Football –Sod you! 5 Minutes of Mayhem

Saturday 31st March 2012

Lewes 3-2 Hendon

Ryman League Premier Division

The Dripping Pan

Saturday and one of the few away days I’ve braved this season. And boy am I pleased I did. Well, yes and no actually. Off the pitch things were marvellous. On the pitch they began similarly so, before descending extremely rapidly into chaos and bitter disappointment. This was not how Gary Mac's autiobiography ghost writers would have had him marking 15 years a Hendon man.

Hendon marched down to the South Downs to meet Lewes in a match that should they come away victorious, would probably be very much favourites to snap up one of the play-off positions. Coming down the hill from the town centre and the very hospitable chaps and chapettes at The Brewers Arms (good selection of ales I’m told, good selection of Euro-lagers and very good selection of BURGERS!) I felt like I was going to a proper football match. Scores of people were descending the hill towards the ground, mostly bedecked in red and black stripes.

The Dripping Pan, for those who haven’t been before is fairly unique amongst Ryman League grounds. You enter the ground at the top of the terracing, which is high enough to rival the prefabricated one at either end of Imperial Fields, before descending downwards to pitch level. It made me imagine that I was watching a lower league match in Scandanavia or Central Europe. Don’t ask me why.

Team news had come through on various smart hand held devices, (they’re still no smarter than the average Premier League captain as far as I can see) and perhaps the most obvious thing to note was the absence of Greg Ngoyi or Elliott Charles from the Matchday squad. At a time when you need goals, to be missing your first choice centre forwards is a real blow. That said, Belal Aite-ouakrim, who got the number 9 shirt, has been resembling a footballer once more in recent weeks and Carl McCluskey has been thriving just behind the centre forward as well.

Lewes, who have had a fairly torrid winter off the park with the dismissal of former favourite Steve King for reasons unrevealed which resulted in a number of players leaving the club have in recent weeks steadied the ship under the stewardship of Simon Wormull and hauled themselves back into play-off contention. Before kick-off they stood a couple of places and three points behind the Greens. With Steve Robinson, and Paul Booth still very much part of the furniture at the Pan, this was likely to be a scrap. A big scrap in front of a very good crowd. And so it proved.

Hendon settled the quicker of the two sides, as the 20 or so travelling fans melted seamlessly into the hoardes of Lewes faithful who had stayed behind the goal they were defending to enjoy a pint of the local liquid gold, and it all made for a very pleasant atmosphere. The Glaswegian Four were in fine fettle having already witnessed Rangers overcome Motherwell in the lunchtime SPL meeting treating the locals to their unique brand of banter.

Jerome Federico began really well down the right flank getting Lewis Hamilton reversing rapidly (ho-ho-ho, F1 humour) on more than one occasion. He flashed a shot wide of the near post and sent a couple of dangerous balls into the box as well that were well dealt with by the Lewes back four. Belal, showing himself to be somewhere close to the form he was in at the beginning of last season, was causing Max Hustwick no end of problems and he was denied a first league goal of the season only by a wonderful save from Matt Ingram in the Lewes goal. The ball bounced nicely for the number 9 to strike from about 10 yards out, powerfully towards the roof of the net, yet the reaction from the Lewes custodian was superb, pushing the ball onto the top of the bar on its way over the top.

The breakthrough came on the quarter hour mark and it was no real surprise. Belal and McCluskey linking up extremely well with an exchange of passes that ended with Belal stretching just inside the penalty area to get to the ball before Ingram and send it rolling into the back of the net. Scorer collided with keeper and needed treatment, before lasting another five or so minutes and being withdrawn. One wag (me) suggested cruelly that he was suffering a nosebleed after finding the target, on in his place came Isaiah Rankin, about 50 minutes earlier than we would have liked.

I felt that we were still on top for much of the half, without ever really threatening to take the game by the scruff of the neck and kill Lewes off. The closest anyone came to doing that was Rankin who turned Robinson smartly and sent a powerful drive no more than a yard wide with Ingram beaten. However, at the other end, Chris Breach in an unfamiliar midfield role headed home a free kick on the stroke of half time only to see the goal disallowed for a linesman’s flag up. I was in no position to see who, what or indeed when was offside but I wasn’t going to argue with the official unlike a number of those behind Rikki Banks’ goal. This should have provided the Greens with a warning, and if it did, it went totally unheeded.

I was behind the dugouts on my way around to the far end when the scores levelled just after half time. Chris Breach once again heading home from a set-piece to bring the home side level. This seconds after the same player had been denied by an excellent Banks save. Amusingly the Lewes bench were imploring the same assistant to raise his flag to disallow the effort, a genuinely amusing moment. However, any smile was wiped off my face not 60 seconds later when Nathan Crabb ended a game of pinball in the penalty area by slotting the ball home. The place erupted, and those in green looked utterly shellshocked.

Shell shock turned to abject horror as I finally arrived at the far end, Banks did very well to deny Crabb low down, but Paul Booth was the quickest to follow up ahead of any green shirted don and fire into the empty net. 3-1. It was 3-1. I checked the electronic scoreboard which confirmed that it was indeed 3-1. How had that happened? I could see our play-off hopes disappearing over the chalk-pitted hills and way off into the Sussex distance. This was like that match against Tonbridge yet a thousand times worse.

Undettered, Lewes continued to force the pace and look for more. Banks denied Booth with a smart block when the Rooks number 10 looked odds on to increase the Hendon misery. Somehow, the storm was weathered and we’d only had the roof blown off, windows smashed in and the walls decimated by the onslaught. Last season certain players would have lost their heads at this point, this time they kept them and plugged away.

Jack Mazzone came on for his debut having been a deadline day signing on loan from Woking and looked quite lively, forcing Ingram into a good tip over late on. Booth had another effort ruled out dubiously for offside at the other end and Banks who had spent the first period largely unemployed would have delighted our wonderful government with his work-rate in the second half. The scoreline was given a dash of respectability as the game moved into time added on when Scott Cousins picked out the top corner with nonchalant aplomb, but it was too little too late. Led by the ever impressive Steve Robinson the home side saw out the remainder of the four minutes in relative comfort to record a vital win.

It’s a long time since I’ve felt as deflated as I did at the final whistle. So many ifs and buts, yet ultimately, nothing. Credit Lewes for that second half, I haven’t seen anyone take us apart like that for quite some time, and if they are able to channel that kind of performance in their remaining five matches then I wouldn’t be surprised to see them finish in the top 5. It was extremely impressive yet I still feel the defeat was partially down to ourselves and the way we began the 2^nd half. At least we’re not out of it completely, but we cannot afford any more lapses like that again. Our run-in looks favourable on paper, but paper and grass are vastly different surfaces.

What I do know is that if we happen not to go up this season, and if Lewes happen not to go up this season, then I will be hoping with every sinew in my body that we meet in August next season. They’re everything I like in a Non League club. Well run, extremely good hosts and look set-up to take themselves (and this is an important point being a Community run club) forward strongly in the medium to long term. Good luck to them, a thoroughly good bunch.

For another view of the game, I would urge you to have a look at the excellent Ball Is Round site for their take on proceedings.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Greg - Sunday Review

Hendon 2-2 Lewes

Ryman League Premier Division

Vale Farm

Sunday 4^th September 2011

At the start of every season, I sit down with the fixture list and write down a ‘best case’ scenario and a ‘realistic’ scenario for each match based on a complicated logarithmic set of random equations that have no mathematical or scientific basis. Then, on the eve of each fixture, I check back and re-calculate using even more complex formulae and various statistical distributions to come up with a pair of revised results. The best I could do for the visit of Lewes was a point. Not really the confidence you’d expect from a supporter of a side that had won their first 4 matches of the season. Our visitors yesterday were on a decent run themselves though, winning their last three matches and had plenty of experience on paper running throughout their side. Looking at their players as they trooped onto the pitch, they looked what I like to call ‘typically Essex’. Every man among them looked tall and very powerful – something that we at Hendon have often struggled to match.

Unusually for such a powerfully built side, Lewes didn’t rely purely on power and strength to try and win the game, instead looking to build through midfield and to spread the ball wide to Aaron Watson and Nic Ciardini on either flank. They made 1 change from the side which beat Horsham on Bank Holiday Monday, former Crawley Down man Watson replacing the unfit Jamie Cade, thankfully from Hendon’s point of view as not even he was able to find his way to goal from behind the Lewes dugout. New signing from Harrow, Christian Nanetti was named amongst the substitutes. Gary McCann, for his part, named an unchanged XI for the third match running, Aaron Morgan and Kevin Maclaren replaced Isaiah Rankin and the injured Jerome Federico on the bench.

The grass was slightly on the long side perhaps as the two sides lined up in their nominal 4-4-2 formations, which meant that the pre-match downpour had given the surface less zip than it might have otherwise done. This didn’t deter the visitors from getting off to the dream start though with barely 2 minutes on the clock when they took the lead. Paul Booth got up well to meet a free kick that was swung into the box at pace. Berkeley Laurencin was able to block, but not hold the header and the ball fell at the feet of Michael Malcolm who needed no 2^nd invitation to squeeze the ball into the back of the net to the delight of the decent traveling support behind the goal at the Driving School end.

For the first time this season, Hendon found themselves behind and it was going to be very interesting to see what the response was going to be. With the end of last season and the number of times things caved in like a straw house under attack from a big bad mother of a wolf still very fresh in the memory, I doubt I was alone in thinking that we were about to witness a repeat of the 5-0 walloping Woking handed out to us at Vale Farm 2 years ago. The Greens did well to weather a tough 15 minutes or so before slowly getting themselves back into the game. Making their tackles count, winning headers and beginning to pass the ball better than they had. That said, Lewes looked pretty comfortable, with Steve Robinson, who I’ve never seen have a bad game, in particular excellent and giving Greg Ngoyi little change. Typical of the big centre half’s performance was when he was dispossessed by Elliot Godfrey and then slipped, giving the Canadian a good 3 or 4 yard head start. Robinson recovered quickly and as the Hendon midfielder looked to cut inside onto his right foot made a superb challenge to send the ball behind for a corner.

The first opening for Hendon came just after the quarter hour when a stinging drive was well blocked at his near post by Lewes’ giant goalkeeper Stuart Robinson. The delivery from corners was generally good from Scott Cousins and Godfrey and on more than one occasion, the Rooks defence were stretched, but remained unbreached. The equaliser came on the half hour and in slightly bizarre circumstances.

Stuart Robinson launched a monstrous kick downfield from his hands and it was only after a good 10 seconds or so that anyone, not just the referee noticed the linesman at that end flagging. It soon became obvious that the goalkeeper had inadevertantly carried the ball out of his penalty area before launching it towards Acton. The free kick was awarded a yard outside the penalty area and no caution was administered. Curiously, after arranging his wall to cover the right hand side of his goal, Robinson decided to take shelter behind them. Godfrey simply stepped up and powered the ball into his top left hand corner beyond his flailing dive to level things up. Given the overall performance of the officials came in for a lot of debate post match, the assistant deserves credit for spotting this. It’s the kind of offence that maybe happens two or three times a match but is very rarely penalised. There is perhaps an argument that Robinson was unlucky to have been caught out, particularly as there was no intent, but that doesn’t mean that play shouldn’t be pulled back as and when it is spotted.

Stuart Robinson: Enjoyed an eventful afternoon at Vale Farm

Moments later came the first really contentious moment of the game. The dangerous Malcolm, who gave the Hendon centre halves as torrid a time as they’ve had so far this season, exchanged passes with Ciardini and broke into the Hendon box. Dave Diedhiou, who didn’t enjoy one of his best afternoons, hauled the striker down what looked like just inside the penalty area. The referee blew, and to the amazement of most, awarded a free kick almost exactly on the 18 yard line. As the Lewes players argued that the offence had taken place inside the area, which to be fair I thought it had, I awaited the inevitable red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity. The card brandished was yellow to the general amazement of most and the utter bemusement of many. Relieved by this let off, the wall of Green blocked Paul Booth’s free kick and the rebound driven powerfully towards goal by Nic Ciardini was well blocked by a flying Hendon body.

I think there’s a bit of a grey area where the whole ‘denying a goalscoring chance’ professional foul is concerned. In this particular instance, there were Green shirts in the vicinity of Diedhiou when he fouled Malcolm but the fact remains that the striker had beaten Diedhiou and had a great opportunity to get a shot away, irrespective of whether or not a Green shirt would have been able to get across to make a challenge. There is nothing in the laws stating anything about being the last man, or covering defenders, simply that any player denying an opponent a clear goalscoring opportunity should be sent from the field. It’s my opinion that Diedhiou was lucky to remain on the pitch.

The two sides went in level at the break with Lewes perhaps feeling slightly aggrieved not to have been ahead, particularly after Malcolm forced a good low stop from Laurencin late in the period after doing well to get his way in behind the Greens defence, but any neutrals in the crowd had been served relatively entertaining fayre.

The 2^nd period burst into life 12 minutes in when a cross from the right was headed behind by the slightly hapless Diedhiou. Somehow, the big fella managed to nod the ball a couple of yards past the near post as he shaped to glance the ball away downfield. Quite which part of his head he ended up using is a conundrum I am still trying to solve. A modicum of justice was perhaps served when the corner was fired deep towards the far post. Laurencin went up for it, got nowhere near it (the ball simply sailed over his outstretched reach) and fell for Malcolm to lash home from close range for his 4^th league goal of the campaign already. Diedhiou’s afternoon was over as he was immediately replaced by the fit again Kevin Maclaren who immediately gave the Greens a bit more control in midfield where Matt Somner had been bossing things for Lewes.

Elliot Godfrey: Powerful free kick drew Hendon level in the 1st half

The Hendon defence were twice called upon to make excellent last ditch tackles on Malcolm and Watson inside the penalty area whilst Laurencin did well to recover after trying to shepherd the ball out of play whilst outside his penalty area and slipping on his behind. Before Watson could take advantage, the goalkeeper had got his foot in and cleared the ball form danger. Aaron Morgan then replaced the tiring Godfrey and went up front with Ngoyi, whose energetic performance hadn’t given Steve Robinson and Max Hustwick a moment’s peace. The young substitute had quite an impact on the game.

His introduction gave the Hendon attack a new dimension, a pacier, more direct outlet and he certainly looked very lively. The Greens forced a string of corners, and it was from one of these that they drew level again. The ball was swung in by Cousins and met powerfully by the head of Ngoyi or Morgan. Stuart Robinson beat the ball away and it was turned goalwards by a Hendon body. The ball didn’t have the required pace to beat Somner who hacked the ball off the line. Danger averted. Or so we thought. The ball was played in over the top again and this time, for once, Ngoyi had escaped the clutches – quite literally – of Steve Robinson. He calmly drew the goalkeeper (a slightly crude caricature in charcoal) and from a very tight angle slid the ball under his body. The ball almost agonised for a moment as it kissed the base of the far post before deciding to cross the line and Ngoyi wheeled away to celebrate well deserved reward for his excellent afternoon’s endeavours.

Any hope Hendon had of going on to take the 3 points were badly diminished with 12 minutes remaining when they were reduced to 10 men. Morgan chased down a long ball and slid in just as Stuart Robinson cleared it into the Sports Centre and caught the big goalkeeper. As Morgan remained on the ground Robinson jumped to his feet quick as a flash, grabbed the forward and dished out a slap before pointing aggressively at all and sundry as the referee appeared on the scene. After a minute or so, the official dished out a red card for Morgan, who eventually trudged off disconsonately whilst Robinson removed his gloves and motioned towards the bench. Had he been dismissed too? The referee had only brandished his red card once, but stranger things had happened. The fog of confusion became all the thicker when the goalkeeper sat down in his penalty area, removed his boot, tape and shinpad before deciding to do it all up again. He took a good four or five minutes to sort himself out during which point he shouted that 4 letter ‘c’ word that rhymes with ‘hunt’ at someone in full hearing of the referee and at one point was finally shown a yellow card by the official. Quite whether that was for retaliation, time wasting or foul and abusive language was unclear. What was clear was that he ought really to have followed Morgan down the tunnel.

By this point, the officials had pretty well lost it. There was still time for Laurencin to make a good save at full stretch from a free kick and then tip over a fierce drive on the angle from Nanetti, who had much more impact in 20 odd minutes yesterday as he did in an hour or so for Harrow on Monday, as Lewes looked to win the game, but the Greens managed to hold out with a certain degree of comfort for a well fought point.

So, a point won or two dropped? Definitely a case of the former as far as I’m concerned. It will be a very good side that stops Lewes challenging for promotion this season, they look big, strong and play some really classy stuff at times. You get the impression that they’re still gelling, which is to be expected given the fact that most of, if not all of their squad came together in the summer. I really think they’ll only get stronger and more difficult to beat as the season goes on.

There were a number of plus points as far as I’m concerned for Hendon fans too. We are still unbeaten and showed a lot of character to come from behind twice against a good strong side. We weren’t overawed nor outmuscled and I thought we were good value for the point on that basis alone. Lewes certainly had more, and better chances, but this was far from a case of ‘snatching’ a point.

What the game has made me consider is how much football can be a case of ‘what if’. This was a perfect example. What if the assistant hadn’t spotted the handball by Stuart Robinson, what if the referee had awarded the penalty and sent Diedhiou off, what if Robinson had been sent off as well as Morgan? Would the game have ended 2-2? I suspect not. Football in that respect is much like History, and that dear reader, suits me just fine.

Player Ratings

1. Berkely Laurencin: A mixed afternoon for the Hendon ‘keeper with a couple of excellent saves mixed with a pretty big error of judgment that led to the 2^nd goal. 5/10

2. Ryan Wharton: Another very good showing, standing up extremely well to the challenge laid down by the lively and strong pairing of Booth and Malcolm. 7

3. Scott Cousins: Got better as the game went on and became very influential in the 2^nd period. Showed two or three touches that oozed class and went on one or two marauding attacking runs. 8

4. Michael Peacock: His partnership with Ryan Wharton is improving all the time. Another committed display at the heart of defence against difficult opponents. 6

5. James Archer: Continues to impress at right back. Happy to provide an attacking outlet when possible down the right flank and dealt pretty well with the threat of Nic Ciardini 7

6. Dave Diedhiou: Not the big man’s best afternoon in a Hendon shirt. Didn’t pass the ball well, fortunate not to be sent off and his error led to the corner for Lewes’ 2^nd goal. He’ll bounce back though. 4

7. Jamie Busby: Like Cousins, his influence on proceedings grew as the game went on. Was always busy in midfield, but wasn’t able to get forward as much as he might have liked. 6

8. Carl McCluskey: Nominally played as the 2^nd striker and worked well linking the midfield and Greg Ngoyi up front. Really looks at home at this level. 7

9. Greg Ngoyi: Excellent selfless performance from the number 9, grabbing a deserved goal. Gave Steve Robinson and Max Hustwick a real test, giving as good as he got physically. 8

10. Elliot Godfrey: Mostly played wide on the left and grabbed the first equaliser with a powerful free kick. Looked to pick up a knock and was replaced midway through the half. Good effort. 7

11. Casey Maclaren: Wholehearted, hard working, hard grafting performance as usual from Casey. His final ball still needs some work but put in a great shift. 6

Subs:

12. Kevin Maclaren: Replaced Diedhiou after the 2^nd Lewes goal and did well breaking up their attacks and knitting things together simply in midfield. Probable starter on Saturday. 6

14. Danny Dyer: Came on for the last 90 seconds or so of stoppage time.

17. Aaron Morgan: A tad harshly sent off, but an encouraging cameo who added focus and impetus to the Greens front line. Will most likely miss 3 matches starting after the FA Cup tie at AFC Hayes. 6

Match Rating: 7

Star Man: Greg Ngoyi

Verdict: A good point against a good side who I expect will be right up there come the end of April. The side showed good character coming back from a goal down to equalise twice and holding on well after the dismissal of Morgan. Definitely another positive performance to take into the game at Margate on Saturday

Weekend Preview - The Rooks Land on Non League Day

As has been well publicised all around twitter and the Non League Centric blogosphere in general, this Saturday / weekend will see the 2^nd Non League Day take place. I’ve written a couple of similar themed pieces for We Are The Wood and Dodgy Knees and Dirty Balls blogs, so I’m not going to delve into things in too much detail here for fear over overkilling the urge any neutral reader may have to attend a game.

For Hendon’s part, we welcome newcomers to the Ryman Premier Division Lewes on Sunday afternoon (the game being moved from Saturday due to Wembley’s FA Cup appointment) who after a three tough and turbulent seasons battling against relegation first from the Blue Square Premier Division, and then Blue Square South, not to mention various off field and financial woes, are taking the opportunity to rebuild and get themselves on a sound footing in the Ryman League under the returning hero Steve King.

For those who may be interested in this kind of thing, Sunday’s match brings together two sides that are not owned by an individual but other organisations. I don’t need to go through the ownership details of Hendon again, they have been well documented in the past, and no doubt will be again in the future. However, the story of Lewes is, as far as I’m concerned anyway, absolutely fascinating.

On 8^th July 2010, Lewes Football Club moved out of private hands and became community owned. For a club whose Blue Square South title win in 2008 was completely overshadowed by the news that Steve King would be leaving and that there were going to be competing in the BSP on a vastly reduced budget, this was a great way forward. In the intervening couple of years, talk of administration was never far away but to give the club credit, they never gave in and went about things in the right manner by accepting the relegations back down the pyramid on the pitch, rather than through AGM conference rooms.

How does a club become owned by the community then? For the first year, the new board of directors were issuing Founder Lifetime Membership Shares at a minimum price of £1,000 each. Anyone who has an interest in The Day Today or Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge will recognise the name of comedian and writer Patrick Marber, who was an integral part of setting the Community club up. Dave Lamb, the whimsical voice behind Come Dine With Me, is also a keen Rooks fan whilst such luminaries as Nigella Lawson, Charles Saatchi, Steve Coogan and Paul Hayward also own shares in the club. An impressive cast list, but not quite Bob Stanley.

Patrick Marber: Yet to namecheck Bontcho and Claremont Road in Song

This summer, on the first anniversary of the move into community ownership it was announced that shares would be available on an annual basis at the price of a minimum of £30pa. Fans, local businesses, anyone who was interested to become part owner of Lewes Football Club – in much a similar way as any member of Hendon’s Supporters Trust currently owns an equal share of Hendon Football Club. As with us, every single penny raised goes back into the running of the club, no single individual stands to benefit from profit.

Each shareholder is entitled to the following.

• An official Share Certificate
• A membership card offering discounts at the Club Shop, exclusive shareholder events and reduced entry to certain home games.
• A new lapel badge each season (I’m a sucker for these)
• The right to stand for election to the Board of Directors and the right to vote for candidates in annual elections.

More information on the Lewes ownership model can be found here. I’ll admit to being a convert to this kind of scheme that allows fans, particularly at our level a real say in the running of their football club. Time and time again fans are held to ransom by egocentric owners and then left to pick up the pieces of their shattered football club when the money runs out. Horchurch, Grays, Canvey Island, Weymouth, Rushden & Diamonds, Chester City, Telford United – the list of clubs goes on and on and ariston. Let’s face it. were it not for the hard work of our own Supporters Trust and the individuals behind Lewes’ scheme, there would be two other names to add to the long list of defunct clubs.

With things beginning to burgeon off the pitch at The Dripping Pan (fabulous name for a ground that) so things began to look up on the field as well. They threw many Non League observers something of a curveball when re-appointing Steve King to the hotseat following his departure from Farnborough at the end of last season where he so nearly took them up into the BSP, falling in the play offs. King seems to get quite a hard press from some sections of the Non League Internetigensia, I’ve never seen a match where a side managed by him has been playing so I can’t really comment. A lot of the criticism seems to be based on the fact that he always has healthy budgets to play with. Whilst there may be some credence in that, I sincerely doubt that Lewes will be paying what they can’t afford this season and besides that, having money to burn is no guarantee of success. It still takes a good manager to get together a squad on good money and successfully mould them into a team. King’s track record is hard to argue with.

As you’d expect, there’s been a high turnover of playing staff over the summer. Those former Farnborough players who haven’t moved to Boreham Wood have mostly followed King to East Sussex. There’s some well known experienced names among them such as Steve Robinson, Nic Ciardini, Michael Malcolm and Paul Booth. Other impressive looking signings include Matt Somner from Mansfield, Dwayne Lee, Dominic Sterling and Wade Small. Another to return for a 2^nd spell at The Dripping pan is Jamie Cade who ended last season at Horsham. His inclusion against Hendon for anyone seems to be as good as a 1 goal start given the regularity with which he sticks the ball in our onion bag. One former King trooper who won’t be terrorising our back four is Dale Binns whose annual move to Blue Square South title challengers this season took him to Woking. One familiar face who may well be on show is that of diminutive mohawked winger Christian Nanetti who has signed from Monday's opponents Harrow Borough and will be available for selection on Sunday.

Jamie Cade Celebrating A Goal against - yes, you've guessed it, Hendon in November 2008

The Rooks currently sit 5^th in the table having won their last 3 matches following their opening day 3-1 defeat at 10 man Lowestoft. Since then they’ve beaten Met Police, Billiercay Town and Horsham all by single goal margins. With 3 of Hendon’s wins this season coming by the same margin, everything is pointing towards a very tight encounter. I’d have taken a point from this game before the season, and I’ll stick with that now. Hopefully there’ll be a good sprinkling of neutrals at the game, I know various people have been advertising long and hard over the internet, fingers crossed their efforts pay dividends.

Prediction: 1-1 draw in an early promotion 6 pointer ;-)

Other Matches

Aveley (19^th) v Leatherhead (22^nd)

With both sides still looking for their first wins of the season, this is bound to be a keenly fought contest. It’s far too early to start bandying about terms like ‘relegation 6 pointer’ but there will be a certain anxiety amongst both sides to kick start their seasons. Leatherhead will be without suspended skipper Mark Sammons, and Craig Davies will be keen to add to his impressive start to life at Fetcham Grove. Aveley will be hoping to go one better than against Concord where they were denied 3 points by a late late late equaliser.

Verdict: Tanners to get off the mark. 1-2

Billericay Town (11^th) v Kingstonian (13^th)

This has all the makings of a belter with both sides netting four at the bank holiday. Bobby Traynor has hit the goal trail with 3 goals in his last 2 matches, and Dewayne Clarke had an impressive debut at Tooting. There are question marks about the quality of the K’s back four though and Jay May will be looking to cause them problems along with David Knight, who himself got off the mark for the Blues on Monday with a brace of his own.

Verdict: K’s to nick a thriller. 2-3

Canvey Island (4^th) v Harrow Borough (21^st)

Canvey are putting together a good little run following their opening day reverse against Carshalton Athletic with Rob King in particularly good form having scored in each of the three wins they’ve recorded since. Harrow will need to improve defensively from their showing at Vale Farm on Monday if they’re going to come away from the game with anything, but they will take heart from hitting the back of the net twice for the first time this season this time around.

Verdict: Gulls fly away with 3 points. 2-0

Cray Wanderers (7^th) v East Thurrock United (14^th)

Following their humiliation at home to AFC Hornchurch in their opening game, Cray have responded brilliantly taking 7 points from their next 3 matches, including a good win and clean sheet against Carshalton. Tommy Whitnell and Leigh Bremner have both hit their stride early with goals under their belts, so the Rocks back 4 will be severely tested. East Thurrock will be hoping to bounce back from their narrow defeat at Canvey with something tangible and will certainly be making life difficult for the Ambers, as they did the Gulls on Monday.

Verdict: Nothing to choose, 1-1

Hastings United (16^th) v Carshalton Athletic (15^th)

Hastings are a difficult side to call, following bad with good. Carshalton meanwhile have had a tough start, perhaps tougher than anticipated and are without a goal in their last 3 matches. Paul Vines and Dean McDonald will be hungry to get back on the goal trail whilst Hastings will be looking to get a first win in front of their own fans on the board.

Verdict: Robins to nick it, 1-2

Horsham (9^th) v Margate (12^th)

This match brings about a little bit of nice symmetry. Horsham are without a win at home, Margate are without a win away. Horsham have scored 7 and conceded 7, Margate have scored 7 and conceded 7. Both sides have number 11s who are bang in goalscoring form in the shapes of Tony Nwachukwu (4 goals for Horsham) and Kwesi Appiah (3 goals for Margate). I think a 7-7 draw is a little bit much to ask, and I’ve had little luck predicting the Hornets results thus far. So…

Verdict: Hornets sting Gate, 2-1

Lowestoft Town (2^nd) v Concord Rangers (20^th)

This looks like a tough task for Concord who go to almost Holland still in search of their first win of the season. They’ve hit the goal trail in the last two matches with 3 each time, but have been let down by some poor defending. Lowestoft, who have had the luxury of rotating the likes of Adrian Forbes, Lubo Guentchev, Chris Henderson and Matt Nolan in and out of their attacking options look like they’ll be too strong for the Beachboys.

Verdict: Trawlerboys sail away, 3-0

Met Police (8^th) v AFC Hornchurch (17^th)

The Rozzers, or Old Bill, or Fuzz, whatever you wish, have enjoyed a good start to life in the Premier Division with a pair of home wins and 6 points out of 9. They’ll be looking to continue their impressive start at home to AFC Hornchurch who have lost their last 3 after such an impressive start against Cray. Whatever the result, the two match reports will make very entertaining reading come Monday morning.

Verdcit: Tighter than a Tory Chancellor, 1-1

Tooting & Mitcham United (10^th) v Wingate & Finchley (3^rd)

I hate trying to predict Tooting’s scores, given they are as likely to win 4-0 as they are lose 4-0. Wingate will have many happy memories of Imperial Fields having lifted the London Senior Cup there in early May and most observers have been mightily impressed with their early season performances. Leon Smith has enjoyed a lightning start to the season with 4 goals in his 3 matches so far for the North Londoners and I can see him giving the Terrors’ back 4 a very tough afternoon.

Verdict: Wings have it. 1-3

Wealdstone (18^th) v Bury Town (6^th)

Both sides have enjoyed goal feasts in the past week or so, and I expect there to be plenty of thrills and spills for those in attendance to enjoy again. Richard Jolly has hit his stride for the Stones and the Reed/Smith combinations doing likewise for Bury promises goals – as does the porous nature of both sides defenses on Monday afternoon. This though, is exactly the kind of game Wealdstone often thrive in. On the back foot after a poor performance, at home against a fancied side. Can they get their season up and running?

Verdict Jolly Good, 3-2