|
 |
|
independent message board |
 |
|
matthew gadsby memorial page |
 |
|
non-league a-z club guide |
|
site map |
 |
 |
| September 2007 | |
| Saturday 29th September | |
| Hinckley in 'win game' shocker | |
|
Richard Sneekes finally made his debut for Hinckley United, but it was returning
player Leon Kelly, back after his 10 match suspension, that had the greater impact
in this FA Cup 2nd qualifying match. Hinckley United safely made their way into
the next round after a 4-2 win over the Gingerbreads at the Marston Stadium. The
performance was less than convincing at times, and defensive errors cost dearly,
but the result will mean more ultimately when the draw is made on Monday lunchtime.
Grantham were never going to roll over and they put up an excellent fight never
letting Hinckley really get away from them until the final half hour of the match.
Indeed, Grantham could've been ahead in the first minute, if it wasn't for Sean
Bowles. The Hinckley keeper, still playing despite needing an operation for his
knee problem, pulled off an excellent save after Sam Wilkinson was allowed to run
on the left and fired in a shot unchecked by the defence. It was Hinckley that
took the lead though after 12 minutes from a goal kick by Bowles that bounced over
the Grantham defence and Leon kelly nipped between defender and goalkeeper to
head the ball over Ziccardi into the empty net. Kelly had a second chance 10 minutes
later when in the area he tried to pass the ball around Ziccardi, but the Grantham
keeper managed to push the ball away to safety. On 26 minutes Grantham were level,
a cross from the left was allowed to go to the far right post and with no defender
marking Sam Wilkinson, he simply headed down past a stranded and furious Bowles.
10 minutes later, the Hinckley defence did exactly the same thing, a cross from
the left to the far right to the feet of Brendan McDaid, but the defender scooped
the ball well over the bar when it was easier to score. The sloppy defending continued
but this time for Grantham. On 37 minutes Leon Kelly ran into the area and saw his
shot saved well by Ziccardi, but the ball came back to Colin Marrison who chipped
to the far post for Jamie Lenton to head back in. Ziccardi again saved well from
Lenton's header, but after both goal attempts no Grantham defender had cleared the
ball, and it fell back to Marrison who turned and fired in Hinckley second goal.
Owen Story then saw his shot hit the corner of the post and the crossbar, before
Grantham again levelled just before half time. Sam Wilkinson was played through
the middle, with Hinckley's defence static, and he went one on one with Bowles
placing the ball past the Hinckley keeper, to level the scores at half time.
Hinckley came out for the second half with a bit more urgency and were ahead again
on 51 minutes. Kelly with another run into the area was caught from behind and
Hinckley were awarded a penalty. Marrison made sure with the spot kick scoring
Hinckley's third. Grantham found themselves under pressure for the first 15 minutes
of the second half and Hinckley really should've extended their lead. From a
succession of corners Kelly had a shot blocked, Rich Lavery saw a header go over,
Richard Sneekes saw a long range effort drift wide and a Marrison shot was turned
away by Ziccardi. Grantham weathered the pressure and applied a bit of their own,
but Sam Wilkinson ballooned a free kick well over the bar, and a number of good
crosses were wasted by no Grantham player getting to the ball. Hinckley scored
their fourth on 76 minutes and the tie was effectively over. Lenton and Shilton
combined well on the left and Shilton put in a low cross that Leon Kelly simply
guided into the net from close range. Grantham didn't really threaten after the
fourth goal and the game 'fizzled out' as a contest, though Lenton nearly scored
a fifth in the final minute as his curling effort didn't curl enough and drifted
past the post. Hinckley did enough to win in the second half, though Grantham
battled as well as we expected, and by this season's standards and our current
form, a win is a win. Click here for: Grantham Town match details |
|
| return to top | |
| Wednesday 26th September | |
| Sneekes up for the Cup? | |
|
It's now been confirmed that Richard Sneekes has signed for the club, following
his International Clearance finally being sorted. The former Bolton and WBA midfielder
had been waiting to be cleared by the FA, after playing his last professional game
for Herfolge, in Denmark. DT had met Sneekes whilst playing the Hong Kong sixes
and invited him to train and play some friendlies with the club. Sneekes accepted
and agreed to sign for the club and play a number of games, whilst also the club
accepted he will not be available for every game due to his restaurant business
commitments. He is expected to be in the squad for the FA Cup match this coming weekend, which will played at the Marston's Stadium against Grantham Town. The 'Gingerbreads' won their replay against Needham Town 1-0, last night after the first replay had been abandoned due to floodlight failure, with Needham winning 1-0. I'm sure someone from Needham probably thought about pulling the fuse last night when losing 1-0! (only joking, no really, I can't even spell litigation.) The football club will be charging their normal league rates - £9 adults, £6 OAPs, £3 kids, for this FA Cup game and it will be all pay on the gate. |
|
| return to top | |
| Saturday 22nd September | |
| 10 down, no win... erm no fee? | |
|
Hinckley United's run of games without a win moved into double figures as Stalybridge
Celtic beat Hinckley 2-1 at Bower Fold. Ashley Winn gave Celtic the lead, but Colin
Marrison equalised for Hinckley through a penalty just before half time. Matt Barlow
put Celtic back infront early in the second half and Hinckley were unable to get
back into the match a second time. Congratualtions to Stuart Storer who made his
300th appearance in a Hinckley shirt however unfortunately the only statistic that
will be mentioned is that Hinckley have now gone 10 games without managing a win,
and sit deep in the relegation zone. Click here for: Stalybridge Celtic match details |
|
| return to top | |
| Thursday 20th September | |
| Sneekes in Red Tape Hold up | |
| Richard Sneekes debut for Hinckley United has been held up, because it's been discovered the Dutchman requires international clearance before he can play in England again. Sneekes put pen to paper for Hinckley at the start of the season, but the club have found out that his signature is worthless until they can cut through football's red tape. DT said: "His last club was in Denmark and he never told us, but we have now applied for clearance and we are waiting for it to come through." As well as wanting him to enhance his midfield, Thomas sees him as a guiding light and inspiration on the training ground and in the dressing room. | |
| return to top | |
| Monday 17th September | |
| 6th draw already | |
|
Hinckley United registered their 6th draw of the season after holding table toppers
Kettering Town 0-0 at the Marston's Stadium. Hinckley will happier of the two with
the result, considering the respective league positions, but the performance was
still far from cohesive. An over zealous referee didn't help with the flow of the
game, meaning most of the chances were from set pieces. Neither side really got
any grip of the match and bad finishing from both teams also ensured a lack of
goals. For the first half an hour the ball spent most of it's time in the air with
defences simply heading away the long balls. The first chance fell to Hinckley,
on the half hour, for Lee Philpott who's shot from the edge of the area was tipped
over for a corner. Kettering thought they had taken the lead on 35 minutes when a
long distance shot was misshandled by Bowles, who spilled the ball and Mark Rawle
tapped into the empty net. Ironically had Rawle left the ball to cross the line
it would've been given, but as he was judged to have been in an offside position
the goal was ruled out. A couple of minutes later Hinckley had their goal ruled
out, also for offside. Marrison battled past two defenders on the left and crossed
to the far post for Dominic Roma to side foot into the net, but he was deemed to
be the offending player and so the half time score line remained 0-0. For the
first 15 minutes of the second half Kettering had a long spell of possession and
forced an number of corners. Andy Hall put a shot across goal from the left, a Dave
Bridges header went over and Mark Rawle saw his overhead kick turned away for a
corner. Hinckley weathered the storm and began to create a few chances themselves.
On the hour Owen story had the ball in the area but lacked composure, rushed his
shot and placed the ball wide. Hinckley were mainly reduced to counter attacking
on the break and didn't really create anything dangerous until the final minute
when Owen Story again found himself clear on the right. This time he got underneath
his shot and saw it rise over the bar. Neither side had done enough to win the
game and when the final whistle blew a draw was a fair result from a scrappy game. Click here for: Kettering Town match details |
|
| return to top | |
| Monday 17th September | |
| FA Cup 2nd Qualifying draw | |
|
Hinckley United have been drawn at home to face either Needham Market, of the
Eastern Counties League Premier Division, or Grantham Town, of the Northern Premier
League Southern Division. Those two team drew 1-1 on Saturday and will replay
tomorrow night at Needham Market, near Ipswich. Both clubs are sitting towards
the top of their respective leagues and with our current form, regardless of the
level they play at, neither club can be taken lightly. Links: Grantham official site: http://www.thegingerbreads.co.uk/ Needham Market official Site: http://www.needhammarketfc.teamexpert.co.uk/ |
|
| return to top | |
| Saturday 15th September | |
| 8 games, no wins | |
|
Hinckley United are still searching for their first win after a 1-1 draw with
Hucknall Town at Watnall Road. The bottom two league clubs played a dour game
dominated by a referee seemingly determined to book anything that moved. As a
result it was inevitable that someone would pick up two yellows, and that someone
was Kyle Storer on his second debut for Hinckley. The first half was, well, the
first half was not over nearly quick enough. Sean Bowles made one save and that
was it really. Hinckley had no chances and Hucknall had a few corners come to
nothing. Hinckley scored on the hour with their first real attack and even then
it was lucky. With our only decent move of the game Colin Marrison and Jamie Lenton
linked well, wide on the left, and Lenton crossed from the line back to Marrison
in the area. Marrison missed the cross, but Saul Deeney also came and missed the
cross leaving Lee Philpott unmarked at the back post to blast home from close range.
10 minutes later Kyle Storer received his second yellow of the match and Hinckley
would play the last 20 minutes with only 10 men. The lead didn't last much longer
either as with 15 minutes remaining a Hucknall freekick on the right was played
central for the unmarked Paul Dempsey to equalise for Hucknall. In the dying moments
a Marrison free kick on the edge of the area was fired goalwards but wide of the
right post and Hinckley finished the match without even forcing Deeney to make a
save. Click here for: Hucknall Town match details |
|
| return to top | |
| Friday 14th September | |
| Goodnight Nurse, Hello Storer | |
| With Jon Stevenson being released earlier this week, and subsequently signed for Boston United, today Chris Nurse also left Hinckley United. He was released from his contract and signed for fellow Blue Square North team Tamworth. Coming the other way from Tamworth is midfielder Kyle Storer. Storer is no stranger to Hinckley as he spent a month on loan in January 2006 playing 9 games and scoring 1 goal. | |
| return to top | |
| Monday 10th September | |
| Cartwright could be out for the season | |
|
Midfielder Neil Cartwright looks likely to miss the rest of the season after breaking
his leg in 2 places, towards the end of the match against AFC Telford. After having
two doses of morphine in the ambulance, he was taken to hospital, where it was confirmed
he has broken both his tibia and fibula at different levels in his right leg. He is
due to undergo an operation to set the leg on Tuesday, with recovery from this injury
expected to be 6 months at the least, but more likely the rest of this season. DT said: "He will have an operation tomorrow. It us hard for us to say. We are talking about at least six months before he can play again, but he will probably miss the rest of the season. He is a big player for us, but we have got to get on with it. It is important that he gets himself fit and starts to play again. In hindsight, he need not have gone for the ball, but that is the nature of the game. I was at a difficult angle to it, but I don't think the tackle was intentional." The injury list is already getting full and now Cartwright joins Gez Murphy, out for another 3 months minimum, with his damaged medial knee ligaments and Leon Jackson, out for another month, with torn calf muscle. I should have a full injury update tomorrow. |
|
| return to top | |
| Saturday 8th September | |
| Hinckley draw but Cartwright injury means more woe for Hinckley | |
|
A much improved performance by Hinckley was overshadowed by the devastating news
that Neil Cartwright has suffered a broken leg in the game against AFC Telford United
at the Marston Stadium. Hinckley had shown more determination than previous matches
and were unlucky to only draw the match 1-1 having the better of the chances, though
the injury to Cartwright late on in the game overshadowed anything that happened
in the 90 minutes. The early exchanges were a bit hit and miss with no side enjoying
any advantage, however the ref was involved early on when Telford's Lee Vaughan
challenged Neil Cartwright with his elbow earning the defender a yellow card. With
goal chances at a premium in a scrappy first half, the first real chance fell to
Telford on the half hour. A cross from the right went to the back post and the
header flashed across goal and rebounded off the left post for Bowles to drop onto.
Telford did take the lead after 35 minutes when an innocuous deep cross to the far
left fell to ex-Hinckley Matt Lewis, unmarked, who volleyed home from 15 yards. The
lead was short lived as Hinckley equalised almost immediately. On 37 minutes, a
free kick from the left was headed back to the right post for Colin Marrison to
head into the goal and level for Hinckley. In the last minute of the first half
Neil Cartwright received the ball on the edge of the are but his shot flashed wide
of the goal and the teams went in level at half time. Hinckley came out the second
half a lot stronger and more determined and took the game to Telford. The 'Bucks'
became increasingly more ragged, undisciplined and on the odd occasion very rash
and cynical. In the second minute of the second half Marrison controlled the ball
on the edge of the area, played the ball left to Owen Story who's cross/shot came
back to Marrison, 4 yards out with an open goal. He simply had to tap into the net,
yet somehow scooped the ball over the bar for an astonishing miss. Marrison was
involved in the next talking point of the game on the hour. The Hinckley forward
had possession right on the touch line in the middle of the Telford half when Lee
Vaughan cynically went straight through the striker from behind. The ref had no
option but to show the Telford defender his second yellow card and send him off.
Hinckley followed this up with a 20 minute spell of possession forcing a number of
corners, but Ryan Young in the Telford goal made a number of saves and kept his
side in the match, one of which was an excellent point blank tip over the bar.
Hinckley wasted their chances to breach the Telford defence and were dealt a massive
blow in the 87th minute. Cartwright chased down a ball and won a corner, but the
Telford defender caught him above his ankle in the follow through, and after 5 minutes
of treatment, Cartwright was stretchered off the pitch with a broken leg. A minority
of Telford fans disgustingly let themselves and their team down, with some sick
chants as the Hinckley player was taken off the pitch, especially considering it
is the annual anniversary of the tragic death of Matt Gadsby. A further 7 minutes
of injury time couldn't produce a winner and Hinckley had to settle for a point,
but with a much improved performance than recent games, though with the price of
losing Cartwright for a few months. Click here for: AFC Telford United match details |
|
| return to top | |
| Monday 3rd September | |
| AFC Telford match segregated | |
|
With no Premiership or Championship games scheduled for the day, upon advice of
Leicestershire and Shropshire police authorities, Hinckley United have decided to
enforce segregation for this Saturday's match against AFC Telford United at the
Marston Stadium. However, all supporters are invited to stay on this Saturday after the match at The Marston's Stadium to watch the England v Israel game in Lacey's Bar. Lager is £2.40, bitter £2.30, Magners £3 and Guiness £2.60, and the club will provide free food for all supporters during the international game. |
|
| return to top | |
| Saturday 1st September | |
| Hinckley lose 4-0 at Southport | |
|
Garbage. Utter, utter garbage. If it weren't for Sean Bowles it would've been
double figures for Southport. The defence was non existent. I really
can't be arsed to write anything more. Click here for: Southport match details |
|
| return to top | |
| return to top |