From the Fringe- Holyhead Hotspur

[Faramir]

12.12.13

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Udinese (1) Euro Cup Group G

It was an excellent fightback win for us as we used a late second half brace from Steve Rogers to defeat Udinese 2-1 at The New Oval. They gained the lead at 23 minutes in the first half when Giacomo Sabatini snapped home a rebound after we failed to clear away the loose ball left from a free kick that Chris May parried away. It was a good first half for us, but we couldn't finish and Nikolay Mihaylov was brilliant. Mihaylov's diving stop on Matt Phillips was the highlight save of the match after Phillips let loose with a booming shot from just beyond the edge of the area. We kept battling in the second half, but things were beginning to look a bit grim until Rogers deflected a cross from MOM Bill Walton past Mihaylov at 80 minutes. The same pair combined on the match winner in second half injury time as Rogers deflected another Walton cross for the dramatic match winner. We finished 2nd in the Group to Valencia (they edged us by a point) and despite the loss- Udinese qualified in 3rd.

***

13.12.13

We drew Turkish side Fenerbahce in the Euro Cup First Knockout Round. It should be an interesting matchup for our young side. The winner of our matchup will face either Manchester United or Belgian side Standard in the 2nd Knockout Round.

[Faramir]

15.12.13

I turned down a chance to take over the Russian National side today. I am content with managing Norway for the moment and if anything, would like to take over a side in the Isles or possibly a bigger, closer European side.

***

15.12.13

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Manchester City (1)

I was pleased to sign a lot of promising signs from our 3-1 win over Manchester City at The New Oval. MOM Michael Bradshaw dominated the match- even after Michael Holmes left with an injury in the first half. We should have scored a lot more than the three goals we managed in the match and the visitors were under pressure through much of the first half. Bradshaw finally gave us the lead at 40 minutes when he flicked a header past Cristian Zarate off a short cross from Martin Hall. Manchester City struck back for the equalizer just as the first half moved into injury time. Darren Barnes made a horrible choice in trying to dribble out of trouble and lost the ball to Luke Goodwin who crossed for Daniel Hayes to deflect past Chris May. We still went to the half leading as Aythami then pushed down Luke Gordon in the area and Milan Toman converted the penalty kick to move us ahead 2-1. We never let up in the second half and really clinched the match when Gary Griffin flicked on a header for Bradshaw and Bradshaw fired a shot past Zarate from 20 yards out for his brace. We never letup in the midfield and closed out a comforting 3-1 win.

[Faramir]

NORWAY

21.12.13

The World Cup Groups were drawn today and we were placed in a group with France, Uruguay and South Korea- not exactly the easiest draw, but not the Group of death either.

***

21.12.13

Bolton (2) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

We were in trouble right away in our match at Reebock Stadium as Milan Toman was redcarded for a cynical foul in the 4th minute. Despite that, we really outplayed Bolton for much of the match with only 10 men. Our problem was that we couldn't score on Stephen Williams when we were creating good chances. Bolton took the lead in first half injury time when Michael Bradshaw tried to do too much with a chance and gave away a counter-attack that saw Shaun Chambers find the open space in our backline to score past Fabio. Bolton added a second goal when Lucas boomed a 25 yard shot inside the right post past Fabio midway through the second half. Despite the loss, I was pleased with how hard we worked with only 10 men and we could have had a much better result if we had finished well.

[Faramir]

26.12.13

Holyhead Hotspur (3) West Ham (0)

We shook off the loss to Bolton very nicely as we played an inspired match in defeating West Ham 3-0 at The New Oval. The key to our win was the sensational MOM debut of young forward Dean Piper. The early portions of the first half were closely played and we squandered a few good chances before finally taking the lead. Matt Phillips was quickest to a loose ball and sent a pass forward for Piper. Piper split the Hammers defense on a dead run and snapped a shot past Vincent Degre for a goal in his debut as he gave us the halftime lead. We settled down and played a more controlling second half as we throttled the midfield with our coverage. I felt much more comfortable after Piper made it a debut brace when he converted the penalty kick after Paul Wynne, on for Simon Ormerod, was pushed in the area. Wynne then scored on a dazzling chip as he zoomed away from midfield after picking up a loose ball to cap the scoring. Chris May had a relatively easy clean sheet in the match.

***

26.12.13

At midseason for us, we currently are in 10th in EPL play. Both the players and I are a bit disappointed and frustrated with our placement as we are a better club than we have shown so far this season. I pondered whether to make any drastic changes and really have decided to stay the course with the current club. I may add a player or two if I see a 'difference maker' available, but for the most part I believe we just need to keep allowing the youngsters to develop. We do have several on the transfer list as they are unhappy about not being part of the Senior side- Simon Hudson being the one with the most value- but that is more a clean-up effort than any great change in the club structure or approach.

***

28.12.13

It was the last straw. I have been a staunch defender of Hector Caceres in his time at Holyhead, but Caceres started a fight at a local pub when he let his temper overrule his judgement. Hector has meant a lot to our success, but the outcry and the feelings of our players dictate it is time for him to find a new home.

[Faramir]

29.12.13

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Chelsea (2)

Though rare, there are times when a player gains my direct ire. Today was that way as Paul Reeves cost us a good result against Chelsea. Despite playing better than the storied visitors, we fell to them 2-1 because of two awful plays by Reeves. We had gained the lead at 33 minutes when Michael Bradshaw was tripped in the area by Guillaume Blechner. Kim Winther converted the penalty kick past Robert Clarke, our ex-mate received a rare start against us, to give us the lead. Chelsea evened the match late in the first half when Reeves coughed the ball up in our area and Michal Kubala deflected a cross from Richard Harris past Chris May. Reeves made another huge mistake when he failed to cover Yakubu and he finished well past May on the rebound after May stopped Kubala on the initial chance. We tried to fight back, but Petr Cech had replaced Clarke at halftime and we could not find a way to score on the veteran keeper to fall in a close match.

***

1.1.14

Opening of Transfer Window Sees Departures

Holyhead Hotspur completed the transfer sales of Richard Booth and Lasse Qvist as the new transfer window opened. Booth went to Hull for 2.9 Million and Qvist went to Olympiakos for 4.9 Million. There are rumors that Hector Caceres will be next to depart and that Holyhead is just waiting for Caceres to pick among potential suitors.

[Faramir]

1.1.14

Ipswich (0) Holyhead Hotspur (4)

A revival for our offense in the second half sent us to a well deserved 4-0 win over Ipswich at Portman Road. The first half was evenly played and Fabio was the reason we weren't trailing as he made two sensational saves in the early moments as the home side pressed us hard. Ryan Blake made a couple excellent saves as well as we went to halftime locked in a scoreless match. We quickly put a stamp on the match to begin the second half as a pretty sequence saw Dave Fleming cross for Bill Walton. Walton flicked his header back across the goal and Dean Piper slammed his shot into the open left side of the goal. The determination of Ipswich faded quickly as we moved ahead 2-0 when Simon Ormerod finished well inside the open right post for his 5th goal of the season on a cross from Fleming. Ormerod then skinned Joseph Yobo and rounded Blake for his brace. Ormerod capped one of his best matches as he completed his hat-trick by deflecting a cross from Bill Walton past Blake for our final goal in a 4-0 win.

[Faramir]

4.1.14

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Leicester (2) FA Cup 3rd Round

Wasted opportunities was the difference as we fell to Championship club Leicester 2-1 at The New Oval in our FA Cup 3rd Round match. We created good chances throughout the match against Craig Gordon, but we were only able to score in the 17th minute as Gary Griffin snapped home a shot on a cross from Paul Wynne. Leicester evened the match when Kristoffer Kittel drilled a 25 yard free kick past Kevin Murray at 25 minutes. We hammered away with our makeshift lineup performing well, but were unable to find the goal behind Gordon. Leicester stole the match when David Hall outleapt Tom Holden to deflect a short cross from Teddy Zvunka past Murray for an 87th minute match winner that brooms us from the FA Cup.

[Faramir]

11.1.14

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Newcastle (0)

We failed to show much offensively as the veteran players of Newcastle blanketed us in working to a scoreless draw at The New Oval. Our forwards could not escape the marking of Newcastle and we wasted some decent attacks with poor passing once we reached their area. Stephen Anderson and Chris May both played well in goal in keeping the match scoreless through the final whistle. Newcastle defender Marco Baroni received MOM honors in the match.

***

12.1.14

Simon Hudson finally is off to a new home after Portsmouth paid us 3 Million to purchase him.

[Faramir]

18.1.14

Charlton (2) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

This was not our best match. Still, we fought back twice and played hard, if not very effectively, in a 2-2 draw with Charlton at The Valley. Charlton's faithful were boistrous after they got off on a flyer. Darren Bent outleapt Darren Barnes and deflected a cross past Fabio in the opening minute of play. We answered with a sensational goal. Dave Fleming sent a beautifully timed through ball to Dean Piper and Piper put away a shot past Daniel Nieto. Charlton went back in front early in the second half when Claudio Pizarro finished well after Paul Reeves failed miserably in trying to first mark and then tackle the veteran forward. A free kick was the answer for us as Stephen Morgan smashed a curving 30 yard blast past a diving Nieto to even the match at 65 minutes. Neither club could come up with the match winner and were forced to settle for a physical draw. Fabio earned MOM honors in the match.

[Faramir]

29.1.14

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Nottingham Forest (3)

A horrible performance by our backline doomed us as we lost 3-2 to Nottingham Forest in a match that we clearly should have won. We got off to a great start when Michael Holmes took the ball from keeper James Cousins and slotted ahead for Steve Rogers to score at 6 minutes. We handed that goal back immediately when Liam Hamilton sent a pass directly to Daniel Cook and Cook crossed for Darren Newman to score past Chris May. We went ahead again when Andy Thomas boomed in a 25 yard free kick, but they again answered immediately when Hamilton didn't play his position and his roaming allowed Ciprian Andrei Marica an easy equalizer as he was parked unmarked on the side of the goal. The match stayed locked at 2-2 until the last moments. Chris Whitehead got skinned in front of our goal and Darren Smith snapped the match winner past May at 89 minutes leaving a stunned club and stunned New Oval fans in the wake of a frustrating loss.

[Faramir]

1.2.14

Arsenal (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

We came very close to ending Arsenal's 16 match unbeaten streak as we outplayed them, but were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium. We had the better chances in the first half and new acquisition Johan Smit acquitted himself well in keeping us off the scoreboard. Smit came out to smother a ball off Michael Bradshaw's foot and then made a diving parry on a hard low shot from Kim Winther. He also tipped a Bill Walton chance over the crossbar. We limited Arsenal's chances and Fabio was very steady in our goal as we went to halftime scoreless. We finally found the goal when Dean Piper showed good vision as he flicked a header forward and unmarked Bradshaw put his shot away past Smit at 54 minutes for his 10th goal of the season. The match was quickly even as Stefano Bartolucci scored a wonder goal when he volleyed a shot past Fabio from 25 yards after a poor clearance by Milan Toman off a corner. Neither side could come up with the match winner and the 1-1 draw was a fair result for both sides. Paul Reeves earned MOM honors for his outstanding play on our backline- especially in marking out Thierry Henry after he subbed on in the second half.

[Faramir]

NORWAY

5.2.14

Belgium (1) Norway (1) Friendly

Though not a picture perfect match on our side of the ball, several players demonstrated that they can step up in our 1-1 friendly in Brussels. Belgium got off on a flyer when Patrick De Schryver snuck behind John Arne Riise and deflected a long cross from Nicolas Lombaerts past Jan Knell Larsen for a goal in the 2nd minute. Larsen performed brilliantly the rest of the way in his 2nd Cap as he kept Belgium from adding to the scoreline with some terrific saves. After Daniel Kvam left at 10 minutes with an injured leg, MOM Bjarne K. Ingebretsen sparked our offense. Ingebretsen triggered the counter-attack that saw Silvio Proto save Espen Eidsvag's initial shot, only to see Daniel Johnsen pounce on the rebound and slot it home for the equalizer at 35 minutes. Both clubs had good chances after that, but the work of the keepers and their backlines ruined many good opportunities and we settled for a 1-1 draw.

[Faramir]

8.2.14

Holyhead Hotspur (5) Liverpool (1)

The TV audience got to see a great first half of play from both sides and then watched as we took apart Liverpool in the second half for a terrific 5-1 win at The New Oval. In reality, the result could have been much worse for the visitors as we lost two goals to offside calls and saw Jose Manuel Reina save a first half penalty as they kept the match close. We struck for the lead early on when Michael Bradshaw deflected a cross from Luke Gordon past Reina in the 7th minute. Minutes after losing one goal on offside and seeing Reina save the penalty, we finally added to the lead when Bradshaw deflected a cross from Michael Holmes past Reina for his brace at 34 minutes. Fabio had a dazzling first half for us, the best he has played since joining Holyhead. Fabio's fine work in the first half kept 'Pool off the scoreline. Bradshaw went out due to injury in the opening moments of the second half and the momentum seemed to be shifting to 'Pool when Antonio Cassano fired a shot that was slightly deflected by Paul Reeves past Fabio. We gathered ourselves and pushed into more comfortable waters when Steve Rogers scored his 10th goal of the season when he deflected a Paolo Galli corner past Reina. The match continued to be rough and Rogers also left with an injury. Paul Wynne came on and provided more instant excitement when he danced past Reina to whip in a loose ball at 76 minutes. Wynne then made a superb cross that Gordon deflected inside the left post to cap the scoring in our impressive 5-1 win. Rogers' suffered a badly sprained ankle that will likely keep him out a couple months, while the news on Bradshaw was better as his gashed head was stitched up and he should only miss a couple weeks. The match also saw the debut of highly touted 17 year old midfielder Danny Barker for us. Barker played well in impressing scouts from most of the Major clubs.

[Faramir]

13.2.14

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Fenerbahce (1) Euro Cup 1st Knockout Round Leg 1

The chances were there, but we failed to capitalize on them as we lost to Fenerbahce 1-0 in our 1st Leg Euro Cup Knockout Round match. The Turkish side took advantage of a mistake on our part as Matthew Preston lost the ball just beyond the edge of the area. A quick pass from Sercan Gezer allowed Ozcan Ozgurcan to snap a shot past Chris May at 17 minutes for what would be the only goal of the match. We worked hard, but not effectively, as the Fenerbahce backline did an excellent job of blanketing the Hill forwards and midfielders in keeping the dangerous chances to a minimum in the first half. In the second half, we did a better job of moving the ball in the area, but Huseyin Kurt was dazzling in goal as he made three key saves as we poured pressure on late in the match. We have left ourselves a difficult, but not impossible, road to make it past the Turkish side in the 2nd Leg.

[Faramir]

20.2.14

Fenerbahce (1) Holyhead Hotspur (3) Extra-Time Euro Cup Knockout Round Leg 2 (Holyhead advances on 3-2 aggregate)

In a match with more twists and turns than a complex maze, we battled through and earned a 3-1 Extratime win to move on in the Euro Cup. It was a match that featured mostly frustration for us and it looked like we were on our way out of the Euro Cup. We knew we needed a goal to start and we poured on the pressure. Despite some superb chances, we had nothing to show for them as Huseyin Kurt came up with brilliant saves against Dean Piper, Michael Holmes and Luke Gordon to keep us off the scoreboard at halftime. We kept up our efforts in the second half and still could not solve Kurt. Simon Ormerod, on for Piper, rapped a shot off the crossbar and Kurt made good saves on both he and Holmes again. As the match moved past the 80th minute, it was a bit gloomy on our side. We lost Fabio to injury at 79 minutes and had to bring on Kevin Murray in goal. Just as it appeared nothing we could do would work on changing the fortunes, we received help from Fenerbahce. A somewhat innocent long cross into the area turned to disaster for the home side as Cetin Servet mistimed his header and deflected the ball past a stunned Kurt for the dramatic equalizer. It appeared we had suffered a death blow when Murray was also injured just as the match moved into second half injury time. We were reduced to 10 men and I called on Ormerod to fill in as keeper. Despite only 10 men, we almost stole the match in the last moments of injury time, but Kurt made a huge save on Matt Phillips. Things still looked grim as the match moved to Extratime, but I just told the boys we would have to work harder and keep the shots at Simon to the minimum. They took those directions to heart and really outworked the home side. We stunned the huge home crowd when MOM Matthew Preston beat Kurt cleanly from just inside the edge of the area in the opening moments of Extratime. We tried to retreat and save our energy by packing in the defense, but after Rodrigo showed good timing in deflecting a cross from Ahmet Alper past Ormerod to even the aggregate at 2-2, though we now held the away goal advantage. Deciding that playing the cautious game wasn't helping, we again moved to be aggressive. It was Fenerbahce's time to deal with serious injury problems as Kurt was forced to leave with an injury in the first moments of the second half of Extratime. Now both clubs were down to 10 men and using players from the field to fill in at keeper. We proved better able to take advantage of the situation as Luke Gordon drilled a shot that skipped past Cora Tayfun to give us the 3-1 lead and we managed to close out the win from there. Ormerod made a couple decent saves and deserves a lot of credit for how steady he played in his fill-in role. We will now face Manchester United in the 2nd Knockout Round.

[Faramir]

26.2.14

Manchester United (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Though it took a dramatic last-moment equalizer, we earned our split of the points at Old Trafford as we battled Manchester United to a 1-1 draw in a match that we could have won. Kasper Schmeichel was brilliant in the first half and his good saves on Michael Bradshaw, Michael Holmes and Dave Fleming to keep us off the board despite our pressure and opportunities. MOM Chris May was steady on our side to ensure it remained scoreless at halftime. We had two golden chances to take the lead early in the second half and on the second one it was Jason Hill who saved ManU as he dove and headed away Danny Barker's shot at a wide open goal. Moments after his introduction, Roger Waalder made a key play as May managed to palm away his header. Andy Thomas tried to clear the rebound, but mishit the kick and John Obi Mikel drilled a shot past May. It appeared we were on our way to defeat when Bill Walton sent a pretty cross into the near post and Michael Bradshaw flicked his header past Schmeichel for the dramatic equalizer in second half injury time.

[Faramir]

1.3.14

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Gillingham (0)

A sensational start turned into a good first half and we parlayed that into a 3-0 win over Gillingham at The New Oval. A flying start to the match was a great way for us to begin and MOM Simon Ormerod scored in the 2nd minute when he whisked a shot past Geoffrey Jourdren after a good pass from Luke Gordon found him unmarked at the far right post. We moved ahead 2-0 when Jourdren mishandled a long shot from Liam Hamilton and Dean Piper was right there to snap home the rebound for his 5th goal of the season in the 8th minute. Ormerod capped our strong first half when he made it a brace by deflecting a cross from Matthew Preston past Jourdren in first half injury time. We were content to counter-attack in the second half as we controlled the midfield in helping Chris May to a clean sheet.

[Faramir]

6.3.14

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Manchester United (0) Euro Cup 2nd Knockout Round Leg 1

We scored in the first minute and outplayed ManU through the rest of the match as we took a 1-0 win in our first leg at The New Oval in our Euro Cup 2nd Knockout Round match. The sensational strike by Michael Bradshaw in the first minute was thanks to a good tackle by Paolo Galli, a quick pass by Paul Reeves and a nice flick on by Michael Holmes that put Bradshaw in free. Bradshaw easily took the ball past Kasper Schmeichel for the goal. Though we didn't build on the lead, we played a strong match in the midfield with Danny Barker showing moxie beyond his years in teaming with Andy Thomas to blunt the powerful Manchester United group. ManU suffered a blow when Schmeichel went out with an injury at 41 minutes, but James Porter deputized nicely. Chris May earned MOM honors when he made the save of the match as he stopped Wayne Rooney in a one-on-one situation in the waning moments to preserve the win.

[Faramir]

9.3.14

Aston Villa (2) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

A dramatic last moment match winner capped a terrific fightback as we took a 3-2 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park. We fell behind 2-0 in the first half. Villa scored early when Mark Duncan overpowered Chris Whitehead and slipped a shot past Fabio in the 9th minute. It was 2-0 at 33 minutes when Luke Moore laid the ball off for unmarked Richard Kay and Kay fired past Fabio from just inside the edge of the area. We began our fightback late in the first half as Matthew Preston scored his 5th goal of the season past Marcelo Grohe off a pass from MOM Simon Ormerod. Dean Piper scored early in the second half when Luke Gordon sent him in free to even the match at 2-2. Ormerod then capped our terrific fightback at 89 minutes as Grohe misjudged the flight of a long pass from Liam Hamilton and Ormerod had an easy time flicking his header into the open goal for his 10th goal of the season.

[mark wilson27]

How rude beating my beloved Manchester United lol....Enjoying the story as always Faramir, just dont make a habit of beating United

[Faramir]

sorry Mark

***

13.3.14

Manchester United (0) Holyhead Hotspur (5) Euro Cup Knockout 2nd Round Leg 2 (Holyhead advances on 6-0 aggregate)

There have been many struggling moments this season, but today we really stood tall as we silenced a sold-out crowd at Old Trafford with a stunning 5-0 destruction of Manchester United as we broomed them from the Euro Cup. Our club showed me that we are no longer just a 'young' club today. Now we must be considered 'up and coming' as the youngsters throttled the storied players facing them in ManU red. We struck quickly when Dave Fleming zipped a shot that James Porter just plain missed making the save on at 5 minutes. We built on that as Fleming crossed and Michael Holmes deflected past Porter inside the left post at 17 minutes. The 'St.Michael' tandem brought ruin on the ManU backline as Holmes crossed and Michael Bradshaw deflected past Porter at 25 minutes for his 15th goal of the season. Holmes then setup Bradshaw again beautifully with a delicate cross that Bradshaw pushed into the open goal for his brace at 39 minutes. We added one more in the second half as Bradshaw's good pass allowed Holmes to fire past Porter for his brace at 63 minutes. Fabio and Chris May each played a half in a good clean sheet and our backline deserves a huge amount of credit as Marco Tiberti and Wayne Rooney were never a factor in the match. We will now face Everton in the Quarterfinals.

[Faramir]

16.3.14

Leeds (0) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

Terrific work by Dean Piper keyed our 2-0 win over Leeds at Elland Road as we returned to EPL play. The play flowed up and down the pitch in the early going of the match and Chris May was called on for a trio of excellent saves to keep the home side off the scoreboard. We struck for the lead when Simon Ormerod was pushed in the air by Kerrea Gilbert as MOM Brian Carter lofted a pass into the center of the Leeds area. Piper converted the penalty kick and we had the lead. We kept the lead through halftime thanks to excellent work in midfield and from our mobile backline. Leeds pressed us hard to open the second half and it was May that kept us in the lead with his keeping. We finally gained a second goal when Liam Hamilton made a sensational pass to put Piper in free. Piper's shot was saved by Phil Howell, but Ormerod was right there to drive the rebound into the goal. We helped May finish out his clean sheet with a sharp demonstration of excellent team play.

[coldkohmew]

Another english team in the quarters...

Will you still meet more of them???

[Faramir]

coldkohmew- Can't remember if there were more (didn't jot it down who else was in at the time)

***

22.3.14

Holyhead Hotspur (4) Coventry (1)

Our good run continued as we put together a superb second half to see off Coventry 4-1 at The New Oval. We got off on a flying start to the match when Simon Ormerod deflected a Luke Gordon cross past Kevin Garner at 7 minutes. There were chances for more, but Garner made good saves on Ormerod and Andy Thomas. Liam Hamilton was forced to leave in the 8th minute with an injury and that brought on the return of Hector Caceres. With backline injuries (Paul Reeves and now Hamilton) piling up, I had been forced to bring Caceres back from the Reserves. We also saw Chris May leave at 22 minutes with injury, which brought Fabio on. Fabio had no chance to save the equalizer from Emra Tehiri after Tehiri slipped Jack Hobbs' marking and drilled a shot off the inside of the left post. Though it was even at halftime, I was convinced that we would get a good result if we kept the pressure on and those words were prophetic as we stormed back into the lead when Caceres drilled a 25 yard free kick past Garner at 49 minutes. Ormerod turned that into a quickfire double as he skinned Gavin McGregor near midfield and then raced down the pitch before slipping a shot past Garner for a wonder goal and his brace. We clinched the match when Ormerod completed his hat-trick as he deflected a quick, sharp cross from Matthew Preston past Garner at 67 minutes. We were content to close out the win from that point on as I tried to avoid any more injuries.

[Faramir]

27.3.14

Everton (2) Holyhead Hotspur (1) Euro Cup Quarterfinals Leg 1

Though we got off to a flying start, we played a poor match overall- especially our backline- as we allowed Everton to fight back for a 2-1 win at Goodison Park in our 1st leg match. In reality, the loss could have been much worse, had not Fabio played so well in the second half, as our execution and effort were both lacking. We got off on another flyer as Michael Holmes was right there to tuck away the rebound after Gary Burgess parried a Kim Winther header in the opening minute of the match. That was the high point for us, as we had trouble with poor passing the rest of the match. Everton fought back to even the match when MOM Julio Baptista deflected an Andrew Davis cross past Fabio at 27 minutes when Darren Barnes failed to adequately mark him. We lost Brian Carter to injury in the first half and that brought on Hector Caceres, but he had no magic for us today and his second half play was poor. We did a lousy job of breaking out of our end of the pitch- thanks to our inconsistent passing. In the opening moments of the second half, Barnes got caught wandering out of position and before he could get back it Baptista powering his brace past Fabio on a cross from Ben Moore. We didn't have many good chances, but our best was stopped when Burgess saved Gary Griffin's chance when Griffin was sent in free on a good through ball. Fabio kept us in contention, but we need to play much better in the second leg if we hope to advance to the Semifinals.

[Faramir]

30.3.14

Middlesbrough (2) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

A disputed offside that allowed Middlesbrough to score their second goal, became a crucial no-call in the match as we battled back in the second half and wound up a goal short. We didn't help ourselves when Jack Hobbs wasn't close enough to MOM Thierry Fernandez and Fernandez had enough time to whip a shot past Chris May in the 4th minute. There were some chances for us in the first half, but our poor shooting didn't challenge Daniel Mortimer to make the saves. Middlesbrough moved ahead 2-0 when Schumacher took a long cross and fired past May. The only problem was that he was well offside on the play. The commentators focused on the fact that Hector Caceres missed his interception, but that should not have mattered since Schumacher was behind both Caceres and Hobbs when the pass was sent on its way. We finally managed to score at 79 minutes of the match when Dean Piper finished well past Mortimer, but Piper was injured on a rough tackle a few moments later and that seemed to snuff out the little life we had shown in the second half in losing to 4th place Middlesbrough.

EPL Table- 32 matches played (except where noted), 6 remaining

1- Chelsea             69 pts (+34)
2- Arsenal             68 pts (+38)
3- Liverpool           58 pts (+18)
4- Middlesbrough       57 pts (+14)
5- Everton             54 pts (+14)
6- Manchester United   53 pts (+17)
7- Tottenham           52 pts (+5)
8- Holyhead Hotspur    50 pts (+24)
9- Bolton              46 pts (+3)

[Faramir]

31.3.14

The Board finally got around to making me a new contract offer. I was happy with the amount- 24K a week for me- but I wasn't happy with their proposed weekly wage budget of 500K. It is ridiculous for us to have a current weekly wage budget of 800K, 28 Million in the black on the books, me not spending their large transfer budget and then come back to me with a proposal to reduce the weekly wage budget below what we are currently spending? (which is 550K). The only wiggle room they allowed me was to move the weekly wage budget to 575K a week and at least that is over the current amount. I told them I don't need this large transfer fund they established, but they weren't listening.

***

1.4.14

I was pleased to hear that Simon Ormerod had been selected as EPL Player of the Month for March. Simon had a great month and hopefully will finish out the season as strongly as his work has been of late. His pairing with Dean Piper has really yielded nice dividends for the club.

***

3.4.14

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Everton (0) Euro Cup Quarterfinals Leg 2 (Holyhead advances on away goals)

An amazing win for us, because it certainly looked like Everton was going to broom us from the Euro Cup through much of the match. The difference was MOM Fabio. Fabio showed all the qualities I thought he had when we first managed to bring him to Holyhead. He was abolutely a rock for us today and his brilliance is the reason we will be going to the Semifinals. Everton outshot us 14-4 for the match and really controlled the first half of play. Fabio really stymied Julio Baptista today as he was in the right place time and again to stop the dangerous forward. We stole the match after a key save by Fabio. The loose ball got bounced out to the right side and Bill Walton made a sensational lead pass to a streaking Michael Bradshaw. Bradshaw burst past the Everton backline and then rifled a shot past Gary Burgess at 83 minutes. Fabio was dazzling with two more key saves in the last moments of the match to preserve the win and our advancement to face Sevilla in the Semifinal. Sevilla edged rival Betis on away goals, while the other Semifinal will see Dortmund and Valencia facing off.

[Faramir]

6.4.14

Holyhead Hotspur (5) Sheffield United (2)

This match had all the makings of a disaster for us. After a terrific first half, we let down in the second half and let Sheffield United even the match- after they had been reduced to 10 men. We righted ourselves, finished well and put away the 5-2 win at The New Oval with a strong closing kick. We got off to a great start in the match as Mark Hodges, making his Senior debut at leftwing due to injury to Dave Fleming, lofted a pass into the middle. MOM Simon Ormerod flicked the header onwards for a racing Gary Griffin and Griffin beat Ciro D'Ambrosio cleanly at 13 minutes. We moved ahead 2-0 at 34 minutes when Paul Morris scored on pure inspiration. Paul Jagielka tried to clear a ball with a pass up the middle and Morris stepped into the ball with a delicately lofted shot that caught D'Ambrosio flat-footed as it sailed past him into the goal. We came close to adding to the lead several times, but D'Ambrosio played well in keeping our lead at 2-0 going to halftime. Our comfort level was too high in the second half and Sheffield United struck back as Hosain Kaebi crossed and Daniele Corvia overpowered Hector Caceres to deflect the cross past Chris May for his 10th goal of the season. After Jagielka received his 2nd yellow card at 70 minutes to end his match, Corvia blasted a 30 yard rocket past May to even the match at 2-2. Our club passed the determination test today as we got right back to the business of winning the match and moved back in front when Ormerod deflected Matthew Preston's well placed cross past D'Ambrosio at 81 minutes for his 15th goal of the season. We kept the pressure up after taking the lead and the visitor's were caught trying to press forward as Ormerod returned the favor with a nice cross that Preston put away past D'Ambrosio at 89 minutes. Stephen Morgan then capped the scoring in the match with a patented 25 yard swerving blast off a nicely laid off pass from Paul Morris to finish the 5-2 win.

We also received word that our Under-18s won their 5th consecutive Group 4 Championship with their win today.

[Faramir]

12.4.14

Tottenham (2) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

I have to give Tottenham credit, they took advantage of the opportunities the Referee handed them in the second half as they fought back to hand us a disappointing 2-1 loss at White Hart Lane. Overall, we outplayed the home side- especially in the first half- and we took the halftime lead when Simon Ormerod rapped home a short cross from Dave Fleming at 32 minutes. The lead could have been more, but we wasted some excellent chances with wild shooting. Tottenham rallied and the Referee handed them their opportunity to equalize in the opening moments of the second half when he yellow carded Liam Hamilton for a hold in the area. Landon Donovan converted the penalty kick past Chris May to even the match. The match remained locked at 1-1 until 87 minutes and the Referee awarded a dangerous free kick on a collision caused more by Tottenham's Donovan than by Jack Hobbs. Scott Armstrong made us pay for the chance as he blasted a 20 yard free kick past May for the match winner. With us trailing Tottenham by only a point in the standings, this was a stinging loss.

[Faramir]

17.4.14

Sevilla (0) Holyhead Hotspur (0) Euro Cup Semifinals Leg 1

It was a good battle and the scoreless draw that resulted was a fair result. Though Sevilla may have played a bit better than us, we had the better scoring chances in the match and Orkan Ovci made the saves the home side needed to keep us off the scoreboard. Fabio did well in our goal as he made some key saves as well. MOM honors went to Darren Barnes as he anchored our backline. The best save of the match came late in the second half when we received a dangerous free kick. Ovci made a diving parry of Andy Thomas' rocket shot to prevent a goal. In the other Semifinal, Dortmund defeated Valencia 3-0 in Dortmund. Yellow card suspensions will cost us Milan Toman and Bill Walton for the 2nd Leg.

[Faramir]

21.4.14

Manchester City (1) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

We had to work very hard for our close 2-1 win over Manchester City at City Stadium. Both sides traded attacks in the early portions of the first half. We got a huge boost when a poor clearance by John Bartlett was picked up by Bill Walton. Walton laid a pass off and Stephen Morgan blistered a trademark scorching 25 yard shot inside the right post to give us the lead. We managed to stave off the Manchester City rally attempts late in the first half, but were back even in the opening moments of the second half when Luke Goodwin hit a 30 yard shot that Chris May should have had, but got past him for the equalizer. The boys worked hard, but it appeared that we would end up in a 1-1 draw. That changed when Paul Wynne, on for a tiring Walton, sent a precision cross that Gary Griffin slightly deflected- just enough to send the ball past the reaching Mathieu Dreyer for an 85th minute match winner. May played better after the goal and made the save of the match when he stopped Daniel Hayes at point blank range in injury time to preserve the win. Martin Hall earned MOM honors in the match.

[Faramir]

24.4.14

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Sevilla (0) Euro Cup Semifinal Leg 2 (Holyhead advances on 2-0 aggregate)

A truly great effort saw us celebrate with our New Oval faithful as we defeated heavily favored Sevilla to make it to the Euro Cup Final. We refused to be in awe of the Spanish side and worked hard from the outset- both offensively and defensively. Fabio proved his worth again as he made sensational stops on Fred and Javier Orozco in the early going as we gave them too much space in our area. Orkan Ovci proved difficult for Michael Bradshaw again as we created chances that sent him in free twice and both times Ovci made the save to deny him. We struck for the lead when Matthew Preston crossed and Dave Fleming showed great timing in outleaping Dani Alves and deflecting past Ovci at 34 minutes. The match was closely played the rest of the first half and we took the lead to the dressing room. The atmosphere during the second half was taut as Sevilla sought the away goal that would give them control of the match and we didn't back off on trying to get a second goal. We finally found the second goal when Dave Fleming got free for a cross from Bradshaw. Replacement keeper Manuel Serrano made the initial save on Fleming, but he chipped the rebound past Serrano and it tucked inside the far right post for his brace. We battened down the hatches and helped Fabio close out the clean sheet as we move to the Final to face Dortmund, who stomped on Valencia in their 6-1 aggregate. Fleming received a yellow card and will miss the Finals, despite his effort in getting us there.

[Faramir]

27.4.14

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Bolton (1)

It took a last moment equalizer to salvage a 1-1 draw against Bolton at The New Oval. We dominated the match, outshooting them 17-6, but made a costly first half defensive mistake and Chris May couldn't make the save as Bolton went into the lead at 42 minutes when Shaun Chambers slipped a pass through and MOM Tony Barron slid past an attempted tackle by Jack Hobbs before hammering a shot past May. We had tested Stephen Williams hard in the first half and he kept passing our challenges- making good saves to keep us off the scoreboard. It certainly appeared we were on our way to a frustrating loss when Steve Rogers found just enough space and got just enough on his shot to send it off of Williams' fingertips and into the goal deep into second half injury time for a dramatic equalizer. With two matches remaining, we are currently in 7th and this is likely as high as we can finish in EPL, though we still have to battle for the spot as Tottenham trails us by a point and Bolton by 2 points going into these final matches.

***

28.4.14

I could only look on with envy as Chelsea clinched their 5th straight EPL title.

[coldkohmew]

come on,you can win the euro cup!!!

[Faramir]

coldkohmew-

***

30.4.14

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Everton (1)

This was a repeat of the Bolton match for us. We outplayed Everton, but a costly first half defensive mistake left us behind and we were forced to battle back to earn a last moment goal to split the points in a 1-1 draw. MOM Gary Burgess played a stellar match in the Everton goal and was the reason they were able to take a point from the match as we generated a wealth of quality chances, but couldn't finish them. Everton took the lead in the 27th minute when a Paolo Galli giveaway started a counter-attack up the middle. Milan Toman could not close fast enough and David Burns beat Fabio cleanly for his 30th goal of the season. Our work ethic was good, but excellent tackling from the Everton backline put a damper on many of our second half chances. The equalizer came at 89 minutes when Kim Winther started a nice counter-attack. Winther passed to Gary Griffin, on for a tiring Dean Piper, and Griffin flicked his header back across the pitch. Michael Bradshaw was one step quicker to the ball than Ryan Wall and that was all the space he needed to slip a shot inside the right post past Burgess for the dramatic equalizer.

[Faramir]

4.5.14

West Ham (1) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

We concluded our EPL season the same way much of it has gone for us- with a disappointing effort as we lost 1-0 to West Ham at Upton Park. We outplayed West Ham, but unlike the Bolton and Everton matches, we could not come up with a late goal to overcome another costly defensive mistake. The lone goal of the match came at 20 minutes when both Hector Caceres and Jack Hobbs played Maciej Korzym. Korzym tapped the ball past Hobbs- who should not have been trying to make the tackle on Korzym- to unmarked Phil Moran. Moran dumped the ball into the open left side of the goal past Chris May. We had our chances to rally, but Vincent Degre came up with the saves the Hammers needed to keep us off the scoresheet. I have no idea why, but Michael Bradshaw has been reluctant to take shots when we have gotten him in free in the last few matches. For all our good passing to put him in free and then not even get a shot out of the effort is very disappointing. The loss dropped us into 8th as Manchester United moved into 7th and we edged Bolton on goal differential.

[Faramir]

7.5.14

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Dortmund (0) Euro Cup Final

The celebration after our stunning upset of Dortmund in Brussels was amazing.

Going into the match we were clearly the underdog, but we became a heavy underdog due to our injury situation. We went into the Finals missing starters Darren Barnes, Paul Reeves, Brian Carter, Milan Toman in the backline; winger Bill Walton and our 'St.Michael' tandem of fowards- Michael Holmes and Michael Bradshaw. Our starting backline for the Finals was Paolo Galli, Hector Caceres, Chris Whitehead and Liam Hamilton. This backline had not started together once before. Though nobody paid attention beyond the injuries, they should have. Simon Ormerod and Dean Piper had actually been our most effective forward combination this season, despite the lauding of our 'St.Michaels'. 19 year old Chris Whitehead and 20 year old Liam Hamilton had both been sought by every major EPL club and some other European clubs. Our midfield of Luke Gordon, Kim Winther, Paul Morris and Matthew Preston had played together quite a bit and matched up well with almost any midfield we played against. Fabio has developed into a huge asset as a 'Big Match' keeper.

We came out and stormed their end off the opening whistle and our pressure seemed to catch them offguard. The result was Dean Piper blistering a shot that Miguel Angel Fraga managed to get a hand on, only to see Simon Ormerod parked on the doorstep to knock the rebound into the open right side of the goal to give us the lead in the 3rd minute. I had told the boys we were not going to sit back in the match, even if we took the lead, and that we needed to pressure Dortmund in their zone. Fabio made good saves on Nuri Sahin and Dragan Filipovic to blunt the initial rally attempts of Dortmund. Piper continued to create problems in the Dortmund area and the Referee yellow carded Christoph Metzelder for tripping Piper in the area. Hector Caceres calmly converted the penalty kick past Fraga and we had a 2-0 lead at 31 minutes. True to my statement, we did not back off at all and slip into a defensive shell. It was a lot to pin our hopes on our midfield and backline at that juncture, but the choice paid off. Caceres and Whitehead did an excellent job in controlling our area in front of Fabio and that forced Dortmund to shoot from less comfortable locations. Fabio made dazzling saves on rockets from Carlos, Sebastian Kehl, Tomas Rosicky and Michael Kaiser as we continually thwarted Dortmund's rally efforts. The final whistle saw Dortmund fail to capture the Cup in their 4th Final, while we captured it in our 1st try. MOM honors went to our leftback Paolo Galli.

***

7.5.14

I was very pleased to hear that Luke Gordon had been selected as this season's EPL Young Player of the Year. Gordon has shown great development this season and blossomed into an impact leftwinger. Gordon was also selected as a starter on the EPL Players Team of the Year at the age of 19. Gordon joined Chris May as Holyhead Hotspur players selected as starters on the Players Team.

[Faramir]

1.6.14

World Cup Title Odds- Hosts Spain

Brazil       6-4
Italy        2-1
Argentina    2-1
France       2-1
England      3-1
Spain        3-1
Norway      18-1

***

4.6.14

World Cup Group A

England (1) Belgium (1)

Jordan (1) Paraguay (2)

***

5.6.14

World Cup Group B

Argentina (2) Togo (0)

Guatemala (1) Romania (3)

***

6.6.14

World Cup Group C

Cameroon (1) Spain (0) Press Calls for Spain Coaches Head!

Czech Republic (1) China (1)

World Cup Group D

Uruguay (1) South Korea (0)

[Faramir]

NORWAY

7.6.14

France (1) Norway (1) World Cup Group D

The chance was there for us to dump France, but we paid for a mistake with a late equalizer and ended up with a 1-1 draw to open the World Cup Group D effort. We got off on a flyer when Magnus Myklebust blew past the French backline and chipped over Sebastien Frey for a goal in the 2nd minute. It hurt us when Per Ciljan Skjelbred was forced to leave in the 3rd minute, because we aren't particularly deep at rightwing. France poured the pressure on after that but MOM Iven Austbo was dazzling in goal for us and our defense was a committed full-team approach that saw us pressure the ball as much as possible, which kept the dangerous French forwards from having space to make plays. France outshot us in the match 16-5, which was a fair indication of their control of play. Midway through the second half France appeared to have evened the match as Rudy Julliard put in a rebound after Austbo parried a shot from Jimmy Briand. Fortunately for us, Brian was offside on the play and the officials actually called it (I was concerned about that). Briand had his revenge on us though. A bad choice by Daniel Johnsen, on for a tiring Myklebust, setup France for a counter-attack and John Arne Riise could not close quickly enough on Briand as Briand drilled a shot that eluded Austbo from just beyond the edge of the area for a dramatic 83rd minute equalizer. It was a good effort for us, but it would have been a very sweet win if we could have pulled it off. The match cost us Austbo though, as his jaw was almost dislocated in a collison and he may miss the rest of the World Cup.

[Faramir]

7.6.14

World Cup Group E

Guinea (1) Brazil (1)

Germany (1) Mexico (1)

***

8.6.14

World Cup Group F

Denmark (1) Zambia (1)

World Cup Group H

Australia (0) Italy (2)

Wales (0) Chile (0)

***

9.6.14

World Cup Group F

USA (1) Turkey (1)

World Cup Group G

South Africa (0) Holland (2)

Sweden (1) Japan (0)

***

10.6.14

World Cup Group A

Paraguay (0) England (2)

Belgium (1) Jordan (0)

***

11.6.14

World Cup Group B

Romania (3) Argentina (2) Stunner!

Guatemala (1) Togo (1)

***

12.6.14

World Cup Group C

Spain (2) Czech Republic (0)

China (0) Cameroon (2)

[Faramir]

NORWAY

14.6.14

Norway (1) Uruguay (1) World Cup Group D

It took a dramatic second half injury time equalizer for us to gain a hard earned 1-1 draw with Uruguay. We weren't near as sharp in this match as our match with France and we didn't show the same kind of quickness either. We had a brilliant chance in the opening moments of the match, but Gusavo Munua made a diving parry of Kristoffer Haestad's hard shot. Uruguay took the lead, and control of the match, when MOM Sebastian Eguren scored a wonder goal with a 30 yard shot off the inside of the right post past Espen Johnsen at 29 minutes. We seemed to lose our determination and just didn't work hard enough. Johnsen kept the match from getting worse and we tried to boost the boys at halftime. It didn't really seem to work as we just struggled to get anything going. It looked like our last chance had disappeared when Munua made another great diving parry on a blast from Henning Rugland. Our determination came to the four as Morten Gambst Pedersen was a step quicker to a loose ball and poked it forward. Bjarne K. Ingebretsen just reached the loose ball first and desperately chipped it at the goal. Almost unbelievably the ball got over Muna and hooked just inside the far right post for Ingebretsen's 10th International goal as we had the equalizer in the 3rd minute of second half injury time.

[Faramir]

14.6.14

World Cup Group D

South Korea (0) France (0)

World Cup Group E

Brazil (2) Germany (1)

Mexico (2) Guinea (0)

***

15.6.14

Holyhead Hotspur moved up 32 places in the European Club Rankings and now is ranked 44th in Europe.

***

15.6.14

World Cup Group F

Turkey (3) Zambia (3)

USA (2) Denmark (0)

World Cup Group H

Chile (0) Italy (2)

Wales (2) Australia (1) (Paul Wynne breaks arm- will miss a couple months)

***

16.6.14

NORWAY

Today was a serious blow to the club as Daniel Kvam tore his hamstring and will miss a long time in recovery.

***

16.6.14

World Cup Group G

South Africa (0) Sweden (1)

Holland (1) Japan (0)

***

17.6.14

World Cup Group A

Jordan (0) England (1)

Paraguay (1) Belgium (0)

World Cup Group B

Guatemala (0) Argentina (2)

Romania (3) Togo (0)

[Faramir]

NORWAY

18.6.14

Norway (3) South Korea (0)

I admit I was a bit worried when we went to halftime scoreless with South Korea. We had played a good first half, but Daniel Johnsen was unable to convert on any of his four superb scoring chances and Kim Young-Kwang really made a couple other sensational saves as we had the pressure, but nothing to show for it. The introduction of Bjarne K. Ingebretsen and Henning Rugland for Johnsen and Magnus Myklebust seemed to really fire up our offense and Ingebretsen gave us the lead at 65 minutes when he chipped over Young-Kwang after being setup by a beautiful pass from Kristoffer Haestad. Rugland scored one of the strangest goals in this World Cup as he pressured Young-Kwang and benefitted when he deflected the keeper's kick (he was just out of the area) past him and into the goal for a 2-0 lead at 75 minutes. Iven Austbo made his return to play today and really seemed to help boost the club. Austbo earned an assist as his long goal kick up the middle sent Haestad in free to score at 83 minutes to cap our win. The win, coupled with France's 3-1 win over Uruguay boosted us to 1st place in the Group (our goal differential was one better than France, as they finished 2nd).

[Faramir]

18.6.14

World Cup Group D

France (3) Uruguay (1)

World Cup Group E

Cameroon (3) Czech Republic (1)

Spain (2) China (0)

***

19.6.14

Our reward for finishing atop the Group? We get to face Spain in Barcelona.

Not much of a prize facing the host country, but I am pleased that we made it out of our Group and consider anything beyond that a bonus for our hard work.

***

19.6.14

As much as I didn't need this issue coming up while in Spain with Norway, it still had to be handled. Michael Holmes and his agent both told me flatly that he wants a new challenge and wanted to be transfer listed. I accepted their demands and have him listed at 22 Million. If a club is willing to meet that demand, he can move. Otherwise, he stays- happy or unhappy.

***

19.6.14

World Cup Group E

Brazil (3) Mexico (0)

Guinea (0) Germany (3)

World Cup Group F

Denmark (1) Turkey (0) (Loan goal from Kim Winther, which breaks his International duck)

Zambia (0) USA (3)

***

20.6.14

Luke Gordon's selection as Fans Player of the Season for Holyhead surprised me a bit- given the popularity of the 'St.Michaels'. Still, Luke is an electric winger and possibly the best young player on a good young squad.

The best news was that plans are afoot to expand the The New Oval by another 5500 seats. We could really use an even larger stadium, but this is still a step in the right direction.

The Board has awarded me a 47.5 Million Transfer pool. I have no idea why. I much prefer to keep our young nucleus together, though there will be situations like Michael Holmes where that might not be possible. They want a safe mid-table position and I want more for our club. I am hoping maturity brings a higher level of play from our youngsters this season.

***

20.6.14

World Cup Group G

Japan (3) South Africa (0)

Sweden (1) Holland (1)

World Cup Group H

Australia (1) Chile (2)

Italy (3) Wales (0)

***

20.6.14

World Cup Second Round Matchups

Argentina vs England

Paraguay vs Romania

France vs Cameroon

Spain vs Norway

Denmark vs Brazil

Germany vs USA

Holland vs Chile

Sweden vs Italy

***

21.6.14

Argentina (0) England (1) Extratime (match winner in 109th minute)

Paraguay (1) Romania (3)

[Faramir]

NORWAY

22.6.14

Spain (3) Norway (1)

Cinderella's slipper didn't fit very well as we didn't play nearly well enough defensively in the first half and then failed to convert a penalty kick in the opening moments of the second half as we lost 3-1 to the host side in front of almost 100,000 fanatic Spaniards. We got caught on a counter-attack when Lars Martin Engedal failed to make a tackle on Jesus Navas and Navas crossed to Alfonso Roberto Delgado and Delgado deflected it past Iven Austbo for a 9th minute lead. Spain increased their lead when Austbo made a rash decision to challenge Delgado in the air on a cross from Fernando Torres and Delgado flicked it past him for his brace. Spain then made it a quickfire double when Torres found Navas breaking in unmarked and he snapped his shot past Austbo to give Spain a 3-0 halftime lead. In the opening moments of the second half we were awarded a penalty kick when Magnus Myklebust was obviously tripped in the area. John Arne Riise saw Iker Casillas save both the initial attempt and the rebound and then Daniel Johnsen missed over the goal on the 3rd try. We did score a consolation goal at 86 minutes when Bjarne K. Ingebretsen deflected a cross from Kevin Larsen past Casillas. It was a good run for us to both get into the World Cup and make this round, but we didn't come close to our best effort today and that is what it would have taken for us to defeat Spain.

[Faramir]

22.6.14

France (2) Cameroon (0)

***

23.6.14

Germany (2) USA (0)

Denmark (1) Brazil (1) Denmark wins on Penalties

***

24.6.14

Sweden (1) Italy (3)

Holland (3) Chile (1)

***

27.6.14

World Cup Quarterfinals

Spain (0) England (0) Spain wins on Penalties

Romania (0) France (1)

***

28.6.14

World Cup Quarterfinals

Germany (1) Holland (1) Germany wins on Penalties

Denmark (1) Italy (1) Denmark wins on Penalties (Again!)

***

1.7.14

Many departures to report as we complete several transfer sales made over the summer:

Josh Palmer to Grimsby on free transfer

Hector Caceres to Besiktas for 2.7 Million

Tony Owens to Plymouth for 2.5 Million

Mark Hodges to Chesterfield for 1.6 Million

Gary Vaughn to Crystal Palace for 1 Million

Mark Potter to Hartlepool for 1.8 Million

Andy Parry to MK Dons on free transfer

Ian Price to Oxford for 825K

Sam Jones to Sheffield United for 1.7 Million

Ian Sutton to Bristol Rovers on free transfer

Tom Holden to Walsall for 1.2 Million

We also made a nice addition to the squad as we were able to purchase 24 year old AMRL,FC Theo Walcott for 3.4 Million from Plymouth. Walcott could help us in several different ways and I won't be sure where he best fits in until he plays some friendlies for us.

***

1.7.14

World Cup Semifinal

Spain (3) Germany (3) Spain wins on Penalties (Again!)

***

2.7.14

World Cup Semifinal

France (1) Denmark (0) Extratime (winning goal in 103rd minute)

***

5.7.14

World Cup 3rd place

Germany (0) Denmark (1)

***

6.7.14

World Cup Final

Spain (2) Alfonso Roberto Delgado 32 Fernando Torres 78

France (1) Jeremy Menez 40

MOM- Fernando Torres, Spain

[Faramir]

11.7.14

Two more departures today as Matthew Miller was sold to Tranmere for 700K and David Rogers was sold to Boston United for 200K.

***

11.7.14

Our first friendly turned out well as we defeated Harchester 4-1 at The New Oval (which is currently undergoing renovation).

***

16.7.14

Another solid effort in our second friendly as we defeated Falkirk 3-0 at The New Oval.

***

19.7.14

We have six players serving on the England Under-19 side for Euro competition, so all of our friendlies have seen me working other youngsters into our lineup mix. That is why our 6-0 rout of Rangers at The New Oval in our last friendly was so stunning. Though it means nothing, it was a promising effort that highlighted several youngsters for further consideration on the Senior side- that I hadn't been thinking about much until this point.

***

26.7.14

It was even more surprising to see us wipe out Greek side Olympiakos by the same 6-0 score at The New Oval.

***

30.7.14

Five second half goals led us to a 5-0 win over Strasbourg on our first away friendly. It made the trip to France very nice. We now close out our friendlies with another road trip to Tenerife as the club appears very ready to begin the season.

***

3.8.14

Our last friendly saw us defeat Tenerife 4-0. It was a nice trip to close out our friendlies.

[Faramir]

5.8.14

Holyhead Hotspur 2014-15 Senior Roster 4th Season EPL (ages listed)

GK
Fabio (24)
Chris May (21)
Kevin Murray (21)

DR
Liam Hamilton (20)
Milan Toman (25)
Mike Wood (19)
John Evans (20)

DL
Paolo Galli (27)
Martin Hall (24)
Dale Taylor (21)

DC
Darren Barnes (23)
Brian Carter (22)
Chris Whitehead (19)
Paul Reeves (19)
Jack Hobbs (25)
Leon Knight (20)
Andy Stewart (17)

MR
Matthew Preston (22)
Bill Walton (22)
Paul Wynne (21)

ML
Luke Gordon (19)
Dave Fleming (23)
Theo Walcott (24)

MC
Kim Winther (22)
Paul Morris (22)
Stephen Morgan (23)
Matt Phillips (18)
Andy Thomas (23)
Danny Barker (17)
Gary Saunders (21)

SC
Michael Holmes (24) **Transfer Listed at Own Request
Michael Bradshaw (23)
Simon Ormerod (20)
Dean Piper (18)
Steve Rogers (21)
Gary Griffin (21)

NOTE- Still carrying extra players on Senior Roster to begin the season.

Club Financial Summary

52 Million in the Black overall

47 Million Transfer budget

1 Million per week current weekly wage budget (current weekly wages are 532K/week)

***

4.8.14

EPL Odds by Totalbet.com

Chelsea               7-4
Arsenal               2-1 
Liverpool            12-1
Manchester United    16-1
Middlesbrough        20-1
Tottenham            33-1
Holyhead Hotspur     50-1

[Faramir]

9.8.14

Tottenham (2) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

The optimism from the friendlies quickly disappated as we lost a closely played 2-1 match to Tottenham at White Hart Lane. We had good chances early on, but our ex-mate Robert Clarke came up with big saves on Dean Piper and Kim Winther to keep us off the scoreboard. Tottenham struck for the lead when MOM Manuel Fernandes saw Fabio a bit out of the goal and lofted a 40 yard shot over him at 42 minutes. Clarke proved just as good in the early stages of the second half and we found ourselves trailing when Giovanni Torre deflected a short cross from Massimo Pogano as Brian Carter did not do a good enough job of marking Torre. We managed a goal to keep our hopes alive as Theo Walcott, who subbed for a tiring Matthew Preston, drilled a shot past Clarke at 82 minutes. We couldn't find the equalizer and suffered a disappointing loss to open the season.

[Faramir]

13.8.14

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Liverpool (3)

One thing you can't afford against good teams is poor keeping. Unfortunately for us, that was what doomed us today as Chris May's poor performance helped 'Pool to a 3-1 win over us in our home opener. May showed inconsistent judgement all match, beginning with a poorly timed challenge when MOM Fernando Genro beat him to the ball and slipped his shot past May for the lead in the 23rd minute. We piled on the pressure with nothing to show for it as Jose Manuel Reina came up with the saves that the visitors needed to keep us trailing 1-0 at halftime. We struck for the equalizer early in the second half as Steve Rogers, on for an injured Michael Bradshaw, deflected a cross from Martin Hall past Reina. Liverpool went right back into the lead when May just plain missed a 30 yard free kick from Alves Rafael at 57 minutes. 'Pool clinched the match after we squandered some good opportunities to equalize when May again was beaten to a ball by Genro as he scored his brace to cap the scoring in a frustrating 3-1 loss. We lost three players to injuries as Bradshaw only has a dead leg and will miss a week, while Luke Gordon broke his arm and will miss a month and Steve Rogers suffered a strained knee and will miss a month.