Hitchin Town Football Club

Hitchin Town 2 North Greenford United 0

Saturday, September 4 2010

Two late goals finally killed off a stubborn North Greenford side and maintained Hitchin’s position at the top of the Zamaretto Central Division.

Patience pays off for Hitchin

Two, maybe three Arsenal shirts were spotted around Top Field, so perhaps Non-League Day did yield some new Hitchin supporters. Certainly, a crowd of 338 was more than Hitchin expected against a team that scarcely had a presence  in the stands.

But on the pitch, North Grenford certainly had a presence, and it blocked the path to goal for most of the game.  They had an erratic but effective goalkeeper, Bubucarr Jallow, who was the main of the match and certainly the most entertaining, and two central defenders who soaked up the pressure. Hitchin didn’t have it all their own way, even if they had the ball in the North Greenford area for almost all the 90 minutes.

Jallow pulled off two fine saves in the first half from Jamie Arlick, who is not enjoying the best of luck in front of goal.  Arlick met cross from Tony Fontenelle and Tom Mustapha at the near post, but was denied both times.

Mustapha should have opened the scoring just after half-time, using his pace to get clear but stopped by Jallow. The Hitchin forward made way for Zak Burke but it was still a case of non-stop frustration for the Canaries.

Arlick repeatedly went close, notably when he did well to control a Burke knock-on but volleyed wide. Then he had a header cleared off the line by a defender.
Just as it seemed Hitchin were destined to remain goalless, the deadlock was broken. Richard Howell worked his way to the byline, looked to be running into trouble but managed to get the ball across the area. A scramble ensued, and Jellow was at the heart of it.  Callum Donnelly was the recipient of Howell’s pass, and sent the ball into the net, leaving North Greenford defenders protesting that Jellow had been fouled.  There were 89 minutes on the clock.

North Greenford were still arguing when Hitchin scored again. Howell found Burke inside the area and he arrowed  his effort into the top corner of the net. Jallow was not happy and whatever he said, the referee didn’t like it. He received a red card, giving him a headstart for the showers. Two minutes earlier, North Greenford were on for a point and Jallow was a candidate for man of the match. That didn’t change – without him, North Greenford may have conceded more than two goals.

Statistics
Hitchin Town (0)2 North Greenford United (0)0
Donnelly 89, Burke 90
Attendance: 338
Referee: M.Engelbretson

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