From the Fringe- Holyhead Hotspur

[Faramir]

26.12.08

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Hull (1)

This was a mirror match of the Hereford match- in that we were having difficulty finding a way to score on Hull keeper Artur Kotenko- despite peppering him with good shots. We fell behind midway through the first half when Darron Gibson picked up a loose ball just beyond the edge of the area and he drilled it past Stuart Cain for his 1st goal at Hull. The second half saw us continuing to get good chances and we finally cashed in on one of them when Paul Lee deflected a long cross from David Poole past Kotenko. I wanted to take all three points, but we found we just could not get another goal and had to settle for splitting the points. David Sommeil earned MOM honours for his backline play for the visitors.

[Faramir]

3.12.08

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Rushden (1)

Thanks to another wonderful effort from MOM Michael Bradshaw, we were able to edge Rushden in a very close 2-1 win at The New Oval. The first half was a good one for us but we were having trouble scoring again. We finally got on the board late in the first half when Michael Holmes slipped a pass to Bradshaw and Michael knifed past defender Scott Wark before driving a shot inside the left post. Early in the second half Bradshaw showed his strength as he leaped and deflected a cross from David Fleming past Lee Boyle with two defenders draped on him. We got a bit too comfortable and Greg Pearson escaped a tackle attempt by Hector Caceres in the area and drew Rushden a goal back shortly after Bradshaw's 2nd. Things looked dire when Michael Tuohy was called for a handball in the area. Robert Clarke saved the win for us by blocking away Pearson's penalty kick and we survived their late pressure to hold on for the win.

***

5.1.09

A transfer sale for us as Jamie Wood is moving to Chesterfield for 30K.

[Faramir]

7.1.09

Tranmere (1) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

Despite handing Tranmere a 1-0 lead in the opening moments on an own-goal, we battled back in the second half to earn an impressive 3-1 win at Prenton Park. Jack Hobbs headed a cross past Robert Clarke in the 2nd minute and just like that we were struggling to try and get back to even on the road. Tranmere came close to building on that lead, but Clarke came up with a diving save on Karl Harrison to keep them from getting a comfortable lead. Our rally finally started in the opening moments of the second half when Ryan Lynch crossed to Shaun Cummings and Cummings put his shot away past Chris Neal for his 5th goal of the season. Hobbs made up for his dreadful error with a through ball to Daniel Hayes, on for a tiring Paul Lee, and Hayes snapped a shot past Neal to give us the lead. Hayes then helped us clinch the win as he made it a brace by finishing well on a cross from David Poole.

League 2 Table- 28 matches played, 18 matches remaining

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

1- Leyton Orient 58 pts (+24)

2- Holyhead Hotspur 57 pts (+27)

3- Hull 54 pts (+22)

4- Bournemouth 54 pts (+16)

5- Swindon 51 pts (+16)

6- Torquay 46 pts (+17)

7- Boston United 46 pts (+7)

8- Blackpool 45 pts (+9)

</pre>

[Faramir]

10.1.09

I dearly wanted to keep talented young Steve Passmore, but after he turned down all of our contract offers over the last month- it was time to get what we could for him before we lost him leaving for free when his contract was up after the season. We solicited offers and received four that met the minimum I asked for. Passmore selected Coventry out of the clubs and we received 750K with a 25% sell-on clause for the talented young Welsh midfielder. At the least, it boosts us our bottom line in the black- something we could use as we are bleeding money during the season because our weekly wages are well above the Board's budget.

***

10.1.09

Brentford (0) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

Another close match for us and another match where we were able to come up with the goals we needed to take all three points. The first half was a closely played battle up and down the pitch that featured good tackling by both backlines and good passing from both clubs. I have no idea why Brentford pulled Roberto Pampin at halftime as he had played brilliantly in goal for them in keeping us off the scoreboard. In the second half we faced Florent Chaigneau and we victimized him early in the second half. Michael Holmes burst free down the left side and whipped a shot at Chaigneau. The Frenchman got a hand on the ball, but it trickled through behind him, and Michael Bradshaw swooped in to hammer the ball into the open goal for his 20th goal of the season. Bradshaw then created the clinching goal as Chris Shanks was forced to take him down in the area from behind. Hector Caceres converted the penalty kick to give us a much needed 2nd goal. We closed out the struggling home side to their loud disgruntlement of their fans and Robert Clarke finished the clean sheet. Dave Fleming earned MOM honours for his silky play up and down the leftwing.

[Faramir]

17.1.09

Torquay (2) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Our unbeaten streak came to a crashing halt when we were outplayed by Torquay as they beat us 2-1 at Plainmoor. I really thought that Adam Bolder deserved MOM honours as he scored a brace in a five-minute span in the first half to propel them to the win. His 1st came as he deflected a header past Robert Clarke as Jack Hobbs couldn't cover him well enough. MOM honours went to fullback Matt Hockley and he set up Bolder's 2nd with a scorching through ball that found Bolder free in the area to flip a shot over Clarke. We drew a goal back when we hit back after the second goal with Michael Bradshaw contributing another goal- this time after a good pass from Shaun Cummings. That was all for us though, as we could not find the equalizer and lost for the first time in 2009.

[Faramir]

24.1.09

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Port Vale (1)

Hector Caceres went from goat to hero when he scored a dramatic match winner late in the second half as we beat Port Vale 2-1 at The New Oval. We took the lead in the first half when MOM Paul Morris blistered a 25 yard blast off the inside of the right upright past Mark Goodlad. The equalizer was handed to moments later in the first half when Hector Caceres made bad choice and bumped Sekou Baradji in the area and that gave them a penalty kick. Graham Kavanaugh converted the penalty kick past Stuart Cain and we were back to even. Both sides had chances to gain the lead, but they weren't particularly good chances as both sides lofted lengthy shots at the goals. The match winner came in dramatic fashion when, following a corner, Hector Caceres ran down a ball on the right side and blasted a laserbeam shot inside the far left post past Goodlad.

[Faramir]

31.1.09

Woking (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

It was a good thing that Shaun Cummings converted an early penalty kick after Michael Bradshaw was tripped in the area. After that, Martin Hall drew a redcard for an elbow and the home side took over the rest of the match. We survived with the lead until halftime, but a brutally bad decision by Carl Murkin cost us the equalizer. Murkin was on the left sideline and decided to send a backpass all the way across the pitch. Lloyd Blackman stepped in to pick up the pass and then lofted a 35 yard shot over stranded Robert Clarke. Clarke played well down the stretch to at least earn us a split of the points that we really didn't deserve with our play in the second half. Defender Alton Thelwell earned the MOM honours.

***

1.2.09

Hector Caceres earned Goal of the Month honours for January with his goal against Port Vale.

[Faramir]

7.2.09

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Bournemouth (2)

We squandered an early 2-0 lead as we couldn't keep James Hayter under wraps and his brace allowed Bournemouth to split the points with us in a 2-2 draw at The New Oval. We got off to a flying start when MOM Michael Holmes scored after rapping home an excellent pass from Michael Bradshaw at the far post past Lewis Price. Bradshaw then added a scintallating goal after a deft pass from Stephen Morgan. Bournemouth drew a goal back immediately as Hayter shed Darren Barnes' marking and slipped a shot inside the left post past Stuart Cain. The match see-sawed back and forth the rest of the first half with neither club able to score- but both coming close. The second half was more tightly played, but Bournemouth found the equalizer midway through the half when Guy Bates made a looping cross that Hayter leapt and deflected past Cain. Both sides played hard to keep the match deadlocked at 2-2 until the final whistle.

[Faramir]

10.2.09

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Macclesfield (0)

Last place Macclesfield ran into a buzzsaw in the first half as we executed very well on our way to a 3-0 win over them at The New Oval. Michael Bradshaw, despite limping with a banged up leg from an early challenge, made another sensational end-to-end run as he took the ball just beyond our area and took it all the way down the pitch and put his shot away past Ryan Jenkins for the goal to give us the lead. To give you an idea how impressive a run- Bradshaw earned MOM honours despite my pulling him for precaution after he scored. We added a second goal when Paul Lee, who had come on for Bradshaw, headed down for Daniel Hayes and Hayes finished well midway through the first half. The two paired up again when Hayes flicked a header forward and Lee blasted past Jenkins from just inside the edge of the area late in the first half to make it 3-0 halftime lead. Lee also left with an injury early in the second half and we were content to just contain the disheartened visitors and help Robert Clarke earn another clean sheet in the win.

[Faramir]

18.2.09

Swindon (1) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

A costly defensive mistake was turned into the only goal of the match as Swindon beat us 1-0 at The County Ground. Martin Hall was skinned by Izet Zahirovic and Zahirovic lofted a cross from the right corner that MOM Louis Dodds outmuscled Darren Barnes for in the air and headed past Robert Clarke. We had plenty of chances to get even during the match- despite not playing with our usual crispness- but our poor finishing was what doomed us. I again had to pull Michael Bradshaw early as a precaution for another rough challenge leaving him slightly injured, but we played well even after he came out- but we just couldn't put our good chances on goal to challenge Rhys Evans. The match did feature the return from a lengthy bout with shin splints of prized midfielder Richard Booth.

[Faramir]

21.2.09

Bristol Rovers (1) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

Struggling Bristol Rovers gave us a difficult match, but we finally were able to clinch the match with a final goal in second half injury time as we defeated them 3-1 at Memorial Stadium. We had a golden chance to take the lead midway through the first half when Michael Holmes was tripped by Wes Morgan in the area. Stephen Morgan, who had a difficult match today, saw Carl Ikeme make a diving save on his penalty kick. We shook off the miss and took the lead shortly after when Keith Hughes scored his 1st ever goal for us by deflecting a Paul Morris free kick past Ikeme. We held on to the lead at halftime only because Robert Clarke was giving his usual steady effort in goal. I finally began to feel a bit better about our effort when Holmes deflected a cross from Sean Evans past Ikeme. The feeling of comfort didn't last for long after Morgan was called for a handball in the area. Stephen Opaka converted the penalty kick to ruin Clarke's clean sheet and put the home side right back into the match. Clarke made a brilliant clutch save when he parried Opaka's shot away when Opaka was alone in front. We put the match away when MOM Michael Bradshaw, stopped twice by replacement keeper Graham O'Brien in the late stages, put away a shot from in close to close out the 3-1 win.

***

28.2.09

Our Under-18 side won their 2nd consecutive Group 2 title as they clinched the title after only 17 matches. They have lost once, while winning the other 16 matches and have scored 63 goals while only yielding 4 on the season. It is fine work that our developmental staff is doing with the youngsters.

[Faramir]

28.2.09

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Exeter (0)

Another brilliant effort by MOM Michael Bradshaw was enough to spearhead us to a 2-0 win over Exeter at The New Oval. Stephen Morgan's excellent touch pass put Bradshaw in free and he finished well past Jonathan Tuffey inside the left post to give us the lead in the early moments of the first half. Morgan's partner in center midfield, Paul Morris, then slipped another pass through to Bradshaw as he slipped his marker and Bradshaw made it a brace with a flicked shot inside the right post. Ian Moore drew a redcard shortly after that short-circuited a lot of Exeter's comeback hopes. Late in the second half Bradshaw showed why he is so well regarded amongst our team- despite being only 17- as he had moved past Tuffey and had an open goal to finish his hat-trick. Instead, Bradshaw tried to get the ball to strike partner Michael Holmes to let him score. It didn't work out, but our fans gave Bradshaw a standing ovation for that effort and Holmes tousseld the youngster's hair playfully as they made their way back down the pitch. Robert Clarke made several good saves in the second half as Exeter tried to rally and his clean sheet was well earned. Bradshaw broke the club record as his brace moves him to 26 goals for the season.

***

1.3.09

Just like that- Bradshaw is gone from us for at least a month. He pulled up with a groin strain in practice and we took immediate precautions. It is disappointing, but we should have the depth to survive his loss.

[Faramir]

7.3.09

Mansfield (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

I guess I should be relieved that we escaped Field Mill with a 1-1 draw against Mansfield. They scored early in the match when MOM Liam Davis wasn't adequately marked by Sam Hutchinson and was able to deflect a cross from Scott Phelan past Robert Clarke. We worked hard in the first half, but I was very unhappy with the Referee as both Michael Holmes and Daniel Hayes were subjected to a pounding by the Mansfield midfield and backline. We started rallying after Paul Lee replaced Holmes- due to Holmes injury- to begin the second half and Hayes sent a well-placed cross that Lee deflected past Simon Royce for the equalizer. We failed to gain the lead, despite some good chances, and then were forced to just try and settle for splitting the points after Hutchinson's 2nd yellow card midway through the half. We managed to accomplish that in finishing out the 1-1 draw.

[Faramir]

14.3.09

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Northampton (0)

The chances were there for us- the finishing wasn't- as we battled to a scoreless draw hosting Northampton at The New Oval. Sergei Lepmets was excellent in goal for them today and he stopped Paul Lee twice, Daniel Hayes once and Paul Morris once on superb scoring chances to help earn his side a share of the points today. Overall, we outplayed them, but with our lack of finishing minus Michael Bradshaw, we just haven't been able to get the goals we need for better results. Defender Chris Doig of Northampton took the MOM honours in the match.

[Faramir]

21.3.09

Boston United (0) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Still no offense from our other forwards, but today we got the goal we needed to eke out a win over Boston United at York Street. MOM Hector Caceres was the hero today as he blistered a 35 yard free kick inside the left upright past Yves Makabu Ma Kalamby for the only goal of the match. The chances were there for the forwards to contribute again today, but Shaun Cummings and Neil Teggart failed to put another past Kalamby. Boston United also had pressure and chances in the second half and Robert Clarke stood tall in earning his clean sheet as we won an important road match.

[Faramir]

28.3.09

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Sconthorpe (0)

Finally! We got a goal from our forwards- actually two- and they were the difference as we edged Sconthorpe 2-0 in a spirited match. The first half was rough as it was clear the Referee was going to call little, unless it was two-footed, and there was a lot of holding, jostling and tough tackling that kept the scoring chances at a premium. We struggled with our passing and gave the ball away much more than I considered wise. Robert Clarke was sharp in keeping them off the scoreboard as we gave away a couple chances in our area. I urged them to settle down and play our type of match in the second half and the dividends were clear when Sean Evans pushed a ball forward to send Paul Lee free down the left side on a counter-attack in the opening moments of the second half. Lee blasted a shot that Kevin Pilkington got his hand on, but couldn't keep out of the left side of the goal for his 10th goal of the season to give us the lead. The energy from both sides was clearly raised as the visitors sought to equalize and we sought another goal. The clinching goal came when Aaron Downes took down Michael Holmes just inside the edge of the area late in the second half. Lee stepped up and cemented his MOM honours by converting the penalty kick as we helped Clarke close out another clean sheet in the 2-0 win.

[Faramir]

1.4.09

After the midweek make up matches were played, the League 2 race down to the wire:

League 2 Table- 41 matches played, 5 remaining

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

1- Leyton Orient PL 88 pts (+37)

2- Holyhead Hotspur PL 82 pts (+38)

3- Bournemouth 76 pts (+18)

4- Hull 74 pts (+20)

5- Torquay 72 pts (+24)

6- Swindon 69 pts (+14)

7- Boston United 66 pts (+12)

8- Rushden 62 pts (+7)

9- Blackpool 60 pts (+10)

</pre>

The best news for us is that Michael Bradshaw is back in training and should be ready to play our next match.

[Faramir]

4.4.09

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Tranmere (0)

Michael Bradshaw only played the first half and didn't score, but his return to the lineup really seemed to spark us as we drubbed Tranmere 3-0 at The New Oval. Bradshaw's hard work and pressure on the Tranmere backline created the big play of the match as Graeme Lee lost the ball to Daniel Hayes in the area and was forced to trip him as last man. MOM Dave Fleming calmly converted the penalty kick past Bent Bratbakken as Lee left for the dressing room after his redcard. With the lead and the extra man, we used the space beautifully and Fleming zipped a pass in that Hayes deflected past Bratbakken to give us a 2-0 lead early on in the first half. I warned the boys to tone down the attacking, because even with 10 men, Tranmere had the talent to rally. Robert Clarke's fine work kept them off the scoreboard and we moved to the second half still leading 2-0. Hayes made it a brace halfway through the second half when he volleyed a cross from Sam Hutchinson home to complete the scoring in our win. Leyton Orient's win clinched their promotion to League 1.

[mark wilson27]

Almost there Faramir, as Sir Alex Ferguson says " Its squeaky bum time"

[Faramir]

mark- *chuckles* that applies to another story I am playing right now (haven't started posting yet...)

***

11.4.09

Barnet (0) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

A win would have clinched promotion for us, but it was not to be as worked hard- but not efficiently- in playing to a scoreless draw at Underhill against Barnet. The scoring chances were at a premium as both sides midfields and backlines played well in support of their keepers. The best chance we had saw Michael Holmes fire a shot off the crossbar past Lyall Beazley. Their best chance saw Robert Clarke make a diving parry of Sylvain Legwinski's free kick late in the second half. MOM honours went to our Martin Hall. The draw virtually clinches promotion as we now hold a 9 point edge on 4th place Bournemouth with a 24 goal differential lead over them with 3 matches remaining. One more good result will clinch our advancement to League 1. We still hold a 6 point lead over 3rd place Hull to hang on to the spot behind Champion Leyton Orient.

[mark wilson27]

Sounds good cant wait to read that one

[Faramir]

mark- keep an eye out, I should be starting it fairly soon

***

13.4.09

Blackpool (0) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

Though we didn't win the match, we dominated Blackpool from start to finish and were content with the scoreless draw that ensures our promotion to League 1. We had plenty of chances to score, but Nicolas Sharro played very well in goal for them and they cleared a ball off the line on us. Their defender- Paul McShane- earned MOM honours for his solid play in keeping us off the scoreboard. Michael Bradshaw finally looked more his self today and created some chances for himself, but Sharro was able to stop him with good saves. Our fans met us when the bus arrived back at The New Oval to stage an impromptu celebration of our promotion.

[Faramir]

18.4.09

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Carlisle (0)

We clinched 2nd place in League 2 with our 1-0 win over struggling Carlisle at The New Oval. The only goal in the match came from Daniel Hayes as he deflected a free kick from Phil Barnett past Conrad Logan. Carlisle sent men forward as they were deseperate for a good result from the match and Stuart Cain earned MOM honours for a series of saves late in the first half that kept us in the lead at halftime. The second half saw us playing better in support of Cain, though we missed a couple nice chances to build on our lead. The final whistle found our New Oval fans celebrating the final home match of the season and the fact that we clinched 2nd place.

[Faramir]

21.4.09

The process of winnowing the roster of some of the excess younger players has begun. We sold Ben Spencer to Ossett Town for 7K and are in negotiations for the sale of others.

***

22.4.09

Swindon S paid us 3K for unhappy young fullback Patrick McCarthy.

***

24.4.09

Witton paid us 16K to purchase 18 year old forward Rob Carter.

***

25.4.09

Bury (3) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

We closed out our League 2 season with a loss as Bury punished us for our mistakes. Matthew Tipton got them off to a flying start when he shed his marker to rifle a shot past Stuart Cain at 5 minutes. We looked to have equalized, but Shaun Cummings was ruled offside when he scored shortly after. Cummings finally did get his goal- the equalizer- later in the first half with a nice shot past Aaron Grundy. We were battling evenly in the second half when Michael O'Connor stepped into a loose ball and let loose a 30 yard rocket that slipped past Cain. They added the clinching goal when Scott Harris smashed home a 20 yard shot. Winger David Buchanan earned MOM honours as we didn't show a lot of life in a match that meant nothing to us.

***

25.4.09

It is gratifying that we gained promotion and also a bit amazing- given that MK Dons went back down this season. Our young club is clearly maturing fairly quickly and though we had to lean on Michael Bradshaw's scoring a bit too much this season- I think we will be a more balanced club next season.

[Faramir]

6.5.09

I thanked Alan Fettis for the fine job he did with the Reserve side. They won 4-0 in their final match of the season to retain the English Reserves Group 3 title, just barely edging Leicester's Reserves on the final day of the season.

***

16.5.09

Things have stayed quiet on Holyhead Hotspur front. I pursued several players released from EPL youth sides, but was unable to sign any of them to contracts. This was likely due to better offers and less competition at other clubs. Our financial state also plays a part as we are only just barely in the black (over 1 Million) and our current weekly wage budget is well over the Board's allottment- and again we failed to receive any prize money for our 2nd place finish in League 2. Still, I have cause for optimism as we move to League 1 play, our young side has been together for several years and we have a few other extremely talented youngsters due to make their debut next season. It will be easy for the press to write off our chances, but we are going to be a club that other clubs don't enjoy facing- we may well be the quickest club in League 1.

[BenArsenal]

Well done on getting promoted!

[Faramir]

BenArsenal- Thanks very much

***

27.5.09

We placed three starters on the League 2 Players Select Team. Accorded started status on the All-star club were keeper Robert Clarke, forward Michael Bradshaw and midfielder Stephen Morgan.

***

20.6.09

Michael Bradshaw was named our Fans' Player of the Year, which surprised no one. Michael was clearly our key player last season and was the biggest reason we gained promotion.

***

1.7.09

We added two small addition to the squad as the transfer window opened. 16 year old forward Steve Rogers signed with us from Wakefield-Emley. The arbiter decided 85K was the proper payment for the young forward. Rogers will go to the Under-18s for a season to build experience. Also joining us with a more immediate impact is 18 year old rightback Gary Vaughan, who came to us from Crewe for 60K. Vaughan will definitely be on the Senior side and should see playing time next season.

[Faramir]

1.7.09

I absolutely hated to do this- but we sold 18 year old center defender Keith Hughes to Burnley for 2.5 Million, with a sell-on clause and an arranged friendly. Even with our 450K of TV money, we were looking at a very bare bones club for this season. The only way to avoid that was to sell one of the premium youngsters on the club. With Darren Barnes, Hector Caceres and Jack Hobbs- center defense is one place where we may have enough depth to survive, so Hughes was the best choice to sell if we still want to maintain our core of the club. The money ensures our solvency for the season and gives us a base to try and build on.

***

8.7.09

We hosted Blackburn in our first friendly and didn't play badly as they only managed to score two late second half goals to beat us. We also lost a goal on an offside call.

***

8.7.09

Unhappy leftback Steve Cross was sold to Southend for 12K. Cross spent most of last season complaining that he wasn't starting and it was good to see him move on.

***

11.7.09

We surprised Manchester City and built a 3-0 lead before they surged back. We managed to hold them off for a 3-2 win that really pleased our fans at The New Oval.

[Faramir]

15.7.09

I was pleased with how we battled Bolton, but we didn't play good enough defense and lost 2-1 at The New Oval. It was an enteraining match, despite losing.

***

19.7.09

Our trip to Aberdeen Scotland didn't go well as we lost to them 3-1 on a pair of second half goals that they should not have scored.

***

22.7.09

We lost another closely played friendly- this time to Burnley 1-0 at The New Oval.

***

26.7.09

It was with a sense of relief that we brushed off visiting Merthyr Tydfil 4-0 at The New Oval to end our friendlies. The club had been getting a bit frustrated as our efforts against bigger sides weren't yielding any results, but it was nice to set ourselves up for the season and regain some confidence we beat the smaller club.

[Faramir]

1.8.09

Grimsby (1) Holyhead Hotspur (6)

Our League 1 campaign got off to a smashing start as we roared back from an early deficit to play superbly in routing Grimsby 6-1 at Blundell Park. We fell behind in the opening minutes of play when Darren Barnes was whistled for jostling Adam Rooney in the area. Paul Barratt converted the penalty kick past Robert Clarke to give the home side the lead. I was proud of how quickly the boys rallied. We immediately put them under pressure and Michael Bradshaw and Michael Holmes were causing their backline immense problems. Holmes earned MOM honours in the match and he brought us even with a well placed shot past Steve Young after a well placed pass from Stephen Morgan found him with space. Holmes then fed Bradshaw to score and give us the lead just past the midway point of the half. We came close to adding to the lead, but Young came up with a diving stop on Morgan's blast and also pushed a drive by Dave Fleming over the bar. The start of the second half found us in fine form and Holmes quickly made it a brace for himself with a drive after a quick cross from Bradshaw. Morgan then scored a terrfic 30 yard shot past Young and Holmes made it a hat-trick for himself by finishing nicely. We capped the scoring when Holmes was taken down in the area and Hector Caceres converted the penalty kick to make the final margin 6-1. Caceres suffered a badly sprained ankle later in the match that will keep him out up to a couple months.

[mark wilson27]

Damn. couldn't ask for a better start could you.

[Faramir]

mark- no, I couldn't

***

3.8.09

League 1 Odds by totalbet.com

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

Cardiff 6-4

Bristol City 6-4

Watford 2-1

Preston 5-2

Brighton 3-1

Southend 6-1

Holyhead Hotspur 80-1

</pre>

After our promising start, I wouldn't be surprised if the books don't wind up with at least a bit of money on us.

***

4.8.09

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Cardiff (1)

Our first home match was a midweek tilt hosting the favored club of League 1- Cardiff- and we gave a good account of ourselves as we fought back for a 1-1 draw with the fellow Welsh side. We fell behind in the opening moments when Alvedin Nezirovac slipped Jack Hobbs' marking and put away a shot past Robert Clarke. The equalizer came midway through the first half when MOM Richard Booth deflected a Sean Evans corner past Paul Gallacher. Both sides had chances to make their mark in the second half, but Cameron Jerome's bicycle kick was into the side netting for the visitors and Michael Holmes was ruled offside- to my disbelief- when he scored into an open goal to cap a nice passing sequence for us late in the second half. Overall, I judge that we played a bit better than them, but we lacked their polish in attacking.

[Faramir]

8.8.09

Watford (0) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

We edged Watford 1-0 at Vicarage Road in a very good result for us. The match was evenly played by both clubs and both clubs had chances in the first half. Robert Clarke made a diving parry on a rocket from Mads Timm and also smothered a good chance by Danny Galm. Graeme Smith made a nice stop, tipping a rising blast from Paul Morris over the bar. Dean Scott received his first start for us and played poorly in the first half, so Andy Smith- also making his debut because of the spate of injuries to our forwards- came on and triggered the deciding point in the match. Smith was tripped in the area by Abdoulay Konko and Morris converted the penalty kick past replacement keeper Zac Barrett for what would be the only goal of the match. We should have added a second goal when Paul Lee deflected a cross from Matthew Preston, but Lee was whistled for a push on Paul Bignot on his header and the goal was waved off. Clarke was brilliant down the stretch for us and his clean sheet was well earned as we held off the home side for the close win. Darren Barnes earned MOM honours.

***

9.8.09

We paid Tiverton 85K to sign 16 year old center midfielder Gary Saunders. Saunders should be in the mix further in the season.

[Faramir]

15.8.09

Holyhead Hotspur (5) Colchester (0)

It was a convincing win as we turned the tables on struggling Colchester with a 5-0 win at The New Oval. We grabbed the early lead when Darren Barnes deflected a Richard Booth corner past Ben Alnwick to put us ahead quickly. It didn't take long to build on the lead as MOM Sean Evans deflected a cross from Bill Walton in. Michael Holmes turned that into a quickfire double as he finished well on a cross from Michael Bradshaw and we led 3-0 at halftime. We kept the pressure up and late in the half the vistors crumbled as Holmes made it a brace and then Bradshaw chipped in a goal to make the final margin 5-0 as Robert Clarke put up an easy clean sheet. The win quieted Bobby Gould, who had been yapping about the match in the press in the lead-in.

[Faramir]

19.8.09

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Derby (1) League Cup 1st Round

Our fans celebrated a surprise win as we upset Championship club Derby 2-1 at The New Oval in the 1st round of the League Cup competition. We got off on a flyer when Simon Hudson celebrated his debut by deflecting a cross from Dave Fleming past Lee Camp to give us the lead in the 2nd minute of play. Derby promptly answered as Peter Crouch overpowered Matt Nicholson and deflected a cross from Marcus Tudgay past Lee Harvey. Both sides battled and our bigger visitors seemed surprised that our youngsters were giving as good as they got. The match winner came midway through the second half when David Poole picked up a loose ball and scooted down the right side before crossing. MOM Paul Lee cruised in unmarked and pushed the ball inside the left post to return us the lead. We held off the rally attempts of Derby to sweep them out of the League Cup.

[mark wilson27]

Great win over Derby. keep it up

[Faramir]

Thanks mark- it was a surprise win for us

***

22.8.09

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Southend (1)

It took a hardworking second half to overcome the goal we handed Southend, but we managed to do it in fighting back for a 2-1 win at The New Oval. The first half was highlighted by our incessant pressure on the visitors, but we found ourselves trailing at halftime. Darren Barnes made a weak header while trying to clear a cross and the ball went directly to Rafik Djebbour. Djebbour lofted a 30 yard shot over Robert Clarke, who was caught completely out of position due to the weak clearance and Southend had the lead. Darren Randolph frustrated Michael Bradshaw twice on one-on-ones with dazzling saves, but Bradshaw finally took his measure in the second half. Andy Smith, on for slightly injured Michael Holmes, headed a ball down and MOM Sean Evans sent a looping pass into the area and Bradshaw deflected the equalizer inside the right post. Evans then made a brilliant move with the ball and sent another lofted cross to the far post. Bradshaw made it a brace with another strong header past Randolph to push us into a 2-1 lead. We had to survive a couple close calls in the waning moments of the match, but Southend's shooting was not on target and the final whistle found us with a win.

[Faramir]

24.8.09

Walsall (0) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Young Gary Saunders earned MOM honours as his 1st goal for Holyhead proved to be the only goal as we edged Walsall 1-0 at The Bescot. The match was taut from the opening whistle and both sides had many good chances throughout the match. The lone goal came when Saunders deflected Stephen Morgan's corner past Robert Beckwith midway through the first half. Beckwith made two brilliant saves on Shaun Cummings- who was celebrating his return from injury- to keep the match close. Lee Harvey's clean sheet was deserved, but he was fortunate that Walsall wasn't able to convert either of his bad miscues into goals. Harvey did make several timely saves to keep the home side off the board in the match.

***

1.9.09

Our remarkable start saw us sweeping the awards for August. Michael Bradshaw was Player of the Month and Dave Fleming was Young Player of the Month. I was selected Manager of the Month and Stephen Morgan had the goal of the month.

[Faramir]

5.9.09

Leyton Orient (0) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

Though we dominated Orient at Brisbane Road, we couldn't build on our 1-0 lead until the final moments as we finally scored the clinching goal and won 2-0. We pressured the home side continually in the first half, but keeper Joe Lewis made a series of dazzling saves to keep us off the scoreboard. Michael Bradshaw, Michael Holmes and Paul Morris all tested Lewis and came away shaking their heads. We opened up and finally scored early in the second half. Lewis made a good save on Gary Vaughan's hard shot, but the ball trickled past him and an alert Sean Evans whisked it into the open goal. Lewis made several more key saves to keep Orient in the match, but his luck ran out when he parried a blast from Bradshaw and Paul Morris was in the right spot to hammer the rebound into the open goal to cement the win. Moments before Morris' goal, Robert Clarke had come up with the save of the match to keep Orient from equalizing when he smothered a shot off Gary Alexander's foot. Darren Barnes earned MOM honours for us with his work in the backline.

[Faramir]

9.9.09

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Bristol City (1)

We suffered our first loss of the season when a missed interception cost us dearly as we lost a closely played match 1-0 to Bristol City at The New Oval. The early portion of the first half featured several good chances by us, but we either missed the goal or saw Brian Jensen come up with good saves. Martin Hall missed intercepting a cross and MOM Loic Poujol zipped a short cross that Jonan deflected past Robert Clarke for the only goal of the match. We kept working the rest of the match, but our execution was lacking and our forwards ineffective today as Jensen notched the clean sheet in defeating us 1-0.

[Faramir]

12.9.09

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Swansea (1)

It was a waste of a good performance as we handed Swansea the equalizer on a silver platter and could only manage to split the points with the visitors at The New Oval. It was an impressive first half, but we had difficulty scoring on keeper Iain Turner. Turner made excellent saves on Michael Holmes, Stephen Morgan and Michael Bradshaw to keep us off the scoreboard. We finally broke through when Bradshaw scored on a terrific banana shot past Turner off a cross from Sean Evans. It was MOM Bradshaw's 5th of the season and gave us the lead at halftime. David Poole, on for slightly injured Bill Walton to open the second half, earned my ire and a spot on the bench for a good, long while when he made a horrible backpass directly to Jemal Johnson that saw Lee Harvey stranded as Johnson lofted a 45 yard shot into the goal to even the match. We failed to regain the lead and finished with a frustrating draw.

[Faramir]

16.9.09

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Millwall (1) League Cup 2nd Round

We upset favoured Millwall 3-1 at The New Oval, brooming the Championship side out of the League Cup thanks to a fine effort by our youngsters. We controlled the first half of play- thanks to good work in our central midfield from Mark Potter and Gary Saunders- and took a 1-0 lead to halftime after Shaun Cummings scored his 1st goal of the season off a good pass from Saunders. With Cummings tiring, Daniel Hayes stepped in and proceeded to single-handedly put away Millwall. Hayes gave us a 2-0 lead just past midway through the second half when he ran down a long, lofted pass down the center of the pitch by MOM Martin Hall. Hayes put a nice shot away past Alan Blayney for his 1st goal of the season. Millwall got a glimmer of hope when Saunders was whistled for a handball in the area and Nathan Jarman converted the penalty kick past Lee Harvey. The goal ruined Harvey's clean sheet as he had played superbly to that point. A late corner saw Blayney come forward and the visitors paid the ultimate price when Saunders headed out to Hayes and he launched an audacious 70 yard shot that bounced into the open goal to seal their fate with his brace.

[Faramir]

19.9.09

Preston (2) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

It was doubly painful to see us play a solid match at Deepdale, only to be done in by our own bad mistakes made early in the match as the home side dumped us 2-0. We gave them both goals early in the first half of the match, beginning with Sean Evans making a terrible choice to try and pass back to Robert Clarke. Evans' pass instead went directly to Dave Hibbert and he had a simple time lofting a 40 yard shot into the open goal over the stranded Clarke. Stephen Morgan compounded that error with an errant backpass that went to John Knight and set up a 2-1 that Hibbert finished off for his brace and 5th goal of the season. After that point, we played solidly on defense, but couldn't solve MOM Robert Olejnik. Olejnik came up with several sensational saves in both the rest of the first half and over the second half to put up a well earned clean sheet. We lost Michael Bradshaw midway through the first half, and Daniel Hayes tried- but couldn't score upon Olejnik despite some brilliant opportunities. Bradshaw pulled his hamstring and will miss at least a month of play- a blow to us to lose him.

[Faramir]

22.9.09

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Hull (3)

A thoroughly forgettable match for us as we didn't play as badly as the scoreline looked in falling to Hull 3-0 at The New Oval. Hull took the lead midway through the first half when the officials failed to whistle Stephen McPhee for being clearly offside on a free kick. Robert Clarke stopped McPhee's initial shot, but he put the rebound back past Clarke. We had chances to equalize, but found the Hull backline making some excellent saving tackles to ruin what appeared to be a couple sure goals. In the opening moments of the second half a poor clearance by Matthew Preston went to Lloyd Sam and he whipped a 25 yard shot past Clarke- who couldn't see the shot until too late. McPhee made it a brace when Jack Hobbs failed to mark him closely enough and McPhee hammered a shot past Clarke off a cross from Ben Burgess. We went down to 10 men shortly after that when Dave Fleming went off and I had already used our three subs to try and stir our side.

[Faramir]

26.9.09

Brighton (0) Holyhead Hotspur (4)

We righted ourselves quite nicely as we didn't give away any goals and started finishing with aplomb in rolling over Brighton 4-0 at Falmer. Richard Lee made several key saves early to keep the match scoreless, but we broke through for a quickfire double later in the first half. Daniel Hayes, starting for the injured Michael Bradshaw, deflected a sharp cross from MOM Sean Evans to push us into the lead at 36 minutes. We turned that into a quickfire double when Hector Caceres, making his first appearance after being injured in the opening match of the season, lofted a beautiful free kick that Michael Holmes flicked over Lee to give us a 2-0 halftime lead. We built on that lead in the second half as Holmes made it a brace by blasting past Lee after taking a cross from Bill Walton. Simon Hudson finished off the scoring when he rapped home a shot inside the far post on a nice short cross from Holmes. Robert Clarke's clean sheet was deserved as he made a couple terrific saves in keeping Brighton off the board in the first half.

[Faramir]

10.10.09

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Cheltenham (0)

Though we dominated the match, we would only split the points because MOM Sam Russell was brilliant in the Cheltenham goal. We outshot the visitors 14-2 for the match and had all manner of good chances in both halves, but could not find a way to stretch the twine behind Russell as he was acrobatic in keeping us from scoring. There were at least a half dozen excellent chances for us and we only missed putting one of those on target- Russell just found a way to keep the remaining shots out of the goal. Robert Clarke wasn't seriously tested as he had an easy clean sheet in the match.

[Noptje]

Great story you have here Faramir. It's one of the first days I'm back onto this forum, and I must say this story is really nice.

Maybe I'll start a story in the near future about my lower league game I'm running... anyway KUTGW and good luck with Hotspur

[Faramir]

Noptje- thanks very much, glad you like the story Welcome back as well- remember Bjorn from before...

***

13.10.09

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Tranmere (3) Vans Trophy North 1st Round (Tranmere advances on Penalties)

We suffered a bitter loss when we went out on penalties to visiting Tranmere after winding up with a 3-3 score in Extra Time. It is clear that we should have won this match- and the reason we went to penalties and wound up losing is because our backline had a horrible match. We got off to a great start when MOM Paul Lee scored two goals in a three minute span midway through the first half. Lee made a nice move with the ball before slotting a shot past Bent Bratbakken to give us the lead. Lee followed by whipping in a rebound after Bratbakken stopped Gary Saunders initial shot. We handed them a goal back just before halftime when Ryan Lynch inexplicably passed directly to Bradley Wright-Phillips in our area! Wright-Phillips dumped the ball into the open side of the goal as Steve Williams, making his debut in goal for us, looked on in anguish. We moved back up by two goals when Lee unselfishly passed up a chance for his hat-trick to slide a pass over to Cummings to rap it home into the open goal. Jack Hobbs made a terrible choice to try and dribble up the pitch and Anton Zlogar took the ball away from him and then down to score. Marc Thompson handed them the equalizer when he was called for a handball in the area and Rhys Powell converted the penalty kick past Williams. The penalty kicks came down to young Saunders seeing our last kick saved by Bratbakken to seal our disappointing exit from the competition.

[Faramir]

17.10.09

Sheffield United (0) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Thanks to a dazzling MOM effort from keeper Robert Clarke we surprised 2nd place Sheffield United 1-0 at Bramall Lane in a match that the home side should clearly have won. Sheffield United outshot us 15-4 in the match and Clarke was brilliant in making key save after key save. We weren't playing particularly badly, but we also were committing the type of costly defensive errors that saw us lose several recent matches. The only goal came late in the match when Sean Evans looped in a cross and Michael Holmes smashed a shot that Peter Smith got a hand on- but couldn't keep out of the goal at 84 minutes. It was a win that we will savor as our hard work paid off thanks to Clarke.

[Faramir]

21.10.09

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Middlesbrough (0) League Cup 3rd Round

Our improbable run in the League Cup continued as we saw off EPL Middlesbrough 3-0 at The New Oval. The lead came early when Dave Fleming's free kick was slightly deflected by Andy Webster and that was enough to cause Stuart Spencer to be moving the wrong way as the ball tucked into the right upright. Lee Harvey earned MOM honours from our net as we played superbly in keeping them from equalizing in the rest of the first half despite intense pressure. We settled down a bit at halftime and began showing more attacking, which paid off when Gary Saunders slipped a pass through to Simon Hudson and Hudson fired a shot inside of the far left post. Saunders set up Hudson again a few minutes later and Hudson's rising shot sailed past Spencer for a brace. A steady defensive effort and Harvey's play kept the visitors off the scoreboard for the upset.