Hampton and Richmond 1 Hemel Hempstead Town 1 Vanarama National League South 13th August 2022 Match report by Allan Mitchell
The Tudors have to thank their keeper Craig King for this hard earned point in the sweltering heat at The Beeverie. The Tudor Army were out in force and were hoping their side could build on their good start after beating Farnborough but it wasn't easy against a good H&R outfit who moved the ball around well..
The game took a while to get going which was understandable in the conditions and it was Hemel who had the first real chance of the afternoon, it came on 23 minutes when Charlee Hughes chased a long ball into the box, he got there before Mark Smith and managed knock the ball past the advancing keeper who parried the effort, it bobbled towards the line and looked to be going in but a Beevers defender was just able to get back and hook it clear. There was a scare for the Tudors when a cross was fizzed across the face of the goal just past the half hour mark, it evaded everyone apart from Bayley Brown who had managed to get back on the line, the ball bounced up and appeared to hit the Tudors player on the arm before he cleared it but the officials waved away all appeals.
Just five minutes later Hemel took the lead, Jordan Greenidge managed to shake off his marker some 30 yards out before driving into the box, he evaded several challenges before smashing the ball past Smith. It was a tad harsh on Hampton and Richmond who had made most of the running up until this point but they were given a chance to level the scores just before the break when the referee spotted an infringement inside the area and pointed to the spot. It looked like the sides would be going in level at half time but Craig King read the spot kick superbly and saved it down low to his right.
The second half saw H&R continue where they left off, pressing Hemel back and they almost equalised just two minutes in when Tommy Wood headed over from close range. It wasn’t long before they got back on terms however when the excellent Brandon Barzey, who had been giving Hemel’s back line a torrid time all afternoon, evaded the offside trap and raced clear before sliding the ball past King, who manged to get a hand on the shot only to see it go in just inside the post.
It was no more than the home side deserved and it became a backs against the wall game for the Tudors as the Beevers pushed forward with Hemel restricted to the odd counter. They really should have gone in front on the hour mark when Ruaridh Donaldson met a pin point cross with his head just six yards out only to see King save superbly, the Tudors goalminder pushing the ball up and away one handed.
There were one or two chances at either end after this but with both sides visibly tiring in the heat the game fizzled out and in the end it was honours even. Hemel remain unbeaten in the league, albeit after just two games this season but the Beevers will feel they did enough to grab the spoils on the day . It was a good point for The Tudors against a side who will be there or thereabouts in this campaign.
Hemel: Craig King, Cole DaSilva, Bard Webb, Godfrey Poku (Ryan Hope) Joshua Lelan, Kory Roberts, Alfie Williams (Michael Dada) Bayley Brown, Jordan Greenidge, Charlee Hughes (Jack Westbrook) Ogo Obi. Subs not used: Brady Baffour, David Saunders (gk)
Attendance 375
Tudors Man of the Match: Craig King
It was a Fantastic Afternoon at the Beeverie.
Photos by Stephen Fletcher.
Comments