Match report by Allan Mitchell
Brad Quinton’s new look Hemel side made it four games unbeaten with another hard earned three points at Farnborough.
The home side came into the game on an impressive unbeaten run that dated back to September and the Tudors were hampered by injuries to key players, with Josh Castiglione and Godfrey Poku missing from their starting line-up, so this was always going to be a tough fixture.
Boro’ made a bright start and dominated the early possession but it was Hemel who took the lead on 12 minutes, somewhat against the run of play with their first attempt on goal. Farnborough were on the attack when the ball was knocked out wide, Kyle O’Connor-Ajayi intercepted the pass and knocked the ball long into the home sides half, Kaylen Hinds was onto the clearance in a flash, running from inside his own half. He raced clear, before drawing Jack Turner out of his goal, flicking the ball past him as the defenders desperately tried to catch him.
This stunned the home crowd and it got worse on 23 minutes when another Hemel counter attack caught Boro pushing up again, Luke Holness was the player who broke free this time and he drove into the box before laying the ball across to Bayley Brown who took a touch and then tucked the ball into the corner to double the Tudors lead.
Minutes later Brown returned the favour and sent Holness through into the box, he looked up and curled his shot past Turner but it just cleared the bar.
Hemel lost the impressive Hinds just past the half hour mark when he picked up a knock to his hip and Farnborough re-grouped and started to dominate the game again.
They had a chance just before the break when a clever free kick almost caught Hemel out but the first attempt was blocked and the follow up was hit wide.
HT Farnborough 0 Hemel 2
Boro pressed hard at the start of the second half and were rewarded in the 52nd minute when a free kick was met at the near post by ex Tudor Freddie Grant, he flicked his header goalwards and Craig King appeared to be blocked as he tried to get to the ball, it looped over him and dropped in at the back post to reduce the arrears.
It was very much ‘backs against the wall’ now as the home side looked for an equaliser and a mixture of good goalkeeping, some desperate defending and poor finishing kept Hemel’s lead intact.
The best chance for Boro came deep into stoppage time when Jordan Norville-Williams arrived unmarked at the back post to meet a free kick, he looked as though he just had to get it on target to equalise but he directed his header wide.
The last kick of the game really should have seen Hemel get a third when Charlee Hughes did well to lose his marker on the half way line, he raced clear and as Turner raced out of his goal, the Hemel striker chipped the ball over him but unfortunately it cleared the bar. There wasn’t even time to take the resulting goal kick as the referee blew his whistle to end Farnborough’s long undefeated run and extend Hemel’s to four games, with three wins and a draw that pushes them up the table and into a potential play off challenging position.
Hemel: Craig King; Andrew Eleftheriou, Josh Williams, Josh Hill, Jack Westbrook, Kyle O’Connor-Ajayi; Lewis Kane (Kory Roberts) Dom Morgan-Griffiths, Bayley Brown (Charlee Hughes) Luke Holness, Kaylen Hinds (Jeremie Mukendi. Subs not used: Matt Young, David Saunders.
Attendance 458
Tudors Man of the Match: Josh Hill.
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