Saturday, October 15, 2011

Two goals in three minutes at the end of the first half helped to consign United to a third consecutive Premier Division defeat, as star striker Richard Jolly earned Wealdstone victory by the odd goal in three at Grosvenor Vale.

U's boss Jason Hopkinson gave starts to two of his three new signings, with the returning Zac Attwood paired with Jamal Fenelon in a completely overhauled attack, relegating Fred Foreman and Kenny Pogue to the bench. Otherwise, it was the same line-up that lost at home to Hendon last weekend, with George Jones and Jarkko Antonen the players omiited from the sixteen man squad.

It was Attwood who scored United's first goal in four games, and although it proved to be no more than a consolation effort on the day, it certainly represented an enormous step in the right direction, with the former Histon and Welling United man latching onto a simple long ball out of defence, holding off his marker, and firing coolly past Stones keeper Jonathan North at his near post.

Coming with thirteen minutes remaining, it gave the U's hope of escaping with a draw that they probably didn't really deserve on the overall balance of play, and with a bit more directness to their approach when kicking down the slope after the interval, they might just have stolen a point. But in truth, United created nothing more than half chances in the closing stages, as was the case throughout the encounter, with Attwood and Fenelon both missing the target with shots from outside the area in the first half, and Pogue at least forcing North into action after replacing Fenelon in the second.

The home side always seemed to have an edge over United however, and they might have already been a goal or two in front by the time that Jolly claimed his quickfire brace, the first courtesy of good work on the right by Scott McCubbin and a low cross by David Hicks, the second resulting from a defensive lapse after a long ball downfieild, although Jolly's lobbed finish spoke volumes about his goalscoring qualities.

That is exactly what the U's have been missing so far this season, but the arrival of Attwood and Fenelon seems to have given everyone a lift, and a real sense of hope about the weeks ahead. United's third new signing, keeper Matt Armstrong-Ford, could make his debut in the League Cup at Sittingbourne on Tuesday, as the U's begin a run of three successive cup ties, with games against Bedfont in the FA Trophy, and Lancing in the Sussex Senior Cup, to follow.

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Wealdstone (4-4-2)							Hastings United (4-4-2)
1 Jonathan North							1 Lloyd Anderson
2 James Hammond							2 Jack Dixon
3 Alan Massey							3 Dan Bolwell
4 Wes Parker (c)							4 Jamie Crellin
5 Sean Cronin							5 Scott Manning
6 Alex Dyer							6 Josh Jirbandey (c)
7 Scott McCubbin							7 Jamal Fenelon
8 David Hicks							8 Ryan Thomson
9 Ricky Miller							9 Zac Attwood
10 Richard Jolly							10 Lee Carey
11 Kurtney Brooks							11 Ross Sutton
Substitutes
12 Chris O'Leary (for Hicks 72)							12 Sean Ray
14 Jake Parsons							14 Kenny Pogue (for Fenelon 59)
15 Eddie Adjei (for Miller 67)							15 Fred Foreman (for Thomson 73)
16 Nikki Ahamed							16 Lee Paine
							17 Ben Billings (for Bolwell 28)

Attendance: 400

Referee: Anthony Serrano

Assistants: Ian Lowe & Paul O'Hary