Latest match report

First Team reports | Reserve Team reports | Youth Team reports

Stunning Sawyer strike stops the rot - 8/12/07

Recent signing Frankie Sawyer scored a superb first senior goal for the Club, as United celebrated their first win in eight matches with a narrow victory over Heybridge at the Pilot Field this afternoon. Frankie struck from just outside the area three minutes into the second half to settle a game played in atrocious conditions, howling winds and driving rain leaving a good deal of standing water on the pitch, although the two sides still managed to produce a decent contest. Frankie and Lee Carey both hit the frame of the goal in the first half, while Lee Worgan made a couple of fine saves to preserve United's first clean sheet for over six weeks, and to lift them back out of the relegation zone with a well deserved three points.

With Tom Poole starting a three match suspension for his sending off at Boreham Wood, joining the injured John Bradley, the unavailable Danny Spice and the not considered Danny Ellis on the sidelines, manager Nigel Kane unsurprisingly named the same sixteen man squad that had featured at Harrow seven days previously, with Sam Adams for Antonio Gonnella on the right hand side the only change to last week's starting line-up. Ten years after the two sides' only previous meeting, the Heybridge line-up featured one player who had turned out for Hastings that day, striker Stafford Browne having scored twice as Town recovered from a two goal half time deficit to claim a 3-2 FA Trophy win. The thirty-five year old journeyman led the Swifts line in a 3-5-2 formation, with Gary Burrell playing in an advanced midfield position, while a strong defensive trio was marshalled by experienced skipper Ian Wiles.

The early signs suggested that United might have another struggle on their hands, with striker Mark Reddaway twice going close to escaping down the right hand side inside the opening minute. United were also finding it hard to clear their lines within their own penalty area, with Rhys Whyborne and Jimmy Elford miskicking dangerous crosses from Danny Barber and Robbie King respectively, as the visitors repeatedly threatened to edge into an early lead, albeit without testing Lee Worgan. United's first chance was fashioned out of nothing, with Ade Olorunda chasing a Daryl Bourgeois backpass and charging down keeper Richard McKinney's clearance, although the ball span away to safety. Browne headed a Barber cross straight at Lee, as Heybridge continued to look the more likely scorers, but Sam quickly replied, forcing McKinney into a save to keep out his low left foot shot. Ade's cross from the left was then sliced just wide of goal by defender Tobi Jinadu, with Lee Carey's ensuing corner being played back for Sam to strike from distance, but King's headed clearance ensured that McKinney was untroubled on that occasion. The keeper was called into action a minute later though, producing a smothering block after Ade had broken into the right hand side of the area, while moments later at the other end, a long range free kick from Barber drifted through a crowded area and almost caught Lee Worgan unsighted and off guard, but United's frequent saviour managed to block the ball on the goalline and Dan Williams was on hand to clear from inside the six yard box. King's deep free kick then picked out Jinadu beyond the far post for a header that Lee blocked low to his left, while the Heybridge man quickly gathered the rebound and fired a left foot shot just wide. Around the mid-point of the half, United finally managed to assume something bordering on control, with Ade starting to link well with Frankie in attack, and Tim Olorunda and Scott Kirkwood beginning to win the stodgy midfield battle, and United twice went desperately close to taking the lead before the interval. First, Sam's long ball sent Frankie scampering clear of Wiles and into the area, but his fifteen yard shot clipped the top of the crossbar, and then Lee Carey cut into the left hand side of the area and curled a sublime effort onto the outside of McKinney's far post, leaving United to wonder if this was to be another one of those days.

Such fears were allayed within three minutes of the restart, although not before an audacious effort from Browne from near the right hand touchline drifted just over the angle of post and bar, with Lee Worgan deceived and well beaten. The goal was then created by Tim winning the ball outside the Heybridge area, just left of centre, with Ade setting up Frankie for the sweetest of strikes that rocketed into the top left hand corner of the helpless McKinney's net. Noticeably lifted by the goal, United dominated for a ten minute spell and perhaps should have added to their lead, with Frankie making a complete mess of a free header from a Ryan Andrews cross, and then sprinting onto Sam's through ball, rounding McKinney, and providing a disappointing cross that was easily cleared with Ade and Lee Carey both waiting for a tap-in. Just before the hour mark, the visitors went close to an equaliser when another Barber free kick was met by Burrell with a glancing backward header that slid just wide, while Browne should then have done better than to head high and wide from Barber's near post corner. Heybridge altered their formation to 4-3-3 for the final quarter of the game, although it had far from the desired effect, as United resumed control of proceedings and started to look increasingly dangerous on the break, Tim and Frankie setting up Ade, who was only denied by a superb cover tackle from Wiles, before later breaking down the right hand side and failing to supply a telling cross for the unmarked Frankie in the area. Eight minutes from time, Tim went close to capping his terrific display with a goal, seizing upon Wiles' weak defensive header and firing a right foot shot just wide, while Ade then forced his way past three would-be tacklers, before hitting a swerving shot just over. Tim was unfortunate to collect the game's only yellow card, after playing the ball in a strong challenge on Adam Gillespie, before he and Ade departed the scene to a rousing reception a couple of minutes from time. The closest that the Swifts came to snatching a late leveller was from Burrell's long range shot that flew high over Lee Worgan's crossbar in stoppage time, perhaps epitomising the second half efforts of a Heybridge side that remarkably conceded only four free kicks in the entire contest and were perhaps just too nice for their own good, on a day when United's more combative style of play was simply better suited to the conditions.

Having been set a minimum target of nine points from their last five matches of 2007 by Nigel Kane, United at least made a positive start today and climbed back out of the Premier Division relegation zone as a result. A couple of intriguing revenge missions now lay ahead in the build-up to Christmas, with United seeking to erase the memories of their opening day mauling at Billericay in a fortnight, although the boot will be firmly on the other foot for next Saturday's visit to Maidstone.

Match facts	Efforts on target	Efforts off target	Free kicks conceded	Corners won	Offsides against
Hastings United	4	4	12	3	1
Heybridge Swifts	4	6	4	5	1

Hastings United (4-4-2)							Heybridge Swifts (3-5-2)
1 Lee Worgan							1 Richard McKinney
2 Ryan Andrews							2 Daryl Bourgeois
3 Jimmy Elford (c)							3 Danny Barber
4 Rhys Whyborne							4 Robbie King
5 Dan Williams							5 Ian Wiles (c)
6 Scott Kirkwood							6 Tobi Jinadu
7 Sam Adams							7 Gary Burrell
8 Tim Olorunda							8 Adam Gillespie
9 Ade Olorunda							9 Mark Reddaway
10 Frankie Sawyer							10 Stafford Browne
11 Lee Carey							11 Adam Passfield
Substitutes
12 Nathan Russell (for T Olorunda 89)							12 David Wareham (for Reddaway 82)
14 Russell Eldridge							14 Matthew Batt (for Passfield 58)
15 Kevin Rose (for A Olorunda 89)							15 Sean Marks
16 Antonio Gonnella							16 Neil Cousins
GK Jani Seitsonen							GK Ollie Morris-Sanders

Attendance 261

Referee Lee Venamore (Maidstone)

Assistants John Pike (Hurstpierpoint) & Mark Thompson (Hurstpierpoint)