our initial exchanges are very encouraging as it seems our passing game has returned and we string 3-4 passes together readily. On 3 minutes Grace plays a lovely ball into Brookes down the left channel and his well struck shot just goes wide. 3 minutes later and we work the ball down the left again with some nice play into Grace whose shot is deflected for a corner. Prostar at this stage don’t look threatening, they seem to be playing more long hopefully ball and the wind takes it too long on most occasions.

On 10 minutes Redhead gets free from his markers in midfield and slots a nice pass through to there tireless Harris, playing with real effort and determination today, he gets to the ball on the 6 yard line but a superb last ditch tackle prevents a certain goal. 2 minutes later a great combination between Harris, Brookes and Grace gives Grace a shooting opportunity from 15 yards. He strikes it powerfully but the rising shot hits the bar. On 20 minutes Brookes again, enjoying good room down the left and in the mood to attack outpaces the full back and gets in a good shot which is just cleared. A further minute later and Brookes again plays in Harris who is through on the keeper who makes an outstanding save. 

At this stage of the game it looks like a case of when and how many for Hill. But steadily Prostar start to find their feet, they stop playing it long as much and working through the middle start to play their way into the game. Maybe this will not be so easy after all. But Hill keep going and fighting. On 30 minutes a mix up in the Prostar defence lets harris in and he works it well to play across to Brookes but the shot goes narrowly wide. 2 minutes later and the ball worked through the middle to Grace. The Prostar defence finding it hard to play against him, he hits a side foot effort through one on one trying to place it in the corner, but the keeper just manages to get a foot to it and force it clear. 

Finally on 34 minutes we get the breakthrough. A great bit of team play starting with S. Barrett rolling the ball out, the ball is worked down the right by H. Barrett to Proctor. Up to this point most of Hills wide play has been down the left, but Procter does really well and plays in a super ball to GRACE who slots home to finally break the deadlock. 1-0.

The final act of the first half sees a brilliant jinking  run from H. Barrett who plays in Harris inside the box. He strikes hiis shot well but again Hill are denied by the crossbar. Halftime 1-0.

The second half was bound to see a slightly different character to the game as Prostar are now playing into the wind and their long balls forward into a lively no. 9 who played the game with good character and spirit, plus a bit of banter with the touchline, start to put Hill under a bit more pressure.

The midfield battle is fiercely contested and ebbs and flows with Prostar holding the edge one minute and Hill the next. Harris is having a tireless game and up front on his own is working really hard to chase and harrie. Grace drops a little deeper to help out in midfield and  Prostar push forward. They don’t really create anything clear cut but the tension in Hill fans is growing. Our wide play seems to have stopped and we resort to hopeful rather than measured passes. The one bright moment is a mazey run from Proctor who beats several players and battles well to get his shot away which is well saved.

The final 5 minutes seem to go on for ever…..Hill cannot just get the 2nd goal to calm nerves and put the game out of reach. A good run from Grace on 35 mins sees his shot just wide. Hill’s defence has played superb all game. The middle combo of Jessop and Jethva holding strong and composed against some pacey Prostar forward play. 

Finally the ref blows after a 2nd half of close to 40 mins. Hill progress to round 2 where they will be very unlucky to come up against such tough opposition again.

Buckhurst Hill FC 0-1 Tilbury FC

 EJA  CUP 1st ROUN U14

Both sides taking a break from league action go into today's game with Hill winning their last two games and Tilbury picking up their first point of the campaign in the Essex Division last week.

Before a ball was kicked there was an omen for the superstitious when the lights in the changing room came crashing down.....and It seems when the light went out in the changing room the boys forgot to turn it back on when the game kicked off.!!!

The first five minutes we started sluggish, were second to the ball,had sloppy passing and were hitting long hopeful balls forward. Mixed in with not being strong enough in the tackle. This was the pattern set for most of the match with small glimpses of football!

Much against the run of play Hill take advantage of a mix up in the Tilbury midfield when Redhead breaks away and plays a through ball for Dackombe who pulls his shot wide.

On 18 minutes Redhead finds himself away on goal and clear of the back four, the Tilbury defender (17) shows exceptional pace and gets back to close him down before he can pull the trigger and clears the danger. This again was to be the pattern of the game and the sooner the boys learn that the long ball over the top whilst working well in previous years is no longer the only route to go. We have to keep possession and work the ball, when a side have a bear eleven the way to tire them out is not play into their hands and hit everything first time long which after seeing the pace of the defender (17) will play straight into their hands. The gaffer and coach are blue in the face asking for us to keep possession and until we do that we will struggle to win matches.

Tilbury are starting to dominate the game and are pushing down the Hill left. They play a neat interchange and the winger gets away sending a powerful low drive across goal which only needs the slightest of touches to find the net but Proctor does brilliantly getting back to take it off the toe of the forward three yards out at our back post.

That should have been a warning sign as two minutes later they again break down the left which sees the ball at our near post and a mix up in the Hill back four, with no one taking responsibility for clearing the ball the centre forward has an easy job of heading into an empty net. 0-1

Hill are now on the back foot as Tilbury push forward, the centre forward (10) who had  great game upfront hits one from the edge of the box which S Barrett parries and h Barrett who was  Hills best player today clears with the help of the crossbar off the line!

The away side again break quickly down the left and Jessop who had he's hands full all game with the excellent (10) accidentally trips the winger and from the resulting free kick the ball goes narrowly wide.

This time Tilbury come down the right with the winger showing good footwork cuts inside and hits a powerful shot which would have found the bottom corner but S Barrett gets down well to push it around the post.

Just a minute before halftime Hill show the only bit of football they put together in the first half. Emmerson picks it up down the left and keeps possession feeding Grace who moves the ball across field where we play some quick short one two's with a cross coming in from  H Barrett which the home side just fail to finish off.

Halftime 0-1 we have been out played, out passed,out thought and out muscled. This was the general view taken from several of the watching parents. Not a happy touch line!!!

The second half starts much like the first but the gaffer may have used the "hair dryer" as there are signs that we want to turn up today. The gaffer also uses the squad to freshen up the team and a few replacements are implemented.

Brookes on the halfway line shows good feet and puts Redhead away but yet again the 17 has to much pace for him and clears the danger. 

Tilbury have a lack of concentration at the back and the ball falls to Grace on the edge of the box who bears down on goal and with only the keeper to beat but doesn't connect with the shot and it bounces wide.

King on at left back is looking to play football and slides it in to Bolton's feet who in turn finds Grace, his shot goes narrowly wide. 

King out on the left shows good feet cutting in and again plays good football with a cross field ball to Proctor that sees him in on goal only for the keeper to parry the shot away at the near post.

Hill push forward in numbers in the last 10 minutes but a little bit of composure and cutting edge in front of goal is missing today. We have to learn that just running with the ball and first time long balls will not always work and we need to see another side to our game.

The gaffer had a long inquest in the middle of the pitch afterwards and by the look of the boys faces I guess they know he was not happy. We now need to learn from this and put the performance behind us and move on to a tough cup match away to Prostar who will be looking for revenge after losing to us in the semi final of the cup last year. They will be 'up' for it and I'm sure the boys will be too!!

Don't forget to turn the lights on....

EJA HERTS DIV 05/10/2014

Buckurst Hill FC 3-0 Barton Rovers FC

Unusually short report this week on account of mis-communication on the hacks part (i.e. no-one knew who was doing the report) and mo pen and paper at the game.

Lame excuse in line with the dog ate my homework…but here we go.

Lovely sunny morning for the game. The gaffer had a strong squad to select from with 15 boys here and welcome to Sid who stopped up to the squad for his debut today….We also welcomed back Joel minus his plaster cast but missed Lewis who was unavailable and Zak with a nasty sounding hand injury earned playing rugby.

Still the 15 were had available were strong, cover in all positions and gave the gaffer a chance to rotate, which would be important on a hot day. The opposition did not have that luxury and put up a good game considering they had a bare 11.

Hill started well and we saw the return of a fluid passing game. We got into our stride quickly and pressed from the off.. As a result it took us only 3 minutes to open the scoring when a free kick was earned 20 yards out. GRACE stepped up and dispatched into far corner with power and accuracy. 1-0.

4 minutes later and the scoreline doubled. A corner from the left was taken by Brookes. His superb delivery found HARRIS who turned the ball in off a dubious part of his anatomy (according to G. Johnson). However, they all count and given his masterful display in the centre of midfield today, no more than Ben deserved. 2-0.

Hill were in full flow now and threatening with every piece of forward play. On 20 minutes the ball was worked to Basi in the middle of the park where he had cut in from the left full back position. A powerful drive inside saw him fouled on the edge of the box. He earned it, he was going to take it, and a good effort it was as well…..just wide.

Ten on 35 minutes the game was sealed. Some great build up play through the middle worked the ball to the right side and H. Barrett found DACKOMBE, the pair combining well throughout the game. With little else on and from the angle of the box he fired a powerful shot which h went over and round the keeper and into the side meeting. A lovely finish to effectively wrap up the game.

3-0 at half time allowed the gaffer to change and rotate the team. Different combinations of forwards, Redhead on for the lively Johnson in the middle, Sid on for Adam at the back. Whatever player combinations Hill put out the fluency and game control remained. However, despite again controlling the game in the second half, and a couple of decent chances, the score remained 3-0. The best chance of the second half coming from a pacey and powerfull run down the right from Proctor who cut the ball back to Swann who struck it first time with power, but just rose over the bar.

Full time, Hill win 3-0. Good performance all round and looks like we have clicked into gear…just in time for what will likely be a tough game against Tilbury in the cup next.