A Harrowing Misadventure

[Faramir]

16.11.05

Bath (1) Harrow Hill (0)

We did little right in losing to Bath 1-0. They played much better than we did, but if we had properly defensed the corner that Ronnie Green scored on we might have escaped with a scoreless draw. As it was, we deserved to lose with our inability to make any kind of concerted attack offensively. This match pointed out clearly how much we are going to miss Franklin Simek's backline play- his steadiness was always an important feature and we didn't show that today.

***

17.11.05

I purchased another midfielder that my scouts had liked a lot. 22 yr old AMFLC Ryan Hutchinson has some decent talent and was on the outs at Stoke, so I was able to purchase him for 3K. It was another case of adding talent for a modest price.

[Faramir]

19.11.05

Weston-super-Mere (1) Harrow Hill (0)

One bad break and a terrible job of finishing by us equaled another disappointing loss. They scored the only goal when a free kick was slightly deflected and that allowed Kevin Parker to zip in and fire it past Lewis Anderson inside the near left post. We played some excellent passing sequences but were guilty of horrible finishing at the end. Adam Parker was the main culprit as he missed at least 4 excellent scoring chances. The referee was very whistle happy- judging by the 19 fouls and the 2 yellows on Steven O'Donnell that sent him to the showers at halftime. I guess he felt he had to even things up and sent off Mark Potter for them fairly early in the second half. It was plain to me that we don't have anyone besides Kevin Braniff (who didn't play today because I was concerned about his fitness) who can score. Jason Hallett and Danny Singh just haven't given us much up front and this lack is ruining the excellent chances we are generating. Darlington is interested in Parker, I think I will see if they really want him because he hasn't played really well since the first couple matches of the season. We are now even with both Exeter and Hornchurch for top spot, but Hornchurch holds a match in hand at present. This stretch of the schedule is difficult as we have now lost to streaking Bath and surging Weston-super-Mere and are on the road for two more matches before returning to Larksfield Road.

***

26.11.05

I felt a bit buoyed when we were finally able to announce the transfer purchase of 19 yr old DC Liam Powell from Leicester. My scouts thought he would be an excellent signing and he was pleased to join us at a modest salary. Given the state of our central defense, I knew once he recovered from his knee injury that he would help us.

[Faramir]

26.11.05

Boreham Wood (1) Harrow Hill (0) FA Trophy 2nd round

We lost our third straight 1-0 result as they took advantage of a loose ball scramble to score the only goal of the match. Peter Morris had made a good tackle, but the ball bounced loose and Christopher Edge had slotted it home to the left side of the net past Michael Jago. It was another match of good execution and teamwork, but no results as we again couldn't finish our passing sequences. Despite losing Stuart Bimson to a redcard in the second half, Boreham Wood refused to fold and kept us from evening the match as they broomed us out.

[Spav]

What was that message you used to get in CM01/02?

"The Harrow Hill board is pleased with your overall performance, but is concerned at the recent run of defeats."

I hope you can turn the recent form around. KUTGW

[Faramir]

Thanks Spav You have the message word for word...

***

27.11.05

Having sufficient funds has not really made us a more attractive club to come to. We are still obscure and not many players are interested. That is why it was nice to get another one like Powell- who is willing to come here and only wanted a modest salary. I have been negotiating off and on trying to get Braniff as a player, but he wants more money than I can offer him so it has been a fruitless venture so far. With how disappointing our forwards have been- we really need Braniff (and likely someone else), but so far we still have to be content with him on loan for the season. His niggling little injuries have been part of the reason for our recent swoon as he hasn't played in any of the last three matches.

Overall, we have shown that we are improved, but we still have a ways to go. The loss of Franklin Simek helped us so much financially, but really seems to have hurt the club's cohesion. I consider the core of the club to be solid, with Carl Laurie, Mark Berry, Jordan Fowler, Steven O'Donnell and Justin Bowler all players that we are fortunate to have. Our 2nd tier, such as or keeper trio, Kieron Gradwell, Gavin Bolger and Matt McGowan are certainly adequate. Because of my spending sprees we are still carrying too much weekly wages- but that is a problem I can accept for the moment because of our positive financial standing. What I need to do at this point is find out who, if any, of the youngsters really has potential (Peter Morris?) and keep concentrating on the core of the club. I can't find anyone interested in taking any of our free transfer players, so it's likely I will have to live with their contracts until they expire.

***

4.12.05

It was disappointing, but apparent that I wasn't going to be able to work out a contract with Kevin Braniff. Our best offer was still short of what he expected and I was really out of room to offer anything else- so we will have to enjoy his being on the loan to us all season.

[Faramir]

7.12.05

Harrow Hill (0) Lewes (0)

It was disappointing to finally return home and then play poorly. We were fortunate to take points away from the match as Lewes outplayed us for large stretches. Our offense never seemed in sync at all- though we did manage a few good chances that were parried away by Adoma Bankole. Daniel Austen earned MOM honours for the way he defended our net as our Yiadom Yeboah again provided a less than inspirational performance. Our passing was never really on track as we frittered away many easy passes. The draw drops us down to 4th in ECS and we really need to score a goal soon as we have now gone 4 matches in a row without scoring and the last goal we scored was over a month ago in our 1-1 home draw against Bishop's Stortford. It is back to the drawing board to try and figure out why our offense has suddenly disappeared.

***

9.12.05

In another effort to address our backline problems, I managed to purchase 21 yr old DRLC Nick Mountford from Luton. Mountford received excellent comments from both my scouts and with Powell still weeks away from being ready to play- will likely step directly into the lineup.

[Faramir]

10.12.05

Harrow Hill (2) Cambridge City (1)

Finally! We made a grim start to the match as Daniel Austen completely misplayed a long 30 yard shot into a goal to put them ahead early in the first half. We had trouble coping with their pace, as they are much faster than we are, but we kept plugging away. Nick Mountford had a solid debut paired with Kieron Gradwell and provided a very steady presence. We rallied in the second half when Danny Singh made a superb pass that put Jason Hallett away. Hallett, who had missed over the net twice in the first half, didn't miss this time and took it past Duncan Roberts to score his 5th goal of the season. As the match waned, I was resigning myself to another draw, but we got a break when Jonathan Stevenson was forced to pull Singh down in the area. Hallett stepped up and smashed the penalty kick home and we had recovered from a poor start to gain a hugely important 2-1 win.

[Faramir]

14.12.05

Weymouth (4) Harrow Hill (3)

I can't say how frustrated I was to follow up a big win with a terrible defensive effort as our backline and keeper failed us to ruin a superb performance from Adam Parker. We went off on a flyer as Parker scored in the first minute of play, but we quickly gave that back and they took the lead on two Adam Wilde headers. We went down 3-1 after Austen misplayed another chance and it was grim. Parker scored his 2nd goal of the game on a pretty 20 yard blast, but moments later we were down 4-2 when Kieron Gradwell was called for bumping Dean Stevens in the area and Stevens converted the penalty kick. Parker scored to finish his hat-trick, but we missed two more great chances to equalize in finishing out the 4-3 loss.

***

15.12.05

Mansfield, currently 23rd in League 2, approached me about taking over as manager. I listened to their offer, but politely turned them down.

[Guest]

Unlucky there mate, hope you regain your form that you had at the beginning of the season soon enough!

[Faramir]

Shooting Star- aye, hope we do as well- struggling at the moment

***

17.12.05

Thurrock (0) Harrow Hill (0)

We were once again done in from a better result by our inability to finish. We controlled the tempo of play through most of the match and our passing gave us some excellent chances, but Richard McKinney blocked our best chances and we accomplished our usual misses over the net on others. We almost wound up with another loss when McKinney found Tresor Kandol splitting our defense as Paul Moss and Peter Morris looked lost on the play, but Kandol missed over the net against Lewis Anderson to leave us with another unsatisfying scoreless draw.

[Faramir]

17.12.05

Thurrock (0) Harrow Hill (0)

We were once again done in from a better result by our inability to finish. We controlled the tempo of play through most of the match and our passing gave us some excellent chances, but Richard McKinney blocked our best chances and we accomplished our usual misses over the net on others. We almost wound up with another loss when McKinney found Tresor Kandol splitting our defense as Paul Moss and Peter Morris looked lost on the play, but Kandol missed over the net against Lewis Anderson to leave us with another unsatisfying scoreless draw.

***

18.12.05

The press approached me as apparently I was considered to be the front runner for the now open Chester job. I wound up releasing a press statement to the effect that I was not interested in taking the position. A Board member approached me on the side and told me the Board was very proud and pleased at the committment I had shown the club. He did tell me that despite our financial well being that privately most of the Board thought we had too many players under contract. He was surprised to hear me agree with him in that regard. I told him I didn't plan on any more signings or purchases until we had a better balance- unless the player was really needed like a quality forward. Otherwise, I promised him that I would try to win with the players already here and he stated he would pass those glad tidings on to the Board.

[Faramir]

20.12.05

Harrow Hill (1) Exeter (1)

It is hard to say I am disappointed with the effort, because I wasn't. We outplayed 2nd place Exeter in the match. We had taken the lead when Steven O'Donnell made a good pass up the center of the pitch and Kevin Braniff had enough room to blast a 20 yard shot inside the left post. What was troublesome is that we gave up another weak goal. Daniel Austen had managed to block away a low shot from Paul Hughes, but wasn't able to get control of the rebound. Paul Moss stood by while Sean Devine tried to flick it past Austen to Oliver Allen, and instead it caught the corner of the net. We wasted more chances to regain the lead in the second half and wound up with the draw which drops us into 5th place in ECS.

[Faramir]

26.12.05

Harrow Hill (2) Redditch (0)

Our Christmas celebrations over with, we celebrated more on the pitch when our fans went home having seen a very pleasing 2-0 win over Redditch. Jason Hallett scored in the first half after a good pass allowed him to break free in the area. Hallett could have easily had another couple goals if he could have hit the net as they had trouble marking him in the first half. Ryan Ashington chipped in with a goal in the second half when he knocked home a rebound after Danny Knowles had stopped the initial blast from Kevin Braniff. Redditch threatened a couple times, but Lewis Anderson showed superb judgement as he short-circuited their attacks.

After the match I had to refute rumours that I was about to become the new MK Dons manager. These rumours of me taking every lower level job opening up are becoming annoying.

[Faramir]

28.12.05

Grays (2) Harrow Hill (3)

Two days later and we were facing a Gray squad that was desperate for a win. Though we were sporting a mostly renovated squad from the Redditch match we were off to a fine start when Steven O'Donnell hit a cracking 25 yard shot that sailed past a surprised Carl Emberson at 15 minutes. Less than 4 minutes later we grabbed a 2-0 lead when a good pass from Justin Bowler sent Danny Singh in free and he rifled a shot in off the inside of the left post. They came storming back and their crosses were continually catching our backline unbalanced and unable to effectively respond. They drew a goal back when Leroy Griffiths got free because of poor marking and fired a rising shot past Lewis Anderson. The early part of the second half was spent in our end as they were attacking effectively. Anderson, with support of the crossbar, managed to keep their shots out. It looked like we might have the match clinched when a deft pass from Michael Husbands allowed Singh space enough to blast his 2nd goal of the match and 5th of the season past Emberson. They managed a late consolation goal when Ellis Remy struck a 25 yard shot that Anderson missed because of a loss of concentration and that made the final margin 3-2, but still an important win in our ledger.

[RedmanJB]

1m for Simek. Just think of what you can do with that! Although I'm sure you'll just go buy several thousand unknown 16 year olds

Good story. I am enjoying it, although I ain't reading it all.

[Faramir]

Redman- LOL, that likely would have been a better use A fair chunk of that was immediately eaten up by how much we were in the red (I think 400-450K, can't remember for sure).

Glad you are enjoying the story- come visit whenever you feel like an update

***

1.12.06

Harrow Hill (2) Carshalton (1)

For all his excellent work in this match, Kevin Braniff deserved the MOM honours, but it would have been nice if he had gotten the hat-trick too. As it was, Braniff's goals early in both the first and second halves were the margin of victory as we beat Carshalton 2-1. Their goal came in another example of our shoddy defending as we left Kevin Lock completely alone and he drilled his shot past Michael Jago. Stuart Searle had a fine match in net for them as he kept them in the match in the second half despite a lot of pressure from us. It was a very good effort for us and I hoped that we could carry it forward.

***

ECS Midway Point 2005-6 Season

1- Exeter 43 pts (+14)

2- Harrow Hill 41 pts (+19)

3- Hornchurch 39 pts (+10)

4- Bath 38 pts (+10)

5- Havant & W 37 pts (+10)

6- Weymouth 37 pts (+8)

7- Kingstonian 34 pts (+9)

[Faramir]

7.1.06

Harrow Hill (0) Welling (0)

Our performance against Welling at Larksfield Road was indifferent at best. We were criminal in how many passes we wasted away and we never got untracked offensively. Welling seemed content to play ball control for most of the match. We had two golden chances to score in the late stages of the second half. Carl Laurie made a superb cross to find Justin Marsden unattended on the far corner of the net, but he drilled his shot off the crossbar. Then Laurie had a chance alone, but Martin Brennan managed to knock his shot past the post. It wasn't a terrible performance, but it wasn't an efficient one either.

***

8.1.06

I have no idea if the Board will wind upset with this, but I wasn't going to pass on the chance to add 24 yr old DC Simon Downer to the backline. Downer is an excellent all-around centre back for this level and though I seem to have been stocking up on them, I welcome his addition to our lineup. It cost us only 3K to purchase him from Braintree, where he had been on the reserve side.

***

9.1.06

Another job offer today, and a fairly attractive one. Swindon offered me the chance to take over with a nice little transfer fund (though they would want me to cut the wage bill if possible). They are 10th in League 2, but I decided that I wanted to stay on at Harrow Hill.

[Faramir]

10.1.06

Redbridge (2) Harrow Hill (0)

Stats lie. If you looked at the stats from this match, you would have picked us as the winner. Instead, we fell 2-0 to 22nd place Redbridge. We outshot them 17-3 for the match, but their keeper- Jack Norton- earned MOM honours with a brilliant performance. He stopped us cold several times when I was certain we would score. For our part- we blew a defensive coverage through miscommunication between Kieron Gradwell and Adrian Nevins in the opening moments of the second half and that allowed Craig Edwards to walk right in and beat Michael Jago inside the near right post from close range. Edwards also scored their 2nd goal when he converted the penalty after Jordan Fowler made a dumb challenge in the area on a cross. We weren't even off-target with our shots today, it was just Norton was that good against us. It is the kind of loss that is very discouraging and I know we need to right the ship and play better next match.

[Spav]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Faramir:

I have no idea if the Board will wind upset with this, but I wasn't going to pass on the chance to add 24 yr old DC Simon Downer to the backline. Downer is an excellent all-around centre back for this level and though I seem to have been stocking up on them, I welcome his addition to our lineup. It cost us only 3K to purchase him from Braintree, where he had been on the reserve side.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Simon Downer used to be quite a lower league star on CM00/01 and CM01/02 when he was at Orient(?). Hope he does good for you Faramir, because you had a good run going until that Redbride game. KUTGW

[Faramir]

Spav- good observation, but I have to be honest when I say that Simon never really played well for me when I play Orient (my favorite club and one that I play in every version of CM and now FM)- no real reason why, but he just doesn't...

Thanks again for the support

***

18.1.06

Harrow Hill (2) Kingstonian (1)

This match started out looking like a repeat of the debacle at Redbridge. We maintained early pressure, but Barry Marchena made a pair of dazzling saves. Kingstonian worked up some chances of their own and Lewis Anderson was very sharp in earning his MOM honours today. It remained scoreless at half and into the early portions of the second half as each keeper was splendid. We finally broke through when Marchena made the initial stop on Kevin Braniff, but Braniff pushed the rebound past him. Though we were trying to defend, our backline made an abysmal play and they were able to equalize when Greg Ball drove a shot past Anderson after racing behind our backline. We pulled out the important victory when Steven O'Donnell, who also could easily have been named MOM, ran down a ball on the left side and crossed smartly to Michael Husbands and Husbands deflected it past Marchena for the late match winning goal.

[Faramir]

21.1.06

Forest Green (1) Harrow Hill (1)

It was another wasted opportunity for us, as we held the lead but again made a key defensive mistake and allowed them to split the points with us. Kevin Braniff had scored his 15th goal of the season after a deft short pass from Gavin Bolger and we had moved in front of the home side. We had been playing well defensively, but we botched the coverage on a throw-in and that allowed Mark Beesley to be all alone on the far side of the net as we scrambled back into our own end. Beesley whipped a low shot past Daniel Austen and it was even at 1-1. Their keeper saved their points in the second half as Steve Perrin made two excellent saves- one on Braniff and the other on Adam Parker- to keep us from regaining the lead. I was pleased with our play, but our mistakes always seem magnified as the opposing club seems to gain full advantage from them.

***

24.1.06

With only a week to go til the Transfer deadline, I expect it to pass quietly for us. I have talked to many players, many agents- but all with the same mantra: Why should I come to an obscure semi-pro club? It's a bit frustrating, but at least we do have some solid, developing players and something to build on. None of our transfer listed players are drawing the teeniest amount of interest, so the deadline should pass with little change to the club.

[Faramir]

28.1.06

Maidenhead (1) Harrow Hill (0)

Another well-played match, another match where we have nothing to show for a good effort. Our backline couldn't clear away a loose ball after Daniel Austen made a terrific save in the opening moments of the first half and Callum Flanagan knocked it home. We could not buy a break in the match. We had seven times where we had a player in alone on their keeper Nick Hart- we missed the net 3 times and he made superb saves the other 4 times. Besides those chances, we hit the post, hit the crossbar and watched Jason Hallett waste a chance at an open net. If we keep playing this well offensively, better results are bound to come- but for now we were again left with the bitter taste of a close loss.

[Faramir]

29.1.06

I was wrong. The transfer deadline spurred some offers and I ended up fairly busy. We sold Michael Husbands, Kieron Gradwell and Michael Jago during the last two days. Husbands went to Crystal Palace for his rated amount of 20K (of which we had to pay Southend 5K). Husbands may wind up being very good, but he didn't seem to be much of a scorer while here and that was part of the reason I was willing to let him go. Luton bid on Kieron Gradwell. That was a tougher decision as Gradwell has been our best defender this season and has promise. I decided to accept the bid of his rated price of 20K, because we seem to have more depth in central defense (with the addition of Downer) and Gradwell was ambitious and already hinting that he wouldn't sign another contract with us. Jago, who was on the transfer list at his own request, was sold to non-league side Billericay for 8K.

On the surprising side, Tottenham forward Jamie Slabber agreed to a 3-month loan to us. Slabber's addition means he will pair with Braniff up front for his time here and hopefully provide us some firepower that we have been missing there. We also signed 16 yr old DRC Dave Cooper on free. Cooper was highly rated by both my scouts.

[Faramir]

31.1.06

Harrow Hill (4) Hornchurch (1)

Stunned would be the description after this match. We hadn't played this well since maybe the first month in the season. Jamie Slabber was the early catalyst for us. Having a forward of his caliber to pair with Braniff was something new and it paid off in the opening moments when Braniff launched a superb long pass that put Slabber in free. Slabber drilled his shot past Mark Westhead and we were off on a flyer. We missed a few other good chances to score, but Braniff played a nice touch pass that found Slabber unmarked on the right side and he beat Westhead cleanly inside the near right post for his 2nd goal of the match just before halftime. We moved ahead 3-0 (and made me feel much more relaxed) when Jordan Fowler blasted a 25 yard shot through traffic in front of Westhead for his 1st goal of the season. They quickly answered when Jean-Michel Sigere snapped a rebound shot past Lewis Anderson to ruin his clean sheet. We put the match away when Adam Parker (on for tiring Slabber) finished off a nice passing sequence to score his 5th goal of the season and cap the 4-1 win. With us 5th and them 3rd before the match- this was a crucial win for us to stay in the playoff picture (Exeter is getting close to running away with the top spot at present).

[Faramir]

4.2.06

Harrow Hill (2) Newport Co (1)

It could have been an easier win and our fans at Larksfield had to endure an edge-of-the-seat final 10 minutes of play, but we managed to hang on for a 2-1 win. Things looked very good in the first half as we controlled much of the play. We took the lead when Gavin Bolger blasted a 20 yard shot past Roger Freestone off of a corner. Freestone was very tough on us and earned MOM honours for the match as he stopped both Kevin Braniff and Jamie Slabber in one-on-one situations. Early in the second half we yielded both the momentum and the equalizer as Carl Laurie challenged too far up the pitch and then Sam O'Sullivan was able to burst past Liam Powell before driving a shot past Lewis Anderson. With Slabber out at halftime with a minor injury we called on Ryan Hutchinson up front. Hutchinson put pressure on their backline with his speed, but Freestone made another tough save to stop Hutchinson in free. After all our good pressure and shots in the match, it figured that the match winner would be a fluke goal. Lea Jones was sending a looping cross for Hutchinson and it went over the off balance Freestone and into the net for Jones' 1st ever goal at Harrow Hill. The final ten minutes was nerve wracking for both myself and the fans as they sent everyone forward and we just tried to hunker down and keep them from scoring. It looked like they equalized at 85 minutes, but I was very relieved to see the goal waived off on an offside call. The final whistle was a relief and another win in the books.

***

8.2.06

Another job offer today as Darlington would like me to take the helm. While they have a solid club and are currently 12th in Division 2, they also have a huge financial problem and I wound up thanking them for their interest as I told them no.

[Faramir]

10.2.06

I hadn't planned on adding any more players, but my scouts were still looking and clued me in to free list Craig Dickinson. For a 17 yr old AM/FRC who has never played professional, he has a lot of qualities I like. After meeting with both scouts again, I decided to take the plunge and he was brought in as a hot prospect signing.

***

11.2.06

Havant & W (1) Harrow Hill (2)

In a showdown match between the 4th place (them) and 3rd place (us) clubs, we used early success and a tough, determined defensive effort to edge the home side 2-1. We took advantage of opportunities in the early going as Jamie McGowan rifled a long pass to send Kevin Braniff in free and he didn't miss- drilling a shot past Gareth Howells into the right side of the net. We moved ahead 2-0 when Jamie Slabber was in the right place to push the rebound into the net after Howells made a terrific parry of a blast from Gavin Bolger. After that 2nd goal, we managed only a handful of chances the rest of the match as Havant & W took control. The drew a goal back later in the first half as a nice tic-tac-toe passing sequence allowed Gavin Holligan to waltz in free and fire a rising shot past Daniel Austen. We had to lean heavily on the backline and Austen after that as they came in waves trying to equalize most of the second half. Austen made a game saving stop when he smothered a shot from Holligan in the late stages when in free. The final whistle was a welcome sound for our tired club.

[Faramir]

18.2.06

Harrow Hill (3) St.Albans (1)

Our club visibly deflated when Ben Walshe's 30 yard shot got past Lewis Anderson for the equalizer early in the second half. We had played a great first half and Jamie Slabber had given us the lead in the first minutes when he fired a shot off the post and then was quickest to the rebound. Kevin Braniff earned a penalty when Ben Martin tripped him in the area, but then couldn't convert the penalty kick as James Robinson blocked it away. I was proud of the way we gathered ourselves after their goal and we went right back to work. Good passing found Braniff alone at the edge of the six-yard box and he didn't miss this time- drilling the shot past Robinson inside the right post. As they tried to pressure us for the equalizer, we hit them on the counterattack and that left Adam Parker alone to clinch the match when he chipped the ball past a diving Robinson to finish off the 3-1 win.

***

18.2.06

MK Dons came back with another offer to manage them, but I felt obliged to turn them down. I feel very comfortable here at Harrow Hill and hope to stay here for a long time.

[Faramir]

21.2.06

Dorchester (1) Harrow Hill (2)

I am incensed with the ref. His calls in this match were inexcusable. By the time we reached the 12 minute mark of the match we had received 5 yellow cards and Gavin Bolger was on his way to the showers after receiving his 2nd. This was with several foul calls on Dorchester players that only resulted in warnings- no cards. I am so proud of my club though as we kept fighting despite the injustice on the pitch. Jamie McGowan gave us the lead with his 1st goal of the season when he ripped a 25 yard shot toward the net and it deflected off the back of Michael Walker past Craig Bradshaw. We were trying to hold out til halftime with the lead, but the referee made another questionable call- this one sending Liam Powell off with his 2nd yellow card of the match at 39 minutes. It was maddeningly frustrating to see them immediately take advantage of the open space as Ben Summerscales managed to sneak a shot inside the post past Daniel Austen. At halftime we talked about what to do- now 2 men down- and I admonished the boys to not forgot to take any counterattacking opportunities we might get. That proved to be good advice as Kevin Braniff got free in the middle in the opening moments of the second half. When Alex Browne failed to challenge him as he reached the edge of the area, he made Dorchester pay by blasting a 20 yard shot past Bradshaw. With an improbable lead in hand, we now tried to defend and hang on against the rallying home side. Austen was called on for two sensational saves as he managed to make a great reaction save and push Justin Georcelin's hard shot just around the post. He also managed to push Jake Speight's header just over the bar on a sizzling cross from Justin Keeler. Our whole club was exhausted and numb with relief when the final whistle sounded and we had held on for the 2-1 win. It was a great effort to win this match, but I hope referee Ian Harris doesn't run into me on the street anytime soon.

[Faramir]

22.2.06

We have 11 matches remaining and our chances of catching Exeter for the top spot are slim to none as they have lost only 1 of their last 16 matches. Still, we are in 2nd place and we are 11 points clear of 6th place Kingstonian- so are well on our way toward a playoff spot. One problem that will come up though is that Jamie Slabber's loan will run out before the playoffs. I have been speaking with Tottenham in hopes of extending the loan, but the answer so far has been a resounding no. I remain disappointed that I couldn't get Kevin Braniff under contract. Millwall has accepted offers four different times this season, but extensive negotiations with Kevin and his agent still left us unable to agree on a contract that would keep him here. Kevin is the biggest reason for our success this season and my inability to get him to agree to a contract is a bitter disappointment. We have managed to survive the sale of Simek and Downer has certainly been a boost to our backline, though I remain a bit wary of our central defense. Adrian Nevins and Mark Berry have filled out fullback slots superbly and Carl Laurie has done a nice job in a DMC role. I will face a decision when Patrick Cregg is healthy again and he is now back in training.

***

24.2.06

Injury woes again as Ryan Hutchinson, who had quietly developed into a good midfielder for us, is now lost for the remainder of the season due to the dreaded groin injury. Though we have depth in the midfield, his loss will hurt because his pace was among the best on our club and he added another dimension to our offense when he was playing.

[Faramir]

25.2.06

Harrow Hill (1) Bath (0)

Another tight match, another match where we finally were able to score and another match where we played solid defense against a furious rally attempt as we edged Bath 1-0 at Larksfield Road. The first half belonged to us as we didn't allow them a shot on goal and we maintained pressure on them in their end. Paul Evans wasn't yielding anything though and between his play in net and some timely tackling from the backline we went to halftime scoreless. Bath was much readier to play in the second half and they missed inches wide twice in the early going. We scored the only goal of the match midway through the half. James Tevendale, on for Ryan Ashington, made a superb choice on a free kick and picked out Simon Downer breaking out of the pack to receive the ball at the edge of the six-yard box. Downer turned and whipped a low shot past Evans. With the lead, we went into a bit of a defensive shell and played excellent coverage on them. Despite that, they came close when Reinier Moor missed over the net from close in and we held on for the close win.

[Faramir]

26.2.06

One of the Board members took me aside a few days ago and told me privately that I might want to explore using the transfer funds available. He hinted that if they were left unused, then the Board would likely absorb them and told me flatly to not expect the kind of transfer leeway I have at present. With that in mind, I started actively exploring the market and though we may not have Kevin Braniff or Jamie Slabber next season, I may have found at least one replacement. It took a creative contract offer, but Rowan Vine has agreed to join us in early June (he is on loan at present) from Portsmouth. The cost was 28K for Vine, but he provides us a level of forward we just don't have (other than our loaned Braniff-Slabber).

It was hard to keep quiet about the next one- but suprisingly it stayed secret until we stunned our fans with the announcement- Franklin Simek is returning! I am not exactly sure what happened at Hull, but I do know there was a change in managers and he apparently clashed with Simek. Things had gotten so bad that Simek had left training and was threatening to return to America. Hull offered him back to us (out of the blue actually, I hadn't any inkling that things were bad) and I offered a transfer fee of 75K (with very high additional sell on fees). When they actually agreed to my offer it was a sign of how desperate they were. I can't believe it, we get Franklin back and we made out like bandits on the whole deal. The Board, who really loved Franklin when here, allowed me to easily meet his higher salary demands and he was willing to drop the minimum fee release in return for a small wage increase clause. Having Franklin back on the club is such a boost- a pairing with him and Downer now means we have one of the better center defense tandems in the ECS and really solidifies our whole backline. I actually went to Church after the announcement to thank someone.

[Faramir]

4.3.06

Bishop's Stortford (1) Harrow Hill (3)

Bishop's came into the match on a roll- having won their last 6 matches, but I still thought we would give them a battle as we had been playing so well of late. That synopsis pretty much told the tale of the match. We played a scoreless first half with us having the better chances, but just missing on close shots. They didn't have the quality of chances, but they were doing a nice job freeing their midfielders just beyond the area. I brought on Danny Singh for a slightly injured Jamie Slabber at halftime and it turned into a wonderful move when Kevin Braniff picked him out in the area with a long pass from the left sideline and Singh struck a rocket shot inside the right post past James Young to give us the lead. Despite losing Oliver Blackwell to his 2nd yellow card at 60 minutes, the home side rallied and Steve Parmenter found Ross Mitchell with a good through ball. Mitchell took advantage of the hesitation shown by Simon Downer and Franklin Simek- playing their first match together- and split the two of them before blasting a shot past Daniel Austen into the left side of the net for the equalizer. We weren't prepared to split points when we had played so well and answered back almost immediately when Mark Berry's good pass allowed Braniff to wheel in the area and snap a shot past Young to put us back in the lead. We clinched the match in the late stages when Daniel Foot outraced Singh to a ball, but when he tried to punch it back to Young he instead put it past his keeper for an own-goal to complete the scoring in our 3-1 win.

[binny]

It's great to see you back on form. Hope you can keep it up and earn that deserved promotion

[Faramir]

binny- Thanks much, and that is my hope as well

***

6.3.06

Another minor purchase completed as Matt Morrell joins us. Morrell is a 20 yr old D/DMC who had been playing at Stone Dominoes. Both my scouts thought he had bags of potential and I liked what I saw of him, so tendered a 1K offer that was accepted. The fans are worried about his disrupting the harmony of the club, but he should be fine.

***

7.3.06

Though it only took 3K to land Chris Williams, it might be 3K very well spent. Williams is a 21 yr old SC who had been at Stockport, but on the transfer list for awhile. Williams brings many of the qualities I was searching for in a forward and his arrival may mean that the impending loss of Jamie Slabber doesn't hurt quite as bad. I am also making a last-ditch effort to get Kevin Braniff under contract (transfer offer was accepted), but I don't think our chances are very good- given the past failures in negotiations.

***

8.3.06

A 12K bid to Portsmouth was enough to allow us to reach a contract with 21 yr old MC Chris Clark. Clark was an excellent addition according to both my scouts and joins us as the most well rounded midfielder we have. I expect him to gain playing time down the stretch for us.

[Faramir]

11.3.06

Harrow Hill (0) Weston-super-Mare (0)

A thoroughly boring match for both fans and clubs as neither club could get much offense going. Twice we sent Jason Hallett away free with good passes in the opening moments of the match, but he dallied with the ball both times and Weston defenders made saving tackles. We had one excellent chance late in the match, but Justin Bowler shot over the net from the edge of the six-yard box. We played solid defense and limited them to one shot for the match, but our hodgepodge lineup couldn't manage any offense. I rested both Kevin Braniff and Jamie Slabber because of fitness concerns.

***

12.3.06

You win some, you lose some. Once more, we failed to work out a contract that Kevin Braniff could accept and that will likely be the last attempt. I would love to have him here permanently, but we just can't work out an acceptable contract. On the other hand, our scouts found a very promising keeper- Ian Hutchinson. Hutchinson is an 16 yr old (turns 17 in early June) and has as much raw talent as Lewis Anderson.

[Faramir]

14.3.06

Lewes (2) Harrow Hill (2)

We certainly played well enough to win this match- with two exceptions. The combination of Franklin Simek playing his worst match ever for us and Daniel Austen having a subpar match in net left us having to split the points with Lewes in the 2-2 draw. Both our goals came from Kevin Braniff. The first was when Jamie Slabber spun a long pass into space that Braniff ran down and then took around Andy Little before pushing it into the net for his 20th goal. Lewes promptly answered when Simek did a walkabout and Marc Whiteman drove a shot past the off balance Austen to equalize. We took the lead again in the second half when Ryan Ashington crossed beautifully and Braniff flicked it past Little. That lead also didn't last long as Simek's bad pass went right to Ashley Edwards and he laid the ball off so that Whiteman could blister a shot past Austen for his 2nd goal of the match. Both sides missed chances for the winning goal in the late stages. We could have had early goals, but for Slabber's total lack of finishing today.

[Faramir]

18.3.06

Harrow Hill (1) Weymouth (0)

It was a long, difficult match for us- but Jamie Slabber made all the hard work pay off when he retrieved his own rebound and drove it into the net for the match winner in the 89th minute. We were having problems solving Weymouth keeper Dean Harris as he made several excellent one-on-one saves enroute to MOM honours. It certainly wasn't our best match offensively and defensively, but Weymouth couldn't hit the net with their chances. Kevin Braniff, Adam Parker and Danny Singh were all stopped by Harris. Slabber's initial shot was parried by Harris, but the rebound was close by and Slabber fired the sharp angled shot into the net past the diving Harris for the dramatic match winning goal. Exeter's win ensured them a playoff spot and they will likely clinch 1st in the next couple of matches- while we try to hold on to 2nd place.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

ECS 18.3.06 (36 played, 6 remaining)

1- Exeter 83 pts (+35)

2- Harrow Hill 72 pts (+29)

3- Hornchurch 70 pts (+23)

4- Kingstonian 60 pts (+18)

5- Bath 60 pts (+16)

6- Havant & W 57 pts (+5)

7- Bishop's S 56 pts (+10)

</pre>

[Faramir]

25.3.06

Cambridge City (1) Harrow Hill (3)

Cambridge City was sharp in the early going and took the lead early on when Carlin Itonga took advantage of indifferent marking to deflect a cross past Daniel Austen. Most of the first half was frustrating as we were having difficulty getting going. Chris Williams demonstrated some of the potential our scouts saw when he dribbled past Dale Binns and boomed a shot past Duncan Roberts to equalize. Shortly after we took the 2-1 halftime lead when Kevin Braniff scored on a soaring half-volley over the diving Roberts. They tried to rally early in the second half, but we knocked a lot of their hopes out when Steven O'Donnell whipped a shot past Roberts off a nice corner kick play. They came close one more time, but Austen tipped Jonathan Stevenson's shot over the bar to keep the final score at 3-1 for us.

***

26.3.06

I was back in the press again today as they were touting me for the now open Carlisle job. I told them, as I had before, that I was planning on staying at Harrow Hill. The Board was again pleased at the committment I was showing to the job here at Larksfield Road.

[Faramir]

28.3.06

Despite my comments in the press, Carlisle offered me the job as manager. I politely turned them down.

***

29.3.06

As the transfer deadline approaches, we managed to snag another solid young forward. In continuing to prepare the club for life without Kevin Braniff, we now have Chris Williams and will soon have Rowan Vine. Adding to those two is 20 yr old SC Billy Sharp from Sheffield United. Sharp only cost 2K and asked for a modest weekly wage in return for assurances that he would play. Our forward rotation for next season now looks like- Vine, Williams, Sharp, Singh and Hallett- much better than where we stood before this season (though I still wish I could have added Braniff). Our fans were cheered by the signing of this promising youngster.

[Faramir]

1.4.06

Exeter (0) Harrow Hill (5)

Exeter may have the title more or less locked up, but they got a taste of how well we have been playing of late as we obliterated them in a 5-0 rout. A hat-trick from Kevin Braniff was the key, but we also had a two-goal performance from Gavin Bolger. We took advantage of their defensive lapses and kept them under pressure the entire match. Daniel Austen earned his clean sheet with a couple good stops on Sean Devine in the late stages. The win was costly though as Braniff badly sprained his ankle and will likely miss the remainder of the season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

1.4.06 ECS (all with 38 played)

1- Exeter 84 pts (+30)

2- Harrow Hill 78 pts (+36)

3- Hornchurch 73 pts (+23)

4- Bath 66 pts (+21)

5- Kingstonian 63 pts (+15)

6- Havant & W 63 pts (+8)

7- Bishop's S 59 pts (+10)

</pre>

[Faramir]

8.4.06

Harrow Hill (2) Thurrock (0)

Both sides played a physical first half that saw several yellow cards and many fouls. That it remained scoreless was due to fine work by Lewis Anderson in our net and Paul Gothard in theirs. Both keepers had made close-in saves to preserve the 0-0 scoreline. We came out from the opening whistle of the second half and quickly worked the ball down the pitch. The superb passing sequence concluded with Billy Sharp, who had a fine debut, slipping the ball to Gavin Bolger for a hard struck half-volley that eluded Gothard's grasp. Both sides struggled for the crucial next goal and it was Bolger again for us as he took a centering pass from Ryan Ashington and fired it past Gothard from just inside the edge of the area. Anderson was called on to make one more good save against Mike Basham to preserve the clean sheet and the 2-0 win.

[Faramir]

10.4.06

This is the worst time of year to be picking up injuries to key players, but now Lewis Anderson will miss the next couple weeks recovering from a severely strained calf. Daniel Austen will have to shoulder the load with Ian Hutchinson moving into the backup role.

***

15.4.06

Redditch (1) Harrow Hill (2)

It looked like we were headed to a 1-1 draw and I was unhappy. We had outplayed Redditch by a large margin, but had gifted them the lead in the early stages of the first half when a miscommunication between Simon Downer and Mark Berry had resulted in Downer knocking the ball past Berry. Simon Hollis was in the right place to pounce on the loose ball and he took it past a diving Daniel Austen before blasting it past Franklin Simek- who was futilely trying to defend the goal line. We had evened the match just before half when Ryan Ashington had hit a beautiful swerving 25 yard free kick past Danny Knowles. We had plenty of chances to take the lead in the second half, but our finishing was atrocious. Near shots, far shots- they were all wasted- most of them weren't even close enough that Knowles would make a move on. Gavin Bolger was the main culprit, as he was the focal point of the offense after I had to pull Jamie Slabber and Billy Sharp off the pitch because they were slightly injured. Bolger made up for all that in heartbeat though as he scored the match winner deep into second half injury time when he smashed home a loose ball from just beyond the six yard box for a dramatic 2-1 road win for us.

[Brammeke]

Great story Faramir!

I've read the whole story in one time (only happens with top-stories )!

The title is still possible!

Go for it!

[Faramir]

Brammeke- Thanks for the kind words, they are appreciated

Always going for the title

***

22.4.06

Harrow Hill (2) Grays (0)

We continued our winning ways as we managed to fight past Grays 2-0 at Larksfield Road. We pressured them off the opening whistle and after buzzing around their end for a few minutes it was Gavin Bolger's sizzling cross that Jamie Slabber was able to head past Carl Emberson that gave us the lead. Grays were giving as good as getting too and Daniel Austen had to be sharp to stop a couple good opportunities they managed on counterattacks. It was another tough physical match and our catalyst in the second half was James Tevendale who had come on for battered Bolger. Tevendale was everywhere- cutting off their passing lanes, winning headers and making deft passes on the attack. Tevendale's pass was deflected by Richard Thomson, but Danny Singh overpowered the defense and Emberson to hammer the shot home to give us the crucial 2nd goal in what would be a 2-0 win. We lost Singh for the season shortly after that as he strained his back. Due to managing only two draws in their last 2 matches, Exeter has left the door open for us. We trail them by 2 points going into the last match of the season.

[Faramir]

29.4.06

Carshalton (1) Harrow Hill (3)

It was a good thing Kevin Braniff had gotten back to enough fitness to play today as we had to return Jamie Slabber. The Braniff- Billy Sharp pairing worked very well in the early going as the two traded passes up and down the pitch, but Stuart Searle was making life very tough on us with some excellent work in their net. We finally broke through with a nice touch pass from Billy Sharp to Braniff. Braniff made a move and then went past Searle to slot it home and we had the lead. Early in the second half we added to the lead when Sharp made another nice pass to pick out Gavin Bolger with room in the area and Bolger's rocket shot sailed past Searle. They made it interesting again when Lee Bernard got up to deflect a long pass from John Hamsher past Daniel Austen. We clinched the match when Austen made a terrific goal kick to send Braniff away and he potted his 2nd goal of the match and we finished out a 3-1 win. It wasn't quite enough though, as Exeter scored a late match winner to beat Redditch 1-0 and win the ECS title. We will have to try our luck through the playoffs now. We face Kingstonian in our Semifinal while Bath and Hornchurch face off on the other side.

[binny]

Best of luck for the playoffs.

Come on Harrow

[Faramir]

Thanks binny- did I mention I hate playoffs

***

4.5.06

Kingstonian (1) Harrow Hill (2) ECS Playoff Semifinal Leg 1

We spotted them an early goal when Simon Downer lost coverage on Greg Ball and he scored his 15th goal of the season at 7 minutes to give them (and their fans) an early boost. As has been our nature on this string of good results, we fought our way back. We were playing without Gavin Bolger- he wasn't quite back to match fitness after his injury- but Adam Parker gave us a good performance. His pass allowed Kevin Braniff room in the area and he capitalized by driving a low shot past Stephen Flowers for the equalizer. Both sides struggled to get good chances as there was a lot of work being done defensively. We had a couple excellent chances to open the second half, only to see Billy Sharp's close in shot saved and Braniff missed just wide of the post. Our match winner came late in the second half when Steven O'Donnell and Braniff took the ball down the pitch with a wonderful in-and-out passing sequence. O'Donnell picked out Parker at the edge of the six-yard box and he drilled a shot inside the right post to give us a difficult 2-1 road win in the 1st leg. In the other semifinal, Bath and Hornchurch battled to a 1-1 draw.

[Faramir]

7.5.06

Harrow Hill (1) Kingstonian (0) ECS Playoff Semifinal Leg 2 (Harrow Hill advances on 3-1 aggregate)

We only needed a strong defensive effort and that is what we came to play in hosting Kingstonian. They managed a few close-in chances early in the match, but Daniel Austen was equal to the challenge. Though we weren't playing much offense in the second half, Gavin Bolger made a nice pass to put Chris Williams away free. Williams, who had come on for slightly injured Billy Sharp, hit a hard shot and Stephen Flowers tried to gather it up. When Flowers mishandled the ball, Williams was right there to poke it into the net and clinch our advancement to the Final in Wembley. We will face Bath in the Finals, as they upset Hornchurch on penalties.

[OMDave]

It was a tough game against Bath last time around. Hope you make it through

[Faramir]

Dave- alas...

***

13.5.06

Bath (4) Harrow Hill (3) ECS Playoff Final Extra-Time

Devastated.

That is the only word I can come up with to describe it. We had a 3-1 lead and blew it. Our key players choked in the match and down the most important portion of the game. To be honest, we didn't play particularly well in the match. We allowed them an easy goal in the first five minutes of the game and had to battle back. We knew how to do that and drew even when Kevin Braniff scored. Shortly afterwards we took the lead when Paul Evans misplayed a cross into his own net. A bizarre goal gave us a 3-1 halftime lead when Evans had a free kick up the pitch, but hit Sharp with the kick and it bounced crazily into the net for a 40 yard goal for Sharp. The wheels started coming off midway through the second half. We had played very well defensively, but they swung a nice cross and Andy Williams drove his shot past Daniel Austen and Bath was right back in the match. I brought on Carl Laurie to help defensively and that seemed to do the trick- we had them shut down. Then, disaster- Paul O'Brien hit a 30 yard kick and Austen had gone walkabout and didn't react as the ball went into the net for the dramatic equalizer. We were stunned and shell shocked at that point. We took the match into Extra-Time and the final blow was when Roy O'Brien escaped coverage and drilled a low shot past Austen. We tried desperately to get back to even, but Evans made a huge save on Chris Williams in the waning moments of the second portion of Extra-Time and that was all she wrote as they will move up and we face another season in ECS. The disappointing part of the match was how poorly our key players played- Braniff had a goal, but really was a non-factor in the match and didn't give us anything close to his typical play. Austen- he just plain failed when the match was on the line and I have to admit I will now look at Lewis Anderson as number 1 keeper. Gavin Bolger was also a non-entity in the match and we played much better when James Tevendale subbed on for him.

Where does this leave us in the summer? Well, we welcome new addition Rowan Vine up front. I had thought about one more bid to try and keep Braniff, but I think it is best to part ways at this point. We were so close this season- beaten out by Exeter on the last day, and now falling to Bath in Extra-Time. They say failing builds strength and I have to hope that is true for next season.