Hayes 2 AFC Wimbledon Youth 1
West Surrey Premier Elite - Sunday 26 February 2006
AFC Youth lost their unbeaten league record unluckily and in controversial circumstances at Hayes. The match was largely ruined by the gale-force conditions, and it was memorable for some interesting refereeing decisions. It was, however, AFC's poor finishing again which led to their demise at the hands of a useful Hayes side who defended and competed very well. Matthew Braben and Matthew O'Brien remained on the injury list, but otherwise AFC Youth had a full complement.
The visitors opened well and made most of the early running playing into the face of a gale. They should have taken the lead after only 2 minutes, but Luke Ewing fired his shot narrowly wide of the angle of the goal. Sonny Russell looked impressive in midfield, and he was instrumental in picking out Troy Murray who sent a fierce shot just past the far post. In contrast the Hayes attack made little impression on the AFC rearguard. James Snishko was in excellent form, and Jack Malin had more than enough pace to deal with the quick Hayes striker, running him down on a number of occasions. Luke Ewing was at his creative best, and AFC were unlucky not to score when several shots were blocked in the penalty area after a corner. Another corner created mayhem in the Hayes goalmouth, but somehow Troy Murray failed to score from point-blank range when his shot was deflected over the bar by a defender. After 20 minutes Hayes won a hotly-disputed free kick on the right-hand edge of the penalty area. The result was that Hayes scored with their first shot on target, when the ball suddenly swerved in the strong wind and disappeared in the top left-hand corner of the net. After this setback AFC hit back with a number of attacks, but the Hayes keeper denied both Troy Murray and Luke Ewing. The remainder of the half saw the game flow from end to end, but Hayes created much the better chances, and it needed two outstanding saves by Nick Greaves to keep out close range shots that looked certain goals. Hayes also won another couple of hotly-disputed free kicks in the final third of the field, but these were delivered into the hands of Nick Greaves.
The second half was almost totally dominated by AFC Youth, who were now playing with the wind, but they couldn't turn pressure into goals - a continuing problem that is proving very costly against quality opposition. Timi da Silva, Troy Murray and Luke Ewing all went close, before a comedy of errors involving Sam King and Nick Greaves saw a seemingly harmless loose ball turned into a second goal for Hayes. Sam King was shepherding the ball towards Nick Greaves, when the sudden arrival of a Hayes forward resulted in the AFC defender miskicking the ball past his own keeper for a very soft goal. AFC responded by going three at the back and sending Jack Malin up front. This gamble left AFC vulnerable to pace at the back, and a few minutes later the Hayes striker outpaced the AFC defence, but then shot wide in a one-on-one with Nick Greaves. Thereafter, the pressure on the Hayes goal assumed siege proportions, although the hosts remained dangerous on breakaways, and went close on number of occasions with shots from outside the area. Despite all the AFC pressure, no end product was forthcoming, largely because Timi da Silva was playing on his own at the business end, nearly always electing to go on a long sinuous dribble rather than play it early into the path of his colleagues. Luke Ewing and Sonny Russell were certainly not deficient in this respect, and the latter found Jack Malin out on the left, who surged between two defenders, but slipped while shooting and so the keeper was able to make a good save. Then both Timi da Silva and Jack Malin had shots saved, but the best chance fell to Paul Nicholls who blazed over from just inside the penalty area. Fifteen minutes from time AFC were awarded a penalty, and Sonny Russell converted the spot kick with some aplomb. AFC were certainly unlucky not to score at least one goal in an action-packed last five minutes. Timi da Silva hit the post with a fierce angled drive, Sonny Russell brought a terrific diving save out of the Hayes keeper, and a couple of shots were cleared off the line. A penalty appeal was then turned down when Timi da Silva appeared to be brought down, and the hosts then managed to survive two goalmouth scrambles from successive corners. However, it was definitely not to be AFC's day, when in the dying seconds a certain goal was prevented when a Hayes defender clearly handled the ball on the goal line. No DOGSO and no penalty, presumably because the referee didn't see it or he thought it was accidental. In any event, the inevitable storm of protests were waved aside, and so Hayes claimed maximum points and AFC Youth's title hopes took a serious dent. Anything next week other than a win at the high-flying Aldershot Town will effectively end AFC Youth's hopes of retaining the title. Despite the result, several players had excellent games, including Nick Greaves, Jack Malin, James Snishko, Charlie Dennis and Tee-Jay Ryan, but Luke Ewing and Sonny Russell share the honours for man of the match.
Reporter's man of the match: Sonny Russell and Luke Ewing
Team: Nick Greaves; Sam King, Jack Malin, James Snishko, Charlie Dennis; Scott Fullerton, Sonny Russell, Tee-Jay Ryan, Luke Ewing; Timi da Silva, Troy Murray. Sub: William Taylor, Paul Nicholls.