Hill welcomed Seattle today for a pre season friendly. A prestigious fixture for the home side who welcome the players and parents who are here courtesy of sponsorship of West Ham FC. As well as playing us they will also face West Ham and Crystal Palace along with one or two other academies,we wish them well in those fixtures.
After an initial cloud burst which threatened to spoil the afternoon the sun come out for what promised to be an entertaining match.
Hill started the game brightly and on two minutes King throws down the line to Redhead who turns inside and hits a delightful cross field ball over the Seattle defence which Emerson takes in his stride and slots away in the bottom corner. 1-0 and great appreciation of a fine goal by the away support.
Hill are having the better of possession but the away side show some quality down the Hill left and put three passes together resulting in a cross which the forward angles his header past the post.
King and H Barrett link up well to give Redhead a sight of goal but the keeper saves well. With Hill enjoying the majority of possession Fitch picks up the ball on the half way line and runs down the wing, the away side drop off and he drives forward. He cuts in but sees his shot flash across the goal. Groom on the other wing also finds himself with room but the cross just fails to find Harris making his trademark late run.
It is mainly Hill in possession but just failing to find their rhythm in the last third and again Redhead shows good feet to get his shot off but the keeper is equal to it.
Now for some light humour as Hill are awarded a free kick around 25 yds out. This may be a new play from the gaffer but Grace,Johnson and Groom gather over the ball and to decide who takes it they play rock,paper,scissors. Groom is victorious but sees his effort well saved by the keeper. Has the gaffer been watching Bayern Munich!!!!
Shortly after Redhead breaks down the left and cuts it back to Grace who moves it first time to Groom who hits it first time with power and seems to heading to the roof of the net but the keeper again manages to get a hand on it and push it over the bar. Good to see when we move the ball quickly we open up teams but when holding on to it and trying to run and beat too many players it breaks down!
Grace shows strength and hits one from 30yds but again the keeper is equal to it.
For all the possession Hill have had Seattle have dug in well and showed that if allowed too will play good football.Just before halftime Seattle work the ball down the left and the home side fail to clear the danger. It falls to the winger on the edge of the box who plays in Andrei Mironov who slots home. 1-1
Halftime 1-1
Football has many sayings but none more true than it is a game of two halves. For all the possession Hill had in the first half they lost their way a little in the second half and Seattle controlled the game. S Barrett was now to be the busier keeper as the away side started brightly with a few chances going wide and the keeper saving well.
Hill still showed glimpses of moving the ball well with Ewing darting down the left and crossing for H Barrett, who sees his shot go over the bar.
S Barrett is soon back in action when he turns round the post a 20 yd drive.
The gaffer tinkers with his players moving them into positions they don't usually play with later in the season in mind and looking at who can cover in different areas.
They game draws to a close with the away side nearly stealing a winner when a powerful shot is heading goal wards but S Barrett dives full stretch to push it round the post.
The final whistle arrives and it ends 1-1 both sets of players are applauded off by the parents.
We wish to thank Seattle for a great game and wish them well for the rest of their tour and a safe journey back home.
We would also like to thank Darren for very kindly sponsoring the after match BBQ which was well received by both sets of players and parents.
Well they say pre-season fixtures in August are the Desert for Summer…..but really!! Torrential rain, wind and a visit from the latter end of a Hurricane from across the pond. Sun tan cream was exchanged for brollies and wet jackets as Hill got underway with a tough friendly. As usual for this time of year our affluent parents enjoy a holiday or two so getting a full squad together is a bit difficult. But we paraded 10 of our squad and were ably supplemented by Jethwa and Groom from the Blue Echo D team and Aidan from the Echo Prem team. All 3 were a credit to their teams and showed what strength in depth we have at our Club.
So to the game and as per the norm Coach Johnson had the boys ready and firing from the start. Hill took immediate control and pressed Barking deep into their own half. Last season’s Managers Player Harris immediately took control carrying the ball deep into Barking’s half and playing in Aiden wide right who with an elegant burst of pace made the touchline and pulled back to Harris who dummied (benefit of the doubt) to allow the ball to reach Swan unmarked in the six yard box who netted with power. 2 minutes 1-0.
Hill buoyant with the early goal controlled the next 10 minutes completely and at this early stage there appeared only one winner and by how many. So much pressure was applied that if a sky possession stat was available 80% would not have flattered. Barking defended well and with commitment but that sort of pressure and possession pays dividends eventually and when Grace forced the Centre Back to commit a risky cross field pass Aiden intercepted and broke with extreme pace away and into the corner of the box and finished with power and precision into the far corner. 20 minutes 2-0.
Barking were rocked but were not beaten and started to gain more composure and with it time on the ball. The hardworking midfield quartet of Hill retained the possession so Barking were forced to go long and with their pacey forward pairing it was not a bad shout. However Hill’s defence marshalled the pace and extreme conditions. Outstanding at the back was Jessop who looked to have spent the summer in a “Grow Bag”. It looks like a good season coming for him. Ably supported by his partners Harrison and Jethwa (who has learnt how to head a ball now he is nearly six foot) Hill looked solid. 35 minutes Half Time.
Manager Barrett working on different formations elected to succumb at Half Time to his “Tinkerman” tendancies and tried a change to 3-5-2. The pre-match board had been used and explained and at 2-0 who wouldv’e worried…..However yet again the EJA teams show why they play in this league and seizing the early initiative Barking started the half pressing Hill back as they had received in the first half. Space had appeared in the full back area and the left midfield took the opportunity to have an extra touch and pick a superb curling effort from 25 yards into the top right corner. 37 minutes 2-1.
How we love this game. From being outclassed in the first half and lacking possession the confidence flowed through Barking and Hill found themselves struggling to retain a foothold in the game. Barking now did to Hill what had been done to them and the rewards were very, very similar. Caught in possession Hill relinquished the ball on the halfway line allowing the forward to collect and start a run at and past 3 defenders and slam the ball home. 45 minutes 2-2, heavy rain and game on.
Old qualities are not lost that easy. Tinkerman made a couple of changes (refused the temptation to revert to usual formation) and slowly but surely Hill pulled back into the game and began to push back. Brookes and Barrett H playing as wing backs saw more and more of the ball and Barking began to flag leading to some desperate challenges around the box. The Ref dod not have his vanishing paint to hold the wall back and a couple of efforts were blocked to the frustration of Brookes.
Barking deflated but not beaten tried for one last push switching to a 3-4-3 and it almost paid off when a flowing move allowed the left foot of the centre midfield to connect on the edge of the box. It moved and span but Barrett S got a great hand to it and turned over the bar. The game played out with some tired legs all round and the score finished 3-2.
An enjoyable and competitive friendly played in an excellent spirit both teams expectations for the season should be good.
Next week Hill entertain a touring USA team Seattle Utd with a 2pm ko. They are an academy set up sponsored by West Ham Utd In America (WHUIA) and makes for an interesting and exciting encounter. |