From the Fringe- Holyhead Hotspur

[Faramir]

15.9.07

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Cambridge (0)

Though we didn't win this match, I do consider the scoreless draw as passing a test for us. We could and should have won the match and we really dominated a club that is pegged to be one of the strongest in Conference National. The thing that doomed us today was our inability to get our shots on goal, because the shots and chances were there. Our passing was Ok, but a poor performance by Christopher Gilligan adversely affected our offense in the first half. Robert Clarke's clean sheet was fairly easy as he had good support from our backline in keeping Cambridge off the board.

[Faramir]

18.9.07

Grays (2) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

We suffered our first loss of the season and certainly played well enough to deserve a better result. The loss was right back to our backline as Aaron McLean zoomed away from them on a counter-attack to score in the opening moments of the match. We fought back to equalize when Chris O'Grady got a nice pass up the middle from Martin Hall and zipped a shot past Nicky Eyre. Adrian Bristow handed them the win when he made an awful pass and then failed to mark Jamie Slabber as he scored the late match winner. I have seen enough of Bristow now and he will be on the transfer list tomorrow. He has talent, but he continually makes bad plays and bad decisions with the match on the line and his future is with another club now.

[mark wilson27]

Shame about the loss, but looking good in the League

[Faramir]

Thanks marc

***

22.9.07

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Halifax (0)

It took us until the second half to get untracked, but we took control of the match then and scored twice to hand Halifax a 2-0 loss at The New Oval. The first half featured both sides attacking, but neither doing so effectively. It seemed that neither club could hit the goal with their shots. We struck for the lead when Christopher Gilligan skipped a pass through traffic to Daniel Hayes and he put the shot away past Gavin Ward. Hayes then earned MOM honours with a fine run that caused Lee Grant to take him down in the area. Carl Murkin, on as a sub, converted the penalty kick for his 1st goal of the season to cement the win. Robert Clarke earned the clean sheet in the match.

[Faramir]

25.9.07

Accrington (2) Holyhead Hotspur (4)

This was a big win for us as we defeated favoured Accrington 4-2 at Crown Grounds. The match demonstrated why I was pleased to add Chris O'Grady to our forward mix as he managed a brace to help key us to the win and earn MOM honours. We took the lead at 31 minutes when Neil Teggart got on to the far post to deflect a cross from Darren Barnes past John Whitehouse. Accrington quickly hit back as Lee San took advantage of Robert Clarke coming out and then the ball bouncing past him as San outraced Martin Hall to the ball and fired it into the open goal. We regained the lead in the second half as Teggart made a terrific pass to find O'Grady moving free into the Accrington area and O'Grady slid the shot past Whitehouse. A missed tackle by Danny O'Donnell allowed O'Grady to stroll past him and pot a goal for his brace to make it 3-1. We seemed a bit too comfortable and Anthony Barry slotted a pass to Andrew Fowler. Fowler slipped past Jack Hobbs to score past Clarke. We finally put the match on ice as Teggart also wound up with a brace when he knocked a loose ball in after Whitehouse couldn't hold Barnes' cross.

[Faramir]

29.9.07

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Gravesend (0)

It was a difficult battle, but we did just enough to edge Gravesend 2-0 at The New Oval. MOM Michael Holmes took advantage of a dreadful mistake by David Shaw to give us the early lead. Shaw did not see Holmes lurking and tried to send a cross pitch pass. Holmes stepped in and intercepted it, which allowed him to wheel a 40 yard shot into the goal as Aaron Kerr was caught out of position when Holmes took the pass. Both sides battled up and down the pitch for the rest of the first half and most of the second half. We finally put the match away as Christopher Gilligan blasted a 25 yard rocket that slightly deflected off Steven Hurst past Kerr for his 1st goal of the season. Stuart Cain earned the clean sheet.

***

1.10.07

Chris O'Grady earned Young Player of the Month honours for last month's effort. Michael Holmes was 3rd in the balloting for the same award.

[Faramir]

6.10.07

Kidderminster (0) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

There were so many chances for us to win this match as we dominated Kidderminster at Aggborough, but in the end we failed to capitalize and were left with an unsatisfying scoreless draw. John Danby came up with two key saves in the match as he stopped Daniel Hayes in the first half and Ben Woods in the second half. The rest of our problems rested with shooting inaccuracy and a handful of timely tackling by the home side rearguard. Robert Clarke earned his clean sheet on our end with a brilliant diving parry of an Alan Pouton blast.

[Faramir]

13.10.07

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Cambridge City (0)

Though we dominated the first half- and indeed the entire match- we were stuck without a goal until late in the first half. When Brady Stone was redcarded for a professional foul, we took full advantage of the set piece as Neil Teggart deflected a Ben Woods free kick past Ricky Millard. The battle continued in the second half and it appeared that Cambridge City would even the match after Jack Hobbs was called for a push in the area. Robert Clarke came up huge as he saved Chris Jenkins' penalty kick. Moments later Teggart made it a brace after a fine pass from Chris O'Grady. Clarke took the clean sheet in the win.

[Faramir]

20.10.07

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Hinckley (1) FA Cup 4th Round Qualifying

We came out and played poorly as we let Hinckley broom us from the FA Cup competition. We showed none of the heart and desire that has carried us so far this season. They scored early in the match when Lee Bell took advantage of poorly hit header on a corner and stroked a 20 yard volley that found the right side of the goal as Stuart Cain didn't see it until too late. Cain played solidly after that, but we never got untracked offensively and Adrian DiGregorio had an easy time putting up the clean sheet. Our fans at The New Oval were disappointed in our effort and I was both embarrassed and frustrated by it.

[mark wilson27]

Shame about the cup, at least your doing well in the league gotta be near the top?

p.s. thanks for the edit

[Faramir]

mark- I wasn't worried about a Cup run, more aimed at promotion I believe we were around 3rd or 4th at this point of the season.

***

27.10.07

Hinckley (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Both sides had their chances to win this match, so I suppose I should be satisfied with a 1-1 draw on the road- but I am not. We handed them their goal in the opening moments of the second half when a bad backpass by Daniel Hayes found their of their players behind our backline. Robert Clarke made the initial save after a cross, but Daniel Sloane was unmarked and rapped home the rebound for the equalizer. Clarke played an excellent match besides that goal and after they scored he kept us on track for splitting the points with a trio of good saves. Our goal came early in the first half when David Poole slipped a pass into Michael Holmes and he fired a shot past MOM Adrian DiGregorio inside the right post. DiGregorio was dazzling the rest of the way and he made two superb saves late in the second half to keep us from earning all three points. Injuries hurt us dearly in the match as Holmes left early after scoring, Darren Barnes left at halftime and then Steve Hurst- on for Holmes- was forced to leave also.

[Faramir]

6.11.07

York (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

It was clear by the end of this match that we really didn't deserve any points out of it, but we persevered and Sean Evans made his 1st goal for us memorable as his header past Willy Gueret on a cross from Dean Furman in second half injury time salvaged a 1-1 draw. York looked much more crisp than we did from the opening whistle and their tackling basically kept us from mounting much offense. They scored early on in the match when Tyrone Berry crossed to MOM Ishmel Demontagnac, who drove the volley past Robert Clarke. Clarke kept us close in the first half as we weren't controlling the flow of play- very clearly seen in the fact we were outshot 18-3 for the match and the possession almost 60-40 in favor of the home side. Things turned worse early in the second half when Sean Kelly, playing for injured Darren Barnes, drew a redcard. We were even more stretched with only 10 men and Clarke had to be very sharp to keep things close. We basically couldn't get the ball up to our forwards all match, or they lost the ball quickly on tackles the few times we did. The dramatic equalizer came when we counter-attacked up the right side and Furman found space. He crossed to the far post and Evans, bursting into the play late, deflected the ball inside the post. We didn't really earn the draw- but will certainly take it.

***

9.11.07

The entire club was celebrating a bit today as both Daniel Hayes and Michael Holmes received news that they will be called up to the England Under-19 side for the next match against Romania.

[Faramir]

10.11.07

Crawley (2) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

I am mad at the officiating and I am mad at my backline- again. We worked hard in the first half and battled our way to the lead thanks to a nice pass from Michael Holmes to Daniel Hayes that Hayes put away past Phil Smith from close in. We came close to adding to the margin several times, but just couldn't find the goal with our shots. Our backline looked like last season's model to open the second half as Jack Hobbs wandered away from Steve Burton in the area and of course they slipped the pass to Burton and he scored past Robert Clarke. Burton made it a brace when we again failed to mark him well enough, but he was offside- in my eyes clearly- and it wasn't called as he lofted a shot over Clarke. We worked hard and it appeared that Holmes had the equalizer when he finished a beautiful counter-attack, only for me to be incensed when he was ruled offside. Holmes was offside and Burton wasn't? I think not. Not much we can do but shake it off and get ready for the next match.

[Faramir]

17.11.07

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Shrewsbury (0)

In a match that clearly showed how far we have come in a year, we toppled 1st place Shrewsbury with hard work and our 1-2 punch of Daniel Hayes and Michael Holmes. The first half wasn't well played by either side as we had a lot of difficulty even moving the ball against their stifling 451 tactic. They were forcing the play with good marking and tackling. They failed to show much offensively though, as they focused on their defense and it was scoreless at halftime with only a smattering of shots. We pulled ourselves together at halftime and the lineup benefitted from my subbing on Ben Woods for David Poole at rightwing. The extra dose of speed and leadership that Woods brought helped and we gained the lead in the opening moments of the second half as Daniel Hayes ran down a loose ball and made a nice pass to Michael Holmes. Holmes made a quick move with the ball before putting it away past Joe Hart. The match turned into a more open affair after the goal as Shrewsbury was forced to attack. Robert Clarke made two key saves and the backline, despite the loss to injury of Darren Barnes, was solid in support of Clarke. We finally put the match on ice late in the half as Holmes became the architect with a good pass that allowed Hayes to rifle a shot inside the right post. Surprisingly, neither Holmes or Hayes earned MOM honours as those went to our leftwing- Christopher Gilligan. The match crowd was a new record at The New Oval.

[Faramir]

24.11.07

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Farnborough (0)

A dramatic match-winner in the waning moments of the second half allowed us to edge Farnborough 1-0 at The New Oval in a match where they outplayed us. The first half we sputtered quite a bit. Partly that was my fault since we were featuring a completely new lineup versus the one that beat Shrewsbury. I was worried we were wearing down a bit and decided we needed to give the entire regular lineup a match off. Farnborough missed a couple chances to take the lead in the first half as their shooting was poor and Stuart Cain wasn't forced to make a save. We settled down and played better in the second half, but still were not really getting any good opportunities. It appeared that the match might wind up scoreless, and I would have been content with that given our inconsistent play, but instead we took all three points when Neil Teggart was in the perfect spot to smash home the rebound after Steve Wilson parried a blast from Chris O'Grady. We managed to hold on from there despite a couple close calls and Cain notched the clean sheet.

[Faramir]

5.12.07

Dag & Red (0) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Another close win for us and another win where we got the only goal late in the match. We didn't leave it quite as long as against Farnborough, but Dean Furman scored the matchwinning goal in the 79th minute and we held on as Robert Clarke put up the clean sheet to ensure the win. The Daggers were much sharper than us in the first half and it was only due to good work from Clarke that we remained locked in a scoreless draw with them. We showed more determination in the second half and began to assert ourselves in the midfield. The match winner came on a set piece play. MOM Martin Hall looped a free kick to the right. Lloyd McGowan outleapt two defenders and headed the ball down for Furman, who whipped his shot past James Russell inside the right post for his 1st goal of the season. Thanks to Clarke and the backline, the one goal was enough to gain the road win. The bad news is that Michael Holmes left with a bad achilles tendon and will likely miss the next three months of play.

[Faramir]

8.12.07

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Stevenage (0)

A strong performance by our forward duo of Chris O'Grady and Neil Teggart, backed by a smothering effort from our midfield and backline, keyed a 2-0 win over Stevenage at The New Oval. We pressured the visitors from the opening whistle and the pressure bore fruit when Teggart zipped a pass to O'Grady as he was slipping past Ronnie Henry. O'Grady, on his way to MOM honours, made a quick move with the ball before beating Alan Julian cleanly with a rising shot into the right corner of the goal. A hardworking effort by Michael Gillan paid off less than 10 minutes later as his good tackle took the ball from Alistair John and then he hustled to the ball and sent O'Grady away with his through ball. O'Grady had an easy time taking the ball past Julian when he tried to come out and smother it and slotted the ball into the open goal for his brace and a 2-0 halftime lead. The players tried hard to give O'Grady the hat-trick and he missed three excellent chances in the second half, but we never allowed the visitors much hope of a rally in helping Robert Clarke close out the clean sheet.

[Faramir]

15.12.07

Redditch (1) Holyhead Hotspur (3) FA Trophy 1st Round

Our eager to play players came through with a big 3-1 win at Valley Stadium. Shaun Cummings gave us the early lead when he deflected a cross from Danny Morgan past Nathan Vaughan for his 1st goal at Holyhead. Redditch equalized as Chris Wilding overpowered Shaun Kelly and deflected a cross from James Salkeld over Stuart Cain's outstretched hand. We regained the lead when Michael Terrell slipped a pass through to Cummings and he put his shot away past Vaughan for a brace. We added our lead late in the half when Vaughan made a bad goal kick and Cummings took in on the run. As Vaughan moved to challenge, Cummings cemented his MOM honours with a deft pass that allowed Morgan to score into the open goal. We kept them down the entire second half in closing out the win.

[Faramir]

22.12.07

Forest Green (1) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

We survived an own-goal and managed to score a last moment match winner for another close road win as we defeated Forest Green 2-1 at Highwood Stadium. The first half was an even battle and we managed to gain the lead midway through as Christopher Gilligan slid a pass over and Chris O'Grady fired a well placed shot inside the right post past MOM Andrew McNeil. McNeil made several excellent saves as we threatened to build on our lead before halftime. Instead we went to halftime even when Martin Hall deflected a corner past Robert Clarke in first half injury time. McNeil played well to begin the second half and again stymied us on some good scoring chances. Ben Woods was in the right place to drive home a rebound after McNeil got palmed away a hard shot from O'Grady as he scored the match winner at 89 minutes. It was a terrific win for us.

[Faramir]

23.12.07

It is a bit amazing to find ourselves in 1st place at the midway point of the season, given all our struggles last season. Our success has a lot to do with more consistent backline play and more consistent scoring from our forwards. I just hope we can avoid slumping as we battle through our second half.

Conference National- 23 matches played

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

1- Holyhead Hotspur 49 pts (+19)

2- Shrewsbury 46 pts (+15)

3- Morecambe 43 pts (+16)

4- Woking 39 pts (+8)

5- Aldershot 38 pts (+10)

6- Accrington 38 pts (+10)

7- Grays 37 pts (+2)

</pre>

[Faramir]

26.12.07

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Morecambe (0)

We passed another big test when we squeeked out a last minute win over Morecambe. The match had been a duel of the keepers as Ryan Robinson and Robert Clarke were both brilliant throughout. Both sides had chances to take the lead in the first half, but fine saves by each keeper kept things spotless going to halftime. The second half provided more of the same as both Robinson and Clarke made important stops. Robinson was the one who finally cracked and had no one to blame but himself. Both Robinson and Clarke were aggressive in handling the ball outside their area. Moments after Clarke had gotten away with one he shouldn't have, Robinson dallied too long and Shaun Cummings took the ball away from him and slotted it home for a dramatic 25 yard match winner in the last moments of injury time.

***

28.12.07

Danny Morgan was absent from training today. We don't need this type of distraction so he found himself on the transfer list and Reserves. You have a choice as a player- you can be for the team, or for yourself. If for yourself- you get to find a new side to play for instead of Holyhead Hotspur.

[Faramir]

29.12.07

Woking (1) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

It was a difficult loss to take, another match that we played well enough to earn a point from, but failed to finish well. Add in a missed tackle by Anthony Taylor that resulted in a goal by Chris McPhee and it stung to lose. Michael Gillan missed a penalty, but that was equaled by MOM Robert Clarke saving Marc Joseph's penalty kick later in the match. The struggles of Anthony Taylor convinced me that he really doesn't have a future here. I had looked at him as a developing leftback or possibly center- but he has played poorly in both roles and my coaches have noted he hasn't improved much, so he also will find himself on the transfer list.

[Faramir]

1.1.08

Scarborough (0) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Daniel Hayes celebrated his return from injury with a MOM performance as he led us to a 1-0 win over Scarborough that should have been by an even greater margin. Darren Barnes sent a wonderful through ball to Hayes that he put away past Matthew Gregg for the only goal of the match midway through the first half. We kept continual pressure on them in the second half, but couldn't find a way to score another on Gregg. Our midfield and backline deserves credit for their smothering play.

***

4.1.08

We found new homes for two of our unhappy players as Anthony Taylor is moving to Telford for 3K and I also let Jay Murray go to Macclesfield on free transfer. I had hoped both might develop into solid players, but neither performed well for us and it was good for both the club and them to get a change of scenery.

[Faramir]

5.1.08

Canvey Island (0) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

Another frustrating scoreless draw in which we played pretty well, but failed to finish effectively. Chris O'Grady and Neil Teggart were neutralized by solid marking from the Canvey Island backline contingent. Canvey Island Philip Dixon earned MOM honours and forced Stuart Cain to make a pair of good saves late in the second half to preserve the split of the points for us. We need to play better at The New Oval than we did today- failing to take a victory from this match was a bit stinging.

[Faramir]

12.1.08

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Cambridge (2) FA Trophy 2nd Round

We fell to Cambridge as their forwards dominated our backline in the air. We took the lead early on when Paul Lee scored a pretty goal in his debut for us. Lee whipped a shot past Danny Brimble from just inside the edge of the area early in the first half. We failed to hold the lead as venerable Dion Dublin snuck in to deflect a cross past Stuart Cain inside the far post. Dublin's goal sent us to halftime even at 1-1. We battled hard in the second half, but they were the ones who gained the late match winner as Gary Sawyer deflected a free kick from Gary Porter past Cain in the 88th minute. We worked hard, but their class won out in the end at the New Oval and they will move on in the FA Trophy competition.

[Faramir]

16.1.08

Tamworth (2) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Once more, we gave away a match that we should have at least earned a point in as we fell to Tamworth 2-1. Jamie Mullen played a horrid match and his giveaways on bad passed led directly to the two goals they scored in the first half as we trailed 2-0 despite playing decently in the half. We drew a goal back early in the second half when Steve Hurst pushed in a rebound after Robin Hallam stopped Ben Woods' shot. Despite dominating the remainder of the second half and outshooting the home side 17-7, we couldn't find the equalizer. Our poor shooting was the main cause as even our usual marksman- Daniel Hayes- was well wide with two golden scoring chances in the second half.

[Faramir]

19.1.08

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Stafford (2)

To say I was disappointed was an understatement- especially as the club, particularly our backline, knew I was furious with them after the match. We worked hard and gained a two goal lead in the first half as Paul Lee headed a Shaun Cummings cross past Matthew Ghent and then Cummings made a great move with the ball before scoring after a good pass from Christopher Gilligan. This match should have been an easy win, but we threw it away beginning with a dumb penalty given them by Carl Murkin. Levi Reid converted the penalty past Robert Clarke and they were back in the match. We appeared to have clinched the match when Lee Fowler was redcarded for a cynical foul on Cummings midway through the second half. Instead our backline gave the ball away in injury time- Michael Gillan was guilty- and then failed to even mark Elliott Frost. Frost earned MOM honours as he deflected the cross from Peter Thomson past Clarke for the dramatic equalizer. We simply can not give away points to 20th placed clubs when we clearly had the match for the taking.

[Faramir]

22.1.08

Chester (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

A snowy, windswept pitch was a poor setting and we didn't adapt well quickly enough to earn a win, as we were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Chester. We didn't play poorly in the first half, but our passing was very inconsistent as we battled both ourselves and the weather. James Vaughan got caught moving well up the pitch and Chester turned that into the first goal as they chipped over him and Gary Roberts put away a well placed shot past Robert Clarke. We pegged them back quickly as Chris O'Grady scored from in close after David Artell missed intercepting the pass from Andy McGregor. We worked hard to try and get the win in the second half, but again failed to finish effectively as we bombed a couple of great scoring chances. Our injury woes continued as MOM Sean Evans tore a calf muscle late in the match and will be out the remainder of the season.

[Faramir]

26.1.08

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Aldershot (1)

In a huge win for us, we fought back from a goal deficit to score a last minute win over 3rd place Aldershot. Despite playing a good first half, we found ourselves behind when Josh Llewellyn slipped away unmarked in first half injury time and deflected a cross from DJ Campbell past Robert Clarke. It was a difficult way to end the half after playing well. We righted ourselves at halftime and Paul Lee scored an important goal when he scooted past a would be tackler and drilled a shot just inside the left post past Michael Poke after getting a good pass from Aaron Nowacki. Both sides wanted this match badly and the action was up and down the pitch. Clarke made a nice save on Campbell, while Poke pushed a blast from Michael Terrell over the bar. We scored the dramatic match winner when MOM Christopher Gilligan slid a pass to unmarked Shaun Cummings and Cummings rifled his 5th goal of the season inside the far left post at 89 minutes. It was a crucial win for us, given our play of late.

[Faramir]

31.1.08

One of our excellent youngsters has now graduated to join the Senior side. 17 year old lefwing Dave Fleming has signed a new contract and will immediately move to the Senior side. Given our injuries to Sean Evans and the inconsistent play of Jamie Mullen, it shouldn't be long until he earns a start. Mullen will get one last chance to show any kind of decent play against the Grays.

***

6.2.08

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Grays (1)

I was very disappointed in our effort as we lost 1-0 to Grays at The New Oval. The loss could easily have been worse, we played a bad match all the way around. Their goal came early in the match when Michael Kightly drilled a 20 yard shot past Stuart Cain after Jamie Mullen gave away a ball on the wing and then just watched as the loose ball was gathered up by Grays. We were lacking several players out with the flu- including Darren Barnes and Robert Clarke- but that was no excuse for the lack of determination and heart we showed today. The only good chance we had was when Aaron Nowacki shot over the goal on a great chance in second half injury time.

[Faramir]

9.2.08

Cambridge (0) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

The heart we lacked against Grays was shown in full force as we worked very hard in defeating Cambridge 1-0 at The Abbey. Dave Fleming showed exactly why I was so excited to add him to the mix as he earned MOM honours and had the only goal of the match. We scored in the opening moments as David Poole crossed and Fleming overpowered Adam Kirkpatrick and flicked the header past Barry Roche. We were not able to score again, but we played very well in moving the ball and gaining chances while helping Stuart Cain notch the clean sheet through a smothering defensive effort. Martin Hall had a great match after moving to the center when Darren Kelly was injured in the early stages of the match.

[Faramir]

16.2.08

Halifax (0) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

We put forth another fine effort today in beating Halifax 2-0 at The Shay. We kept them under pressure in the first half and finally took the lead at 37 minutes when Chris O'Grady flicked a header across the goal mouth the Neil Teggart and Teggart slipped a shot past the diving Chris Wijnterp to give us the lead. Dave Fleming made it two goals in two matches when he deflected a cross from David Poole in to give us a 2-0 halftime lead. The game became more secure when Ben Higgins drew a redcard for taking down O'Grady as the last man midway through the half. Stuart Cain put up another clean sheet in the win. Tyrone Mears earned MOM honours in the match.

[Faramir]

19.2.08

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Accrington (1)

It was another disappointing performance for us at The New Oval as we fell to Accrington 1-0. The only goal of the match came on a terrific blast off the inside of the left upright from 25 yards by venerable Morten Bisgaard. They outshot us 13-4 in the match, but that wasn't really indicative of the play- as we had a lot of possession, but failed to turn them into scoring chances because of the superb play of their backline- led by MOM Peter Cavanagh. We are starting to get healthier as Robert Clarke, Darren Barnes and Daniel Hayes all made their return to the lineup, but their lack of play showed as we failed to put forth a stronger offensive showing in the loss.

[Faramir]

23.2.08

Gravesend (0) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

This wasn't a well played match by either side, but I was certainly happy when the final whistle sounded and we still held a 1-0 margin for the three points. The only goal of the match was triggered by a wonderful through ball from Jack Hobbs. Hobbs sent a pass forward that found Paul Lee with a step on his man. Lee then slotted an excellent pass across and Shaun Cummings drilled it past Aaron Kerr for a beautiful finish. Our play was a bit ragged, both offensively and defensively, but we came up with the big tackles we needed and Robert Clarke was steady in earning his clean sheet. Paul Lee will miss a match due to receiving his 2nd yellow card late in the match and we lost another player to injury as a badly gashed leg will keep Michael Gillan out for awhile. Dave Fleming continued to impress as he earned MOM honours for his all action effort.

[Faramir]

1.3.08

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Kidderminster (0)

I hated to pull Stuart Cain out of this match in the second half, because he deserved the clean sheet, but he was also limping badly due to a collision and really shouldn't have been out there- so Robert Clarke closed the 3-0 win at The New Oval. The offense came from the tandem of Shaun Cummings and Daniel Hayes up front. Hayes got us going when MOM Jack Hobbs put him away with a through ball and he blasted his shot past John Danby. David Poole did an excellent job of creating the chance to slip the pass into Cummings in the area and he rifled a shot past Danby to make it a 2-0 lead at halftime. Cummings hard work created our last goal as he barely beat Danby to a loose ball and then pushed it past him, which allowed Hayes to cruise in from the other side and smash his shot into the open goal for his brace and 10th goal of the season.

[Faramir]

3.3.08

Our Under-18s captured the Group 2 title with only 19 matches played. Two-time winner Blackburn trails significantly as our youngsters have only lost 1 match and drawn 2 of the 19 played, while putting up a +41 goal differential.

***

8.3.08

Cambridge City (0) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

We broke open a tight match with struggling Cambridge City and handed them a 3-0 loss at City Ground. The home side, battling to get out of the relegation muddle, played hard and pressured us in the early going. The complexion of the match changed midway through the first half. Adam Tann pushed Darren Barnes in the air on a corner and Carl Murkin converted the penalty kick to give us the lead. Less than two minutes later Barnes launched a free kick and Shaun Cummings split the defenders to deflect it past Mark Torcaso. Cummings capped our scoring in the second half when he was put away free on a through ball from Aaron Nowacki and he ripped a shot past Torcaso just inside the far left post for an inspirational goal. We had little trouble helping Robert Clarke close out the clean sheet.

[Faramir]

19.3.08

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Crawley (0)

The tandem of Shaun Cummings and Daniel Hayes struck again to help us earn a 2-0 win over Crawley at The New Oval. A superb pass from Hayes set up Cummings to blast a rising shot past Phil Smith at 6 minutes as we leaped into the lead. We weren't able to build on that lead- thanks to a great effort from Smith, who wound up receiving MOM honours for his efforts to keep it close for the visitors. Michael Terrell made a neat pass that found Hayes with enough room to drill a shot inside the far right post early in the second half. We then played steady, determined defense in assisting Robert Clarke to put down another clean sheet.

***

21.3.08

We now face a showdown match as we travel to Shrewsbury. Currently we hold a 10 point lead on them in 1st place in Conference National. If they have any hope of catching us with 7 matches remaining- they almost certainly need to defeat us at Gay Meadow tomorrow.

[mark wilson27]

Good luck against Shrewsbury, Faramir

[Faramir]

must have been your comment mark

***

22.3.08

Shrewsbury (0) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

We look to be well on our way to clinching the Conference National Crown after a convincing 2-0 win over Shrewsbury at Gay Meadow. It wasn't just the score that proved convincing- it was how we held our composure--- and they didn't. We struck for the early lead when Adie Moses pushed Darren Barnes while Barned was leaping for a corner. Carl Murkin converted the penalty kick to give us the lead at 7 minutes. We moved ahead 2-0 at 18 minutes as Dave Fleming made a beautiful header down to David Poole and Poole rifled a shot past Joe Hart inside the far left post for his 1st ever goal for us. Shrewsbury compounded their woes when Daniel Young was redcarded at 39 minutes for tripping Daniel Hayes as the last man. Hart came up with a huge save on Murkin to give the home side some hope, but those hopes dimmed to almost nothing when a quick counter-attack sent MOM Shaun Cummings up the middle and Moses tackled him from behind to earn a redcard for a cynical foul. With the home side down to 9 players, we were content to control the flow of the play in the second half and Robert Clarke put up another clean sheet. We now hold a 13 point lead atop Conference National over Shrewsbury and Morecambe with only 6 matches remaining.

[Renn08]

Great story, 13 points clear -

Just for your information, Scott Hayhoe (on of your early signings) is a mate of mine, same year at school, I once hid his chair in English.

Good times, keep up the good work!

[mark wilson27]

I do try my best Faramir lol

[Faramir]

Renn08- Thanks Always interesting to find people on the forum who know players off my squads.

mark - *chuckle* just call you a good luck charm

***

24.3.08

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Hinckley (1)

We came out very flat against a Hinckley side that is battling desperately to avoid relegation and paid the price early on. Chris Kerry deflected a cross from Richard Garcia past Stuart Cain at 12 minutes to put the visitors into the lead with his 50th league goal for Hinckley. We failed to mount much of a rally in the first half and trailed by that goal at halftime. I was hoping we would come to life in the second half, but it didn't happen. Instead we continued to struggle. I was despairing a bit, but Sean Kelly- who hadn't played well to that point- made a perfectly timed through ball to Michael Holmes. Holmes, making his first start in months because of injuries, made a quick move with the ball before firing it past Ben Hamer for a dramatic equalizer. I was happy to settle for the 1-1 draw, given our poor play. Carl Murkin earned MOM honours in the match.

[Faramir]

29.3.08

Holyhead Hotspur (1) York (0)

It was not a pretty match in any sense of the word. Still, we showed heart and determination and got a big goal as Michael Terrell scored his 1st for us in defeating York 1-0 at The New Oval. The goal came at 11 minutes as David Poole dealt a deft pass to Terrell and Terrell snapped a shot past Willy Gueret inside the left post. It was a battle after that, as York threatened to even the match several times. Fortunately, Robert Clarke was in fine fettle today and he was dazzling in keeping them off the scoreboard to earn his clean sheet. York midfielder James Ashmore earned the MOM honours in the match. The final whistle set off a wild celebration as our fans joined us on the pitch- we were champions of Conference National!

[mark wilson27]

Congrats on winning the Championship mate......

[Faramir]

Thanks mark

******

31.3.08

Chris O'Grady took it upon himself to talk about moving to a bigger club in the press and then he didn't show up for practice. Fine, if he doesn't want to be here- I will be glad to try and find him a new home. He is on the transfer list and offered to clubs.

***

5.4.08

Farnborough (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

We got off to a flying start in our visit to Farnborough as Daniel Hayes made an excellent touch pass that Michael Holmes put away past Steve Wilson in the 3rd minute. We couldn't make that goal stand up for the entire match as a missed tackle by Sean Kelly allowed Michael Charles to cruise in and bury a shot past Stuart Cain for the equalizer early in the second half. We were a bit fortunate to take any points away from the match, but part of the credit goes to Lewis Foster, who earned MOM honours from his defender spot in only his 2nd Senior match.

[Faramir]

6.4.08

I have started the culling process already. Besides Chris O'Grady on the transfer list, I also have transfer listed Andy McGregor, Liam Bridcutt and Jamie Mullen. Most of our Reserve side has also been transfer listed, as they have shown a marked lack of improvement and it is time to begin focusing on developing our core of youth players coming up.

***

7.4.08

We completed two transfer sales today- both immediate. Droylsden paid 16K for Liam Bridcutt and Bishop Auckland paid 3K for James Vaughan. Neither player showed development after promising beginnings and though they may turn into fine players- it will be other clubs that work them to that level.

[Faramir]

9.4.08

Chris O'Grady will have a new home, though he will have to wait until July 1st, as Torquay will pay us 50K with a sell-on clause to bring him there. They won the bidding war amongst 10 clubs that we accepted similar bids from on O'Grady. Every little bit of money helps a small club like ours.

***

11.4.08

Another player hoping for greener pastures is Andy McGregor. McGregor left to join Marine for a transfer purchase price of 26K today. McGregor's pace was great, but he lacked the ability to use his speed effectively in our offense and given how unhappy he has been at being supplanted by developing Michael Terrell, it was time to wish him well on a new club.

[Faramir]

12.4.08

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Dag & Red (0)

We rained goals on visiting Dag & Red- scoring 3 in a ten minute span in the first half- as we marched to an easy 3-0 win at The New Oval. Dave Fleming was the architect of the first goal with a sensational pass that allowed Michael Holmes to take the ball past James Russell and score his 10th goal of the season. David Poole added a goal three minutes later when he deflected a long cross from Martin Hall past Russell. Neil Teggart finished the barrage when he wheeled after getting a pass from Holmes and fired a precision shot past Russell inside the left post. We never allowed them a good chance to score and Robert Clarke put up another clean sheet.

***

16.4.08

It was a treble of sorts as the Holyhead Hotspur Reserves captured the Group 3 Reserves title. Hopefully this bodes well for our future as an improving club.

***

19.4.08

Stevenage (1) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

An early goal and many squandered chances led to a close 1-0 loss to Stevenage. Our center defenders failed completely to mark Shane Long and he scored past Stuart Cain in the 8th minute for the only goal of the match. We managed to press the home side repeatedly for the rest of the match, but had nothing to show for it as our poor finishing allowed them to close us out without any scoring.

[Faramir]

26.4.08

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Woking (0)

Woking desperately needed a good result- at least a draw- from this match. Instead they saw us play a fine match to close out our season in front of the faithful fans at The New Oval as we defeated them 3-0. Neil Teggart put their backline to the sword as he slipped out of their marking continually and scored a brace in the first half to give us a 2-0 halftime lead. Stuart Cain played very well as he blunted Woking's efforts to rally with several good saves. Michael Holmes added another goal early in the second half and we kept them from scoring to finish out with a nice win. Woking barely survived by goal differential to land the last playoff spot, as 4 clubs were tied for the last two playoff slots.

[Faramir]

Final Conference National Table 2007-8

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

1- Holyhead Hotspur 93 pts (+38)

2- Aldershot 82 pts (+19)

3- Shrewsbury 82 pts (+19)

4- Woking 79 pts (+16)

5- Grays 79 pts (+15)

6- Morecambe 79 pts (+10)

7- Accrington 76 pts (+26)

</pre>

***

1.5.08

The first of what I hope will be a slew of transfer sales was accomplished today. We sold Nathan Geary to Kendal for 5K. Geary has some talent at forward, but was eclipsed by our youngsters and didn't enjoy a place on the Reserves all season, so was pleased to move.

***

1.5.08

Next to move was 16 year old forward Danny Howard, who we let go to Bath on free transfer. Howard couldn't find playing time on the Under-18s or Reserves and was clearly far down in the depth charts and the mutual parting was fine with both sides.