Hitchin Town Football Club
Founded 1865, Reformed 1928
Yate Town 3 Hitchin Town 0
Saturday, October 6 2007
Hitchin slumped into the bottom four of the BGB Premier Division after losing to Yate Town.
The scoreline suggests that this was a comprehensive victory for the home side, but all three goals came late in the game and the Canaries played out the closing stages with skipper Ryan Frater in goal.
Yate and Hitchin both had a player sent off but in the 87th minute, the Canaries saw goalkeeper Ricky Perks sent off for supposedly handling outside the area.
For much of the game, Hitchin matched their hosts and if anything the first half was theirs. Indeed, a series of half chances, notably from David Deeney and Wayne Mills, and a disallowed goal by Carl Williams, coupled with the sending off of Yate’s Jack Smythe, meant that Darren Salton’s men went in at half-time confident of securing a result.
Yate had also had their chances and Perks had pushed an effort by Matt Rawlins onto the crossbar.
The second half started in much the same vein, with Hitchin creating chances for Tyron Sealey and Nick Mountford. Sealey and Mark Ducket both had opportunities to give Hitchin the lead but it was Yate that took the lead after 72 minutes, Matt Prosser scoring from close range shortly after coming on as substitute.
Leon Simpson went close with a header but in the 87th minute came Perks’ dismissal. From the resulting free kick, Lee Bridson netted with a deflected free kick. The scoring was completed in added time when Paul Chenoweth netted from close range.
Yate: Court, Heal, Bridson, Dahid, Jeffries, Davies, Blakemore (Wyatt 77), Chenoweth, Rawlins (Prosser 66), Anyinsah, Smythe
Hitchin: Perks, Deeney, Mountford (Simpson 76), Frater, L.Gentle-King, James (Ducket 63), Sealey (Pringle 90), Hill, Stevenson, Williams, Mills
Referee: M.Rees
Attendance: 170