Hitchin Town Football Club
"Football for the Future"
Hitchin Town U15 v Stevenage Borough U15
Sunday, April 19 2009
After Saturday’s fine away win at Maldon, Hitchin entertained Stevenage for their last league game of the season at the Arena on Sunday with high hopes of consolidating third place in the league, but finished the season on a disappointing note as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat.
This was a very even and keenly-fought competitive match with little between the sides, and although Hitchin started brightly with Billy Baird and Scott Berry combining to give George Duffin a shot which was saved, Stevenage soon gained the upper hand and remained on top for the next twenty minutes. Ryan Finan, Matt White, Dan Breed and Joe Webb were stretched at the back and in central midfield Michael King, Baird and Berry struggled to get a foothold on the game.
Out wide Shane Carthy and Hunter Diack were having to work getting back to help their defenders leaving Jay Brooke and Duffin with little feed up front. For all their possession and pressure it took Stevenage till 20 minutes to get their first real shot in and this was wide, and Hitchin’s hard work began to pay off as the gradually got back in the game and actually dominated the last twenty minutes.
But just as Stevenage failed to capitalise when on top, Hitchin also found it hard to penetrate the Stevenage defence. A White header from a corner and a long-range shot from Baird were all that they could muster, until five minutes before the break when they should have gone ahead. Andre Pierce played Carthy in and clean through on goal he played the ball wide. Hitchin should have been ahead from this but level pegging was about right at half-time with the game looking more and more like the first goal would decide the outcome.
Hitchin might have expected to carry on where they had left off but Stevenage came out in determined mood and the game was pretty even throughout the second half. Early on Baird went close with a header from a corner, but it was Stevenage who went ahead after ten minutes when their left winger tried his luck from out deep with a diagonal shot which took a slight deflection and soared over Sam Swanton.
Hitchin responded and although not playing with any great fluency they did create chances, particularly when a free-kick in midfield eluded the whole Stevenage defence to reach a surprised Brooke who headed over the keeper but just over the bar. Brooke got in again to lob just wide when fed by a good ball from Tom Cartwright, the Berry shot well wide from a good Matt Hodgson cross. Hitchin then lost a preventable goal when a Stevenage left-wing corner was allowed to go all the way over the defence and directly into the net via the far post, effectively sealing the victory for Stevenage. Again Hitchin responded and Breed sent in Baird but he couldn’t finish the move. Hodgson, White and Duffin combined to win a corner from which White had an effort blocked and when another corner was half-cleared Berry sent a shot wide. At the other end Stevenage also had shots from both flanks and probably finished the stronger side.
This was disappointing for Hitchin who may have been a bit jaded after playing the previous day but they have finished in the top four in the league with third place a distinct possibility depending on other results. This is not a bad effort for their first season at this level and they can look forward to using this experience to improve for next season.
Result : Hitchin Town U15 0 Stevenage Borough U15 2
Hitchin: Swanton, Finan, White, Breed, Webb, Baird, Berry, Diack, King, Duffin, Carthy:- Subs (all used) Brooke, Pierce, Cartwright, Rose, Hodgson.