Put Through The Grinder - Hendon 1-1 Aveley

Hendon 1-1 Aveley

Ryman League Premier Division

Saturday 3^rd December 2011

Vale Farm

Nearly 72 hours have passed since the end of our game at the weekend and I still cannot decide whether we should have won the game, been happy with a point or thought ourselves fortunate to have come away with as much as that. At the end of an open and entertaining 2^nd half I was disappointed not to have won the game. The amount of possession we had after a turgid first half an hour or so was, whilst not quite of Barcelona height levels of dominance, as high as I’ve seen us have this term so far. Yet, in spite of all the possession and territory, apart from a comfortable save towards the end of the first half, Dave McCartney in the Aveley goal wasn’t stretched. It was the 'siege' of Tobruk.

To Aveley’s credit, they made life difficult for us, particularly after going ahead through a superb drive from Sean Bonnett-Johnson that I thought Berkley did quite well to get a hand to, even if he did only help the ball into the top corner of the net. The goal came about, not for the first time this season, after a run from deep by an opponent (in this case the lively Abs Thompson) that was unchecked by the retreating Hendon defence and as the ball fell some 25 or so yards out it was met with interest (and then some) by the Aveley enforcer.

Eliott Charles and Greg Ngoyi were fit enough at last to take their places on the Hendon substitutes bench but Frank Sinclair, James Parker and Mauro Vilhete were all unavailable. Dave Diedhiou moved to right back, Michael Peacock replaced Sinclair, Carl McCluskey came into midfield and Jerome Federico made his first start for the club providing support to Isaiah Rankin, who once again worked his socks off up front.

A lively first start for Jerome Federico provided much of Hendon's weekend threat

As I’ve already said, the first half hour was a turgid, boring, dull affair full of overhit long balls and powder-puff efforts on goal. Neither goalkeeper was needed save for mopping up a few loose balls and taking goal kicks. I’ve said before that I don’t have an issue with Hendon playing long. It can be a sensible tactic, especially when Charles is up front but when he isn’t up top to hit, then the ball needs to be aimed into channels for the likes of Vilhete when fit, and on Saturday Jerome Federico to use their pace on. All too often in that opening spell, the ball was hit too straight and picked out no one but the opposition goalkeeper.

Aveley played some neat stuff, prompted by the neat and tidy presence of Joe Keith at number 8 and the pace of two genuine out and out wide players in Thompson and Evans Kouassi augmenting the burly figure of Ellis Remy at number 9. Although lively, the visitors threat was limited. Remy lobbed tamely wide of the target and Ryan Wharton bravely blocking a powerful effort from either Keith or Paul Shave (my memory has failed at this point).

The Greens finally came alive late in the half when Federico, who was impressive throughout with his direct running, skill and intelligent use of the ball ran at the Aveley back four and curled a shot from the edge of the box no more than a couple of feet past the flying McCartney’s left hand post. Rankin then lobbed McCartney after seizing on Harry Milton’s casual back header, and landed the ball on the roof of the net. Whilst the number 9 would probably have scored if he had gone low, the ball didn’t really come down for him and he had to improvise. Elliott Godfrey fired a powerful volley glancing against the crossbar on its way over the top after a corner hadn’t been cleared before Federico forced the save from the Aveley custodian. Had Hendon taken one of these openings in the last 10-15 minutes of the half, I think we would have gone on to claim all three points.

We didn’t score and we didn’t go on to claim all three points. We played some pretty intricate stuff in the 2^nd half, keeping the ball well and probing, but found the Aveley back line able to deal comfortable with what they were faced with. Charles and Ngoyi were both introduced, and although the former equalised with 6 minutes remaining, remaining onside long enough to nod Darren Currie’s sumptuous (and it really was) cross that was arced towards the far post yelling ‘NOD ME IN!’ at the top of its voice. Charles did, for his 5^th goal of the season, and we expected a tumultuous crescendo of pressure as the game approached its conclusion.

Despite our best efforts, it never really transpired that way. Not even the late late introduction of Junior Lewis some 12 and a half years after his previous competitive outing for the Greens could affect proceedings. Indeed, Aveley could have snatched the points late on when Daniel Francis turned a low right wing cross just over the top of Berkley’s goal. In actual fact, Aveley provided a real threat going forward on the break – Kouassi in particular had two or three decent openings after excellent runs but could only leather the ball over the covered terracing behind the goal instead of into the top corner of the net.

Junior in familiar coaching pose

I think on balance a point apiece was fair enough. The feelings of disappointment soon evaporated as the realisation dawned on me that really, we didn’t do enough with our possession to warrant anything more. Aveley will battle hard in their fight against the drop, that much is obvious, but I am not sure whether there are four sides that will finish below them. Certainly, I thought Leatherhead were a better side a few weeks ago, but of course, I’m only basing my thoughts on the evidence of one look at either side. There are some decent people involved at Aveley, and Lee Hodges seems to want his side to try and play football as well as scrap and fight for every available point. I can get right behind that kind of idea and hope dearly that when we travel to Field Mill on the last day of the season, that the Millers are safe from relegation and we have our play-off spot guaranteed. Wishful thinking perhaps…

Player Ratings

1.Berkley Laurencin – Overall quite a quiet match for the Hendon custodian who had little chance of keeping the goal out. Otherwise commanding and solid. 6/10

2. Dave Diedhiou – Played at right back and gave his most commanding performance for a few weeks. Dealt reasonably well with the pacy threat of Evans Kouassi and got forward to support the attack when able to. 7

3. Scott Cousins – Defended well, his ability to time challenges has been tested quite a lot this season and he rarely comes off 2^nd best. Linked up well with Darren Currie down the left flank at times. 7

4. Ryan Wharton – Yet another excellent performance by the number 4. As well as his ability both on the ground and in the air, I was really impressed with his reading of the game that on half a dozen occasions enabled him to avert danger. 8

5. Michael Peacock – Defended pretty well, did well in the air and on the deck. Was guilty at times of being a little casual in possession though. 6

6. Carl McCluskey – Quite an industrious performance in a more central role than usual. Some lovely touches in the 2^nd half and a couple of purposeful runs, much more his old self after a few weeks of struggle. 7

7. Kevin Maclaren – I’ve been impressed with Kevin Mac recently. Quietly and efficiently patrols the midfield, passes the ball simply, but well and breaks up the opposition’s rhythm in midfield very well. 7

8. Elliott Godfrey – Unlucky in the first half to see his powerful volley glance off the crossbar, and used the ball well in his role wide on either flank. Lively performance. 7

9. Isaiah Rankin – Worked tirelessly again up front chasing lost causes and unsettling the two big Aveley centre halves. Some touches of real class, perhaps will be disappointed not to have scored in the first half. 6

10. Darren Currie – Got a good look at him in the 2^nd half as he played down the right flank. On a couple of occasions he sent more than one defender the wrong way with a body swerve. Worked hard, provided the goal with a delightful cross. Classy. 7

11. Jerome Federico -  The liveliest attacking threat of the afternoon. Ran directly with pace, showed some purpose and was unlucky not to come away with a goal. Impressive. 8

Subs

12. Elliott Charles – Infuriatingly caught offside three or four times in good positions again, but nodded home the equaliser for his 5^th goal of the season. 6

14. Greg Ngoyi – Really pleased to see Greg back in action and showed his intent within seconds of his introduction with a powerful shot that was blocked. Looked lively and interested. 6

17. Junior Lewis – Late introduction, showed an unlikely turn of pace to chase a defender down though.

Star Man: Jerome Federico

Match Rating: 6/10

Verdict: A good point for Aveley, this may turn out to be a decent one for Hendon come the end of the season. I doubt we would have gained the point 3 or 4 weeks ago and with players slowly coming back to fitness, hopefully we can have a good seasonal period.

Four Good Points, Aveley Approaching and RIP Steve Cheesewright

After the defeat against Leatherhead a few weeks ago I said that the next five matches, all against title and play off challengers could end up making or breaking our season. At that point, having lost at home to the Tanners, Met Police and only drawn with Horsham, anyone offering me a return from those five matches of 7 points would have received a warm hug and maybe even a little peck on the cheek. By and large, the performances since the first whistle against Canvey Island have shown a vast improvement on what we witnessed prior to that. It is perhaps telling that in these last five matches, Gary Mac has by and large been able to field a pretty settled XI. The injury situation seems to have settled down a little and the additions of Mauro Vilhete, Frank Sinclair and Darren Currie does seem to have had a slightly galvanising effect on things.

As a result, we see ourselves going into December sat in 5^th position having played 18 league matches already. Barring a winter of epic proportions, fixture congestion ought not to be an issue this term. We have two cup competitions to come and ought to be able to fully concentrate of making progress in each of them so quiet optimism has been renewed, particularly when you consider Aveley, Tooting & Mitcham and East Thurrock United make up our next run of league fixtures. I am hesitant to start setting targets and making predictions because as we’ve already seen this season, the league table means absolutely nothing on the pitch.

Our week began with a solid performance at Cray Wanderers whose season up until now had largely matched ours. A great start followed by a slightly rougher patch and then some signs again of life. Remarkably, Cray were able to name 3 players in their starting XI with hat-tricks to their names this season already, and a fourth on the bench. They promised a stern test of Hendon’s back four and to their credit, they responded excellently. Indeed, the Greens had the better of proceedings after the break and could have taken home the three points had Andy Walker, replacement for Dave King in goal for Cray this season, produced an outstanding save from Vilhete, who himself had struck the inside of the post minutes earlier in pursuit of his first goal in a Hendon shirt. He won’t come any closer than that. In the end, a point apiece was a fair reflection of an absorbing encounter and the clean sheet was a big boost.

52:45 hours later and it was back off East of St. Pauls to Upminster to take on the in-form Urchins of Bridge Avenue. Unbeaten in their previous 9 matches in all competitions and with their front two of Martin Tuohy and Lewis Smith having scored 19 league goals between them (Hendon’s entire total for the season stood before the game at 22) everything pointed to a home banker. Admittedly, and perhaps inexplicably considering the fact that two of the architects of Thurrock’s dominance over everything Hendon in Jimmy MacFarlane and Colin McBride are heavily involved at AFC Hornchurch, our record against the Urchins is good, unbeaten in our previous four meetings.

It wasn’t backs to the wall stuff by any stretch of the imagination, but a performance full of defensive discipline and threat on the counter attack. The only goal of the game came at the end of the first quarter when Elliott Godfrey’s low drive from 20 yards skidded past Joe Woolley in the Hornchurch goal. Try as they might, the home side were unable to break down the visitor’s defence and Berkley Laurencin was able to enjoy his 7^th blank sheet of the season in his 14^th match. Sinclair in particular drew many of the plaudits amongst the 3.14159265 away fans trying in vain to make themselves heard above the 500 home fans thronging amassed in the crowd of 187 as Hendon completed what was probably their best result since the victory at Carshalton. When the report on the Urchins website grudgingly concedes that Hendon deserved the three points, you know you’ve done well. (Thanks to AFC Hornchurch for the video below)

Tomorrow we welcome struggling Aveley to Vale Farm. The corresponding fixture last season saw the Millers pick up their first points against Hendon at the fourth attempt with an impressive and committed showing winning 2-1. It was one of the least impressive performance by the Greens that I witnessed last season, and the hope is that tomorrow is very different. Having received the annual reprieve from relegation regularly handed out to the side finishing 19^th in the division, Carl Griffiths was looking forward to a season away from the relegation zone. Unfortunately for the former Leyton Orient man, things didn’t work out and the end of October saw the end of his tenure. Replacing him is former West Ham, Billericay and Thurrock man Lee Hodges and his first game in charge saw his charges pick up a 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Horsham. He has been quick to bring in his own players with Danny Smith, Joe Keith, Jamie Richards and Rikki Burbridge all making their debuts against the Hornets. However, a surprise 2-1 defeat in the Essex Senior Cup to Witham Town will have provided a quick reminder as to the size of the job on hand. However, the Millers currently sit in 18^th place, 3 points ahead of 19^th placed Concord Rangers but having played more games than the three sides immediately below them in the table. They will be scrapping for everything tomorrow and we will need to make sure we match them for commitment first and foremost if we are going to come away with anything. 3 more points would do us very nicely.

In sadder news, it was announced that regular Hendon fan Steve Cheesewright passed away earlier in the week following a 2 year battle with cancer. I didn’t know Steve well, but he was a familiar face on the terraces at Claremont Road in particular. Clearly his illness restricted his attendance over the last couple of years but he was still able to come when he was able to, even to the match at Luton only a few short weeks ago. Aged just 30, the following excerpt that was posted on Facebook pays tribute to him better than I ever could.

"Steve passed away peacefully yesterday after his 2 year battle with cancer, his family were with him when he died and he was comfortable. Steve was a very much loved son, grandson, friend, brother and daddy and will be missed by so many."

My thoughts are with his family at this very difficult and sad time, I know his huge smiling face will be much missed on the terraces behind the goals by all who came into contact with him in the common pursuit of Green glory. RIP Steve.

3 points in his memory tomorrow would be a fitting tribute.