Hitchin Town Football Club

Yate Town 2 Hitchin Town 1

Saturday, August 23 2008

Yate Town went to the top of the BGB Premier, beating a Canaries side that contributed to its own downfall at Lodge Road.

Buoyed by a midweek win at Oxford City, Hitchin failed to find the form that gave them their first league win of the season. Instead, manager Darran Hay left Yate disappointed for the second time in three games.

The match at Yate started slowly, although once more, Paul Barnes was the Canaries' best hope of a goal. An early chance almost fell his way when Derwayne Stupple set him up, but a Yate defender got his tackle in quickly.

Former Team Bath striker Jake Reid went close for Yate and just failed to connect with a header from Michael Cox as the game started to heat up.

Yate went ahead after 29 minutes, Dean Griffiths taking advantage of lack lustre defending and scoring from close range.

Hitchin knew they had to do better in the second half and the way they restarted after the break suggested that they had got the message. In the 55th minute, Paul Barnes netting his third goal of the season when he met a Cox cross and headed home at the far post.

Yate almost regained the lead when Mark Smith cleared off the line and Reid had another chance to score in the early stages of the second half.

The game was nicely poised when Yate scored what proved to be the winner. A poor back pass by Stupple was intercepted by Yate substitute Michael Whttington and he rounded Martin Bennett and put the ball in the net.

Hitchin exerted late pressure, but it was to no avail.

Yate: Court, Zahid, Stanley, Brice, Mapstone, Hawkins, Davidge (Metheringham 27), Chenoweth, Reid (Whittington 64), Griffiths (Beadle 62), Anyinsah

Hitchin: Bennett, Cox (Barr 71), Pepper, Williams, Gilbert, Smith, Gregson, Stupple, P.Barnes, Draycott (M.Barnes 62), Woolf (Wilson 64

Referee: K.L. Morris

Attendance: 206

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