Complete Music Norman Matthews Floodlit Cup
Round 1
Finchampstead 3 Harrow Hill FC 0
Tuesday, 08 October 2002
Harrow Hill returned to Gloucestershire in a sombre mood on Tuesday night after they crashed out of the Hellenic Football League Norman Matthews Floodlit Cup, losing 3-0 to Finchampstead in the first round match at Hartley Wintney, sponsored by Aqua~Spec.
Although the evenly contested opening ten minutes saw play move from end to end, Finch never gave the Harrow Hill players time to settle on the ball and Stuart Harris in the Finch goal had a relatively untroubled start to the game. For their part, Finch moved the ball fluently through midfield but lacked the necessary killer punch up front to convert their early creative play into goals. Their best chance came in the ninth minute when Jamie McClurg and Davyd Bowden broke down the left to cross to Bruce Rolls, whose hurried shot skimmed past the far post. Finch eventually went in front with a stunningly created and finished goal in the twelfth minute, Danny Humphreys making a good thirty yard run down the left touchline before delivering a perfect ball into Bruce Rolls who volleyed home from six yards out.
Harrow Hill bounced back well, keeping the ball deep in the Finch midfield for five minutes, but they found it hard to make any headway against the resolute, well marshalled Finch defence in the final approaches to goal, and their attempts on goal were limited to two or three hopeful longer-range efforts that either missed the target or were comfortably dealt with by Stuart Harris.
As the half progressed, Finch still seemed to be content to let the visitors have a greater share of possession and midway through the half, Harrow Hill had another good spell of attacking football. However despite some constructive play, they found no way through the solid Finch defence, although in the 35th minute Ryan Pendry almost beat Stuart Harris with a deflected shot from twenty yards out that skimmed past the Finch keepers right hand post. Finch started to take more control of play and caused some serious pressure to the Harrow Hill penalty area. Goalkeeper Andrew Reid just got to a well delivered Danny McCarthy corner ahead of Bruce Rolls to clutch the ball off the striker?s head and a minute later he finger-tipped a long Danny Humphreys throw over his crossbar to prevent another chance for the now hungry Finch forwards. The constant pressure on the Harrow Hill goal eventually paid dividends in the thirty-seventh minute at the end of a series of Finch corners. Davyd Bowden delivered a perfect ball to the far post that created mayhem in the defence, with three attempts on goal being cleared off the line ping-pong style before Danny Humphreys fired in a venomous shot to give Finch a 2-0 half time lead.
By comparison with the first, the second half was a more subdued affair, with Finch seemingly content to sit back on their two-goal lead and making only sporadic attacks. It was Harrow Hill playing the more determined football as they clearly wanted to get back into the game. James Bapton had a good chance to pull a goal back for Harrow Hill in the 52nd minute when he penetrated the Finch defence, only to send a timid drive straight into the arms of Stuart Harris. Ten minutes later Finch nearly paid the penalty for failing to clear their lines from a corner, Carl Smith producing a great shot from twenty yards out that fully tested Stuart Harris. As the visitors purple patch continued with Stuart Harris tipping a tremendous shot from Darren Weyman over the bar in the 62nd minute at the end of a fluent Harrow Hill move and he was called into action again after 68 minutes when the same player was sent through on goal, but struck just wide as the alert Finch keeper rushed out to meet him. Heeding the warnings, Finch came alive and played some good attacking football that at last had the Harrow Hill midfield and defence back-pedalling and in defensive mode. In the 76th minute Andrew Reid was left stranded at the far post by his tired and statue-like defence, but just managed to keep out a well-placed Lee Goddard header from a sweetly driven Finch corner. Finch wrapped things up in the 88th minute with another killer goal from Bruce Rolls, who raced in to despatch a Danny Humphreys free-kick that had rebounded off the woodwork. 3-0 down and with just two minutes to go, Harrow Hill knew that they were out of the game, and it was Finch that had the last real attack, Bruce Rolls just missing out on a hat-trick with a shot that rebounded off the crossbar with almost the last kick of the game.
Finchampstead now travel to Wootton Bassett Town in a fortnight?s time in the quarter-final stage of the competition.
On Saturday Finchampstead travel to Binfield in the first round of the Hellenic Football League Challenge Cup (2.30pm) and the reserves visit Brackley Town for a Hellenic Football League Reserve Division One fixture (3.00pm).
Finchampstead: Harris, Clarke, Goddard, Prentice, Burt, Lynch, McCarthy, Bowden, Humphreys, Rolls, McClurg. Subs used: Russell, Turner, Pearce.
Harrow Hill: Reid, Symonds, Broadman, Frowen, Bapton, Clark, Pendry, Bell, Weyman, Bayliss, Smith. Subs used: Woodruffe, Stewart, Walding.
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