From the Fringe- Holyhead Hotspur

[Faramir]

17.7.10

Our road trip to Italy started with a surprising 4-1 win over Parma. Michael Bradshaw scored twice and we had solo markers from Paul Lee and Steve Rogers as we played a fine match. It was an encouraging result for us as we continue to ready ourselves for the season.

***

21.7.10

We battled Sampdoria to a scoreless draw in our 2nd and final match of our Italian junket. It has been good for our youngsters to see the quickness and execution that the Italian clubs have shown us and we played well in both the matches- so the trip was a good confidence builder.

***

24.7.10

We lost another close friendly at The New Oval as Manchester City edged us 1-0. We played well in the match and dominated the first half, but our execution wasn't great and we wasted some good chances to score.

[Faramir]

27.7.10

It is a bit of a gamble- mostly on what it might due to our club's cohesion- but I felt it was worth it as we paid Inter 1.4 Million (800K over 12 months) for 23 year old Italian leftback Paolo Galli. Though Martin Hall has been very good at leftback, Galli is close to a world-class defender who has appeared on both the Under-21 and Under-23 Italian national sides. He played extremely well for two seasons at Roma before Inter purchased him- and then never played him. He was very pleased to get away from Inter and really is looking forward to making his name in English football. With no depth at leftback other than Hall (Ryan Lynch hasn't panned out nearly as well as I had hoped) it made this a gamble worth taking. Hall can also slot into the center- another place where we are a bit lacking depth- so hopefully this move will help improve our club. The chemistry of the dressing room is my main worry as Galli instantly becomes one of our older players- at 23.

***

28.7.10

We closed out our home friendly schedule with a solid 5-0 win over East Stirling. We never gave the Scottish side much chance as we took control with 4 first half goals. We finish out our friendlies with a trip to face Bristol Rovers.

***

31.7.10

Our last friendly found us taking a trip to face Bristol Rovers. It turned out to be a good tune up for the season as we played a solid match in defeating the home side 3-0. We will face Bradford City at Valley Parade in a week in our inaugral Championship league match.

[Faramir]

4.8.10

Our lineup for our opening match against Bradford City will be:

GK- Robert Clarke

DR- Gary Vaughan

DL- Paolo Galli

DC- Jack Hobbs (Darren Barnes not fully recovered from injury yet)

DC- Hector Caceres

MR- Bill Walton

ML- Dave Fleming

MC- Paul Morris

MC- Stephen Morgan

SC- Michael Bradshaw

SC- Michael Holmes

Sub- Ian Price

Sub- Mark Potter

Sub- Simon Hudson

Sub- Chris May

Sub- Martin Hall

[Faramir]

7.8.10

Bradford City (0) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

It was a terrific way to begin our run in Championship play as we played a worthy first match in handing Bradford City a 2-0 defeat at Valley Parade. I think the home side wound up surprised at our speed and coverage over the entire pitch. Though we weren't able to score in the first half of play, we clearly had Bradford under pressure as we piled up 13 shots by halftime. In the opening moments of the second half Michael Bradshaw showed he is fully recovered and ready to be an impact player again. Heimer Gudmundsson seriously underestimated Bradshaw's pace and anticipation when he sent a pass across the pitch. Bradshaw burst on to the ball on our side of midfield and roared up the middle of the pitch before finishing superbly past Donovan Ricketts for a magnificent first goal of the season. We kept up the pressure and were rewarded again late in the half when Stephen Morgan laid a pass off and Bradshaw fired another shot past Ricketts for his brace to cap off our 2-0 win. Robert Clarke made a couple stellar one-on-one saves in the match and his clean sheet was well earned. Michael Holmes earned MOM honours for his hard work all over the pitch.

***

9.8.10

Championship Odds by totalbet.com

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

Leeds 6-4

Ipswich 2-1

Wolves 3-1

Reading 3-1

Burnley 8-1

Leicester 10-1

Holyhead Hotspur 50-1

</pre>

They underestimate us again- at their peril. My tenner says we do better.

[Faramir]

10.8.10

Holyhead Hotspur (4) West Brom (1)

Despite giving up a goal in the first minute of play, we stormed back to an impressive 4-1 win in our first match at The New Oval. Paolo Galli mishandled a ball in our area and when it got too far away it was easy prey for Adam Boyd as he slammed his shot past Robert Clarke. We equalized midway through the first half when Mark Potter slipped a pass into Stephen Morgan. Morgan, unmarked in the area, whipped a hard shot past Lewis Singh. Late in the first half we claimed the lead when Hector Caceres proved again how deadly he is in set piece situations by driving a curving shot inside the left post. Early in the second half a superb pass from MOM Gary Saunders put Michael Bradshaw away free and he put away a shot past Singh. We finished off the scoring when Titus Bramble earned a redcard for tripping Paul Lee in the area. Caceres made it a brace for himself when he converted the penalty kick to finish our 4-1 win.

[Faramir]

14.8.10

Wolves (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

This was a match that we should have won, but settled for splitting the points at Molineaux. The first half saw much of the play in the midfield as both sides battled and traded strong tackles and quick counter-attacks. Robert Clarke made a great save on Theo Walcott to keep things tidy on our side. I was forced to bring on Simon Hudson for Michael Holmes at halftime and Hudson really energized our offense on his way to earning MOM honours. Twice in the early moments of the second half I thought we had keeper Roope Matsi at our mercy, but the Finnish keeper managed to get over to palm away shots destined for the goal. Wolves struck for the lead when a deflected ball bounced to Tom Soares and he caught Clarke off balance and lofted a 25 yard shot over him. We managed to fight back when Hudson deflected a cross from Bill Walton past Matsi. We came ever so close to winning, but Hudson and Steve Rogers missed inches wide on great opportunities late in the half.

[Faramir]

21.8.10

Holyhead Hotspur (5) Leicester (1)

A strong first half, followed by a better second half, helped us to a convincing 5-1 win over Leicester at The New Oval. We took the lead early when MOM Bill Walton made a beautifully laid off pass that Michael Bradshaw put away past Robert Elliott. We kept the pressure up on the visitors the entire half and added a second goal when Bradshaw made a good touch pass that Paul Lee drilled past Elliott to make the halftime lead 2-0. I pulled Bradshaw and Paul Morris early in the second half due to slight injuries and both their subs contributed to our second half surge. Simon Hudson scored to make it 3-1 when Martin Hall punched a pass forward and Hudson was quicker than the Foxes backline. James Wilkinson then scored off a great pass from Lee. Wolfgang Grob ruined Robert Clarke's clean sheet with a goal when he fired a loose ball past Clarke, but we finished the match well when Lee made it a brace with a rising shot in the last moments of the match. The win will cost us the services of Paul Lee for about 3 weeks due to a twisted knee.

[Faramir]

25.8.10

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Barnsley (0)League Cup 1st Round

We continued our strong play as we broomed Barnsley out of the League Cup competition with a 3-0 win at The New Oval. Michael Holmes, despite playing only the first half due to a slight injury, keyed our win. Holmes finished well on a cross from MOM Matthew Preston to give us the lead in the early going. Holmes made it a brace late in the half with another put away finish off a nice pass from Steve Rogers. Steve Williams came up with a pair of great saves in the first half to keep the visitors off the board. Rogers put Barnsley's comeback hopes to rest when he snapped a shot past Owain Fon Williams after taking a fine cross from Mark Potter. Williams finished out with a deserved clean sheet.

***

27.8.10

Pursuing another midfielder or two to give us a bit more depth, I was able to purchase 18 year old Welsh AMRC,FC Stephen Wynne from West Brom for 110K. Wynne was on the loan list and West Brom was fine with letting him go to us. I expect Wynne to help on the rightwing and also the middle.25.8.10

[Faramir]

28.8.10

Peterborough (0) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

After an indifferent first half, we played much better in the second half and defeated Peterborough 2-0 at London Road. The best chances in the first half belonged to the home side, but Robert Clarke was steadfast in his play in goal for us today and made timely saves on Kim Madsen and Shola Ameobi to keep the match scoreless going to the dressing room. We struck quickly to open the second half as Michael Bradshaw took a pass from MOM Dave Fleming and slipped an attempted tackle from Madsen before scoring his 5th goal of the season past Asmir Begovic. Michael Holmes was very frustrated on the day as he missed inches wide with a wide open goal and the crashed a shot off the crossbar. We finally put the match away late in the second half when Stephen Morgan showed exquisite anticipation. Morgan intercepted a through ball and raced down the center before firing a shot past Begovic from just inside the edge of the area. Clarke finished out his clean sheet with the help of Martin Hall who blocked a shot at the wide open goal in the late stages.

[Faramir]

29.8.10

In a another transfer purchase before the looming deadline, we landed 18 year old AMC Tony Owens from Aldershot for 475K. Owens should help a lot with our depth in the center midfield and with Richard Booth finally back in training after his injury- we will have improved depth to deal with the spate of injuries affecting the club.

***

30.8.10

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Burnley (0)

In an important test for us, we passed with flying colours as we defeated favored Burnley 2-0 at The New Oval in a gritty, intensely played match. The play was flowing up and down the pitch as both sides demonstrated excellent technical football. Both backlines countered the flowing play with excellent positional play and superb tackling which limited the first half chances. We took the lead midway through the half as Hector Caceres continued to demonstrate he is one of the most dangerous free kick specialists in English football. Caceres hooked a lovely 30 yard blast inside the far right upright past Daniel Kiss to give us the lead. Kiss made a couple fine saves to keep things from being worse and Matthew Preston missed a wide open goal from 20 yards. Robert Clarke was called upon for solid work early in the second half and kept the sheet clean throughout. We finally ensured a win in second half injury time as Simon Hudson slotted a pass across and MOM Steve Rogers finished well to make the final margin 2-0.

[Faramir]

1.9.10

A continuing sign of the development of our players is evident as we swept the honours for August. Martin Hall edged Michael Bradshaw for Player of the Month- all the more surprising because Hall's return to the starting lineup was only due to the injury that has kept Paolo Galli out for for the last few weeks. Young Player of the Month was Dave Fleming, who beat out Stephen Morgan for the honour. Michael Bradshaw had the Goal of the Month for his strike against Bradford City where he took the ball on the dribble from midfield. I was blushing to receive the Manager of the Month honours.

***

11.9.10

QPR (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

We got off to a flying start in the match but squandered some chances along the way and that proved costly when QPR fought back for a 1-1 draw. Michael Bradshaw put us on the board in the opening moments of the match as his well-timed header caught Darren Buchanan leaning the wrong way as it tucked inside the left upright. Inexplicably, Bradshaw and Michael Holmes both passed up shots on counter-attacks. QPR struck back to equalize in the early minutes of the second half when MOM Alan Hutton deflected a corner from Martin Rowlands past Robert Clarke. Neither side could get the match winner and settled for splitting the points at Loftus Road.

[Faramir]

14.9.10

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Portsmouth (0)

It was another key early season test for us and we battled to a 2-0 win over Portsmouth at The New Oval. The first half was very closely played and both sides were working extremely hard in coverage, which kept scoring chances to a minimum. Chris May, making his return from injury to give Robert Clarke a breather today, had to make a fine save on Slyvan Ebanks-Blake in the early going to keep the visitors off the board. Luke Steele did the same with a save on Steve Rogers. We caught a huge break late in the first half when Ronald Zubar mishandled a ball under pressure from Rogers and MOM Simon Hudson. Hudson picked up the loose ball and slipped it past Steele for a goal at 43 minutes to give us the lead at halftime. The second half saw the pace of play increase and scoring chances became more common. Both May and Steele continued to give good accounts of themselves. We finally broke their spirit when we scored the clinching goal in second half injury time. Rogers laid off the ball and James Wilkinson, on for a tiring Paul Morris, drove a low shot past Steele. May picked up the deserved clean sheet when the final whistle sounded on the 2-0 win.

[Faramir]

18.9.10

Southampton (0) Holyhead Hotspur (5)

We played really well as we handed Southampton a stinging 5-0 loss at St. Mary's Stadium. The lead came early to us when Bill Walton, in a stellar individual effort, took away a pass and broke free down the right side before finishing with power past Paul Smith. Southampton put themselves in trouble when Pablo Mills received a redcard for pushing down Ian Price as the last man. Dave Fleming calmly converted the penalty kick and we led at halftime 2-0. Ian Price scooted down the left and ripped a shot inside the right upright to move ahead 3-0. MOM Michael Bradshaw then took over the match and took full advantage of the added space as he scored a brace to make the final margin 5-0. Robert Clarke earned the clean sheet with several good saves- especially when the match was close in the first half.

[milanfan_apoorv]

this story is nothing less than stunning. sorry about sounding like a blurb but being a heavy role-player myself i beleive you have done exceedingly well to ceaselessly put on paper your adventures with the holyhead spurs. i read it all in about a afternoon and am absolutely hooked and cant wait to see you thrash the jiminy out of man u and chelsea. this is quite, quite good. problem is i have fm 07 and this kind of stuff doesnt work as well as there are too many variables. i sincerely hope to see holyhead whooping some premiership butt in the near future.

brilliant stuff mate

call me apoorv.

cheers

[Faramir]

apoorv- Thanks very much for the kind compliments and glad you are enjoying the story There is no doubt 2007 is much harder for this type 'small club makes good' story- hence my two slowly progressing ones...

***

22.9.10

Walsall (3) Holyhead Hotspur (2) Extra-Time League Cup 2nd Round

To say I was unhappy with the Referee and his crew would be understating things. After watching Simon Hudson ruled offsides on both goals he scored in the first 5 minutes of play- I was furious. Still, we took the early lead when Tony Owens scored his 1st goal for us past Lee Boyle. We didn't play a good match defensively and Graham Barrett scored to equalize after our coverage left him unmarked. We fell behind as Patrick Cregg drilled a 25 yard blast past Chris May after James Wilkinson was run into by Cregg and crumpled to the pitch. Paul Wynne, forced to play forward after Steve Rogers was forced out of the match with an injury, picked an opportune time to score his 1st goal as he scored the dramatic equalizer late in the half. In Extra-time, Mark Hodges received his 2nd yellow card- which upset me immensely after several no calls on collisions initiated by their players. Walsall took advantage of the extra space and MOM Barrett fired the match winner past May. We tried hard to get back to even, but Boyle was solid and we are done in the League Cup this season.

[Faramir]

25.9.10

Derby (1) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

It was another day at the Michael Bradshaw showplace as he earned MOM honours and scored an early brace in keying us to a 3-1 win at Pride Park. Bradshaw struck early for his 1st goal as Bill Walton chipped a pass by Hannes Eder and Eder was never able to catch up to Bradshaw before he buried his shot after rounding Bryn Halliwell. Bradshaw added his brace midway through the first half with his 10th goal of the season. Paul Lee flicked a header that found Bradshaw in full stride. Bradshaw split Eder and Jonas Troest before firing a superbly placed shot past Halliwell. Bradshaw came close to a hat-trick twice in the first half, but both times missed close. Robert Clarke, ably supported by our backline, did some nice work in keeping the home side of the first half scoreline. Clarke made huge saves on Peter Crouch and Seth Johnson to keep things tidy. Clarke made another fine save on Crouch early in the second half. We improved our lead to 3-0 when Ian Price, on for a tiring Lee, ripped a rising shot past Halliwell after taking a nice through ball from Martin Hall. Derby ruined Clarke's shot at a clean sheet as Adam Wilson caught him moving the wrong way and slipped a 20 yard shot past him. That was the lone highlight for the home side as we closed out a good 3-1 win.

[Faramir]

28.9.10

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Doncaster (1)

The first 20 minutes of the match were a nightmare for us, but we righted ourselves and managed to fight back for a 2-1 win at The New Oval. We looked to be in trouble in the opening moments when Darren Barnes was whistled for a push of James Vaughan in the area. We were fortunate when James Collins missed his penalty kick over the goal. We weren't that fortunate when Barnes made an uncharacteristic mistake. Barnes tried to dribble out of a crowd at the edge of our area, but saw the ball knocked away from him. Joleon Lescott then crossed and MOM Kyle Reid, who started the play with his tackle, overpowered Stephen Morgan and deflected past Chris May. We drew even at halftime when Simon Hudson, playing rightwing today, made a well-timed cross that found Michael Bradshaw alone at the edge of the six-yard box. Doncaster paid for their inattentiveness as Bradshaw again proved deadly in the area- whipping a shot past ex-mate Lee Harvey. We took the lead in the opening moments of the second half when Paolo Galli, making his return from injury, scorched a terrific through ball to Steve Rogers. Rogers put away his shot inside the left post to make it 2-1. Both sides battled hard for the next goal, but May and Harvey settled well and kept the match locked there until the final whistle.

[Faramir]

1.10.10

It was a good month for awards for Holyhead Hotspur. Jack Hobbs was selected Player of the Month, beating out Zander Diamond. Michael Bradshaw was Young Player of the Month, just edging Spur mate Martin Hall. I was selected Manager of the Month.

***

2.10.10

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Reading (0)

I know several players on our club take exception with Hector Caceres' attitude and would rather he wasn't here- but he is here because he helps us win- and that is exactly what he did today to earn MOM honours in our 1-0 win over Reading at The New Oval. Much credit to the Reading defense and backline as they did very well at marking Michael Bradshaw out of the match. Michael managed only one long-range shot for the match. Because of their success and determined coverage, we didn't see many good chances in the match. The first half was scoreless and the two keepers had been barely tested. The pace of play picked up in the second half. It certainly looked like we were headed for a scoreless draw, but Robert Clarke had to make a brilliant save on a Kenny Miller header, as he tipped it over the bar at 84 minutes. The crucial moment of the match came in second half injury time. Caceres saw Ian Price racing and lofted a beautiful 50 yard pass that found him in stride. Michael Allen was forced to hold Price's jersey in their area. Caceres proved once more that he is a huge asset to our club in his set piece abilities as calmly converted the penalty kick past Kenneth Vermeer for the dramatic match winner. Clarke earned his clean sheet in the win.

[Jammer86]

Just read this from start to finish.. great stuff, keep writing and I'll keep reading.

[Faramir]

Jammer86- Thanks very much Glad it could hold your interest the whole way through

***

16.10.10

Bournemouth (0) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

We played well enough to earn a win, but thanks to a MOM performance from their keeper Bournemouth forced us to settle for a scoreless draw at Fitness First Stadium. Lewis Price deserved his honours as he made some dazzling saves- none better than a sequence that saw him make three saves in a row in close as we poured on the pressure late in the first half. Price also made a key save on Stephen Morgan early in the second half. Robert Clarke had no where near as much action as Price, but was again very steady in keeping things spotless on the scoreline. Our play was good, so I can't be unhappy despite the result.

[Faramir]

19.10.10

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Wigan (0)

Hard work in the midfield and on our backline was the key to our defeating Wigan 3-0 at The New Oval. Wigan started fast and Robert Clarke had to make a diving save on Victor Moses in the opening moments of the match. Wigan suffered a big blow when Jonathan Grounds was redcarded for a nasty elbow at 17 minutes. We steadied after our wavering start and took the lead when MOM Hector Caceres slid a pass through to Michael Bradshaw and Bradshaw finished well past Roy Carroll. Michael Holmes, making his return from injury, slipped a pass to Bradshaw for his brace in the opening moments of the second half. We finished off the scoring when exciting Paul Wynne, on for Bradshaw, made a dazzling move past three defenders, before blistering a shot past Carroll. Clarke kept another clean sheet in the match.

[Faramir]

23.10.10

Huddersfield (1) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

Though the match was closer than the scoreline would indicate, we won out 3-1 over Huddersfield at The Galpharm. We played a very strong first half and marched out to a 2-0 halftime lead. Paul Lee gave us the lead at 19 minutes when he rapped home a rebound after Lee Hayward parried away a blast by Steve Rogers. Rogers made it a quickfire double when he zipped a half-volley past Hayward on a cross from MOM Dave Fleming. Hayward made several saves that kept the match at 2-0 to the half. Huddersfield showed life in the second half and Peter Weatherson gave them a big boost with a smashing 25 yard free kick that eluded Steve Williams' grasp. They pressed us hard for the equalizer, but young Williams did well in goal and kept us in the lead. I felt much more comfortable when Ian Price whipped in a shot from just inside the edge of the area and we put the clamps on them defensively to close out the 3-1 win.

[Faramir]

30.10.10

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Stoke (1)

After getting off to a terrible start, we fought back to earn a 1-1 draw hosting Stoke at The New Oval. Stoke got off to a flyer when Tony Barron zipped past Jack Hobbs and put away a close-in shot past Steve Williams to give the visitors the early lead. We played poorly in the first half and were fortunate Williams came up with a good, diving save on MOM Will Hendry's free kick late in the first half. We came out more organized and committed to begin the second half, but Steve Simonsen made two sensational saves to keep us desperately trying to equalize. We finally found the goal we needed when Steve Rogers lept and deflected a long cross from Martin Hall past Simonsen midway through the second half. Simonsen prevented us from taking all three points with a wonderful save on Richard Booth in the late moments of the match.

***

1.11.10

I was surprised to receive a 3.7 Million bid on Paul Lee from Leeds. After considering the offer for a long while, I called them back and accepted it. The club could surely use the infusion of funds and after reviewing our forwards, I really feel that we can live with the loss of Lee.

It was nice to see Dave Fleming selected as Young Player of the Month for October. Fleming has really shown more development this season and is definately a key player in our future.

[Faramir]

2.11.10

Rotherham (1) Holyhead Hotspur (4)

We fell behind in the opening minute of play at Millmoor, but we roared back to thump struggling Rotherham 4-1 in a decisive win. They struck in the opening minute of play when Jack Hobbs failed to mark Lee Webster closely enough and Webster put away a shot after a good pass from Viktor Pecovsky set him up. Our pace advantage quickly became a telling problem for the home side and their skipper- Steven Watt- was redcarded for hauling down Michael Bradshaw in the area. Hector Caceres converted the penalty kick to get us quickly back to even. The Referee came close to another redcard when David Murphy pulled down Michael Holmes in the area, but I believe having already sent one off impacted his decision and he only yellow carded Murphy. Lee Grant parried Caceres penalty kick and then managed to block away his rebound attempt, but wasn't so fortunate as Bradshaw drilled the second rebound past him to push us into the lead. We added to the margin late in the first half when Richard Booth crossed into the middle and MOM Matthew Preston flicked a header past Grant. We played conservatively in the second half and still added to our final margin when Simon Hudson picked up a ball misplayed by Craig White and rounded Grant before scoring to finish off our win.

[Faramir]

6.11.10

Ipswich (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

This should have been a win. We squandered many chances in the match and our passing left much to be desired as we gave away the ball entirely too much. Despite those facts, this would have been a win had Robert Clarke not lost touch with his senses in the second half. With us holding a 1-0 lead thanks to a fine shot by MOM Steve Rogers that overpowered keeper Ryan Blake, Clarke took a backpass in our area. With two Ipswich forwards all over him, Clarke tried to dribble out of trouble. The inevitable happened as they took the ball away from him and Ian Westlake had an easy time dumping a shot into the open goal to even the match. We tried to regain the lead, but frittered away several good looking chancces in the late stages.

[Faramir]

20.11.10

Holyhead Hotspur (5) Plymouth (1)

Our showdown match with 2nd place Plymouth turned into an impressive 5-1 rout at The New Oval despite the fact we lost Michael Bradshaw in the opening minute of the match. We took a quick lead when MOM Hector Caceres boomed a swerving free kick past Ali Al-Habsi from 30 yards. Simon Hudson, who came on for Bradshaw, finished well as slipped past two attempted tackles and rounded Al-Habsi before firing into the open goal. Hudson then slipped a pass across for Michael Holmes to tuck inside the left post. We finished our dominance of the first half when Holmes was tripped by Dejan Stefanovic in the area and Caceres made it a brace when he converted the penalty kick to give us a 4-0 halftime lead. We were content to keep the visitors from rallying in the second half, but Matt Derbyshire ruined Robert Clarke's clean sheet with a dazzling 25 yard rocket past him. Hudson then added the punctuation point to the win by making it a brace for himself late in the second half with a well placed shot. Bradshaw suffered a foot injury that will keep him out for at least a couple weeks and maybe a month.

[Faramir]

27.11.10

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Sheffield United (0)

An *excuse me* goal was the difference as we edged Sheffield United 1-0 in a bitter battle at The New Oval. Both sides worked very hard and the coverage limited the shots in the match to a bare minimum. The only goal in the match came when Dave Fleming lofted a cross toward Bill Walton at the far post. Sheffield United keeper Chris Howarth could only look on in anguish as Fleming's cross tucked into the upper right corner of the goal. The visitors staged a furious rally that overlapped from the first to the beginning of the second and Robert Clarke's clean sheet was well earned as he could easily have received MOM honours. Instead those honours went to Phil Jagielka of Sheffield United. The final whistle was a relief to both the club and the sold out crowd.

[Faramir]

4.12.10

Millwall (2) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

We made it difficult on ourselves, but we had enough offense- thanks to MOM Steve Rogers- to outlast Millwall 3-2 at The Den. Rogers had a dazzling match and gave us a quick lead when he skinned defender Alvaro Mejia and fired a blazing shot past Alan Blayney. We weren't able to build on the lead before halftime as Blayney made two terrific saves on Rogers- who was running rampant on the Millwall backline. We got a boost early in the second half when Rogers scored by snapping a shot past Blayney after a cross from Dave Fleming. Millwall got a glimmer of hope when David Davis overpowered Lewis Foster and deflected a corner past Robert Clarke. We hit back immediately as Rogers completed his hat-trick with a beautiful volley on a cross from Simon Hudson. Millwall didn't quit and converted another corner as Joe Carter-Harris flicked a header past Clarke as Foster again couldn't deal with who he was marking. We finished still holding our 3-2 margin.

[Faramir]

11.12.10

Holyhead Hotspur (4) Wycombe (2)

It was great to finally see Michael Holmes in good form, as he is a terrific player. Holmes led us to a 4-2 win over Wycombe at The New Oval as we survived a couple whopping defensive lapses in the match. Steve Rogers got us off on a flyer when Gary Saunders made a deft short pass that allowed Rogers to snap home a shot past Ignatiy Nesterov in the match's opening moments. Wycombe answered when miscommunication between Gary Vaughan and keeper Chris May saw Vaughan leave the ball unattended outside our area. As May tried to react, Izale McLeod stolled in and rammed the shot past May to equalize. We wasted little time turning up the heat on Wycombe and Holmes gave us the lead again when he hammered home a shot off a nice cross from Matthew Preston. We started quickly in the second half and Holmes' brace gave us a 3-1 lead, but Wycombe pegged us back immediately when Marc Schmid deflected a corner past May. It took until midway through the second half for us to establish firm control of the match and a pretty passing sequence saw Rogers unselfishly slip a pass across for Holmes to push into the open left side of the goal to complete his hat-trick. We kept Wycombe from any more good scoring chances in closing out the win.

[Faramir]

14.12.10

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Leeds (1)

A golden chance for a win slipped away when a very poor decision by Jack Hobbs allowed Leeds to equalize with only 10 men late in the second half as we wound up with a 1-1 draw at The New Oval. Simon Hudson got us off to a great start when his delicate chip over Phil Howell off a pass from Phil Barnett gave us the lead early in the first half. The match was very rough and we came off worse for wear in the physical play. Bill Walton had to leave in first half injury time and several other players, including Hudson were hobbled through collisions. After Sean Rudd was sent off with his 2nd yellow card early in the second half, we appeared to have the match firmly in hand. We were maintaining that lead in the late moments of the second half when they sent Andres D'Alessandro off on a counter-attack. Robert Clarke came up with the big save, but Hobbs plowed over D'Alessandro, resulting in an immediate penalty kick. Darren Carter converted the penalty kick past Clarke to salvage an undeserved 1-1 draw for Leeds. Walton tore a calf muscle and will likely miss the remainder of the season.

Despite the news on Walton, despite the disappointing ending to the Leeds match, I can't help but buoyed by the fact that we have reached the halfway point of the Championship campaign and still have not lost a match. We haven't always played well, but our depth and cohesion has been impressive this season and we are finally gaining the type of attention that our youtful, talented squad deserves.

Championship Table- Midseason

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

1- Holyhead Hotspur 57 pts (+40)

2- Plymouth 45 pts (+9)

3- Stoke 44 pts (+12)

4- West Brom 43 pts (+15)

5- Sheffield United 41 pts (+10)

6- Portsmouth 38 pts (+10)

7- Wolves 36 pts (+5)

</pre>

[Faramir]

18.12.10

Holyhead Hotspur (4) Bradford City (0)

Struggling Bradford City got no favors from us as we played a solid match and finished well in handing them a 4-0 loss at The New Oval. Andy Thomas stepped up and smashed in a 25 yard rocket past Donovan Ricketts for his 1st goal at Holyhead. That proved to be the only goal of the first half as we missed some good chances to add to the margin. We came out strong from halftime and finally added our 2nd goal of the match when Michael Holmes made a pretty cross that MOM Steve Rogers put away. Hector Caceres struck another booming free kick to give us a 3-0 lead and Holmes finished the scoring off with his 50th goal at Holyhead. Robert Clarke had another easy clean sheet in the win.

[Faramir]

21.12.10

It was a bit disappointing to have to turn down a 10 Million offer on Stephen Morgan from Tottenham. Despite the fact that we would be financially set after such a deal- Morgan is really one of our linchpin players and if at all possible- will be the signature player for years to come. 19 year old Morgan has told me he is content to keep playing a key role at Holyhead Hotspur. If he hadn't made that assertion, I might have more seriously considered the offer.

***

26.12.10

Leicester (0) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

Though Leicester outshot us, we played a terrific match in defeating them 3-0 at Walkers Stadium. Robert Clarke's clean sheet was well earned- especially in the first half as he kept the home side off the board despite intense early pressure. Our chances were few in the first half, but Michael Bradshaw put away a shot past Chris Nolan late in the half for his 15th goal of the season after a great pass from Paul Morris put him in with space. Leicester again applied vice-like pressure to open the second half, but lost a large bit of their heart when a counter-attack saw MOM Michael Holmes whipping a shot past Nolan. Holmes then made it a brace late in the half as he finished off their dim hopes.

[Faramir]

28.12.10

West Brom (1) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

A golden chance for another win frittered away as we failed to play aggressively enough with West Brom down to 10 men and paid the price when they managed a late equalizer for a 1-1 draw at The Hawthorns. We took the lead midway through the first half when Steve Rogers, already hobbling with an injury, still had enough to burst past the home side backline on a counter-attack. Martin Webb was forced to trip him- in their area- and earned himself a redcard for a cynical challenge. Rogers calmly converted the penalty kick past Lewis Singh. We kept control of the rest of the first half and squandered a couple wonderful chances to add to our lead. We were working hard defensively, but were sitting back a bit, when West Brom struck. A long looping pass was headed down by Adam Boyd. Kevin Doyle was not closely marked by Darren Barnes and had enough time to fire a shot into the upper portion of the goal past Chris May. Richard Booth earned MOM honours for his dynamic leftwing play for us in the match. Gary Vaughan suffered fractured ribs in the match and is likely to miss at least a month or two recovering.

[Faramir]

1.1.11

The transfer rumours continue to swirl around the club, despite the fact I have tried to make it plain that only Paul Lee is available for transfer. I have had offers from over two dozen clubs on Steve Rogers and many other offers on Stephen Morgan, Gary Saunders, and Paul Morris.

It was nice to see us sweep Player of the Month honours for December. Michael Holmes was Player of the Month and Gary Saunders was Young Player of the Month.

***

1.1.11

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Wolves (0)

It took a late offensive surge, including two goals in second half injury time, but we finally defeated a stubborn Wolves side 3-0 to celebrate the beginning of a New Year at The New Oval. Neither side played well in the first half, though both sides were tackling and challenging well all over the pitch. We finally began asserting ourselves offensively but we saw what appeared to be two certain goals cleared off the line by the hard working backline for Wolves. Ian Price, on for a tiring Michael Bradshaw, put us in the lead when he hammered home a rebound after Simon Hudson deflected a cross and it bounced back off the right upright. Wolves tried to rally but Robert Clarke came up with key saves on Dean Shiels and Theo Walcott in the late stages. We put the match away in injury time as Price made it a brace off a nice pass from Hudson and then Paul Morris added the punctuation point on a cross from MOM Dave Fleming. We suffered another costly injury as Richard Booth is likely to miss the remainder of the season with a torn calf muscle.

[Faramir]

3.1.11

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Peterborough (1)

We continue to demonstrate our wealth of good young players as they worked hard in earning a 3-1 win over Peterborough at The New Oval. It was a quick start to the match this time and Steve Rogers whisked us into the lead as he volleyed past Jimmy Walker on a cross from Matthew Preston. Midway through the half we moved ahead 2-0 as Ian Price scooted on to a through ball from Darren Barnes and rounded Walker before scoring. Jamie Duncan, who moments before had been whistled for being offside on a goal, did get his goal the second time around by deflecting a cross from Patrick Verdouw past Steve Williams. We applied more pressure in the second half and it paid off when Paul Lee finished well to move our lead back to two goals. We closed the visitors out quietly from there- thanks to a MOM performance from rightback Sam Jones.

[Faramir]

8.1.11

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Bournemouth (1) FA Cup 3rd Round

It certainly wasn't a pretty win over Bournemouth in our FA Cup match at The New Oval, but we got the job done in the end. We struggled throughout the first half and though we had some good chances, we also leaned heavily on Steve Williams as he made several timely saves to keep them from gaining the early lead. Lewis Price ruined two excellent chances by Ian Price as he came out and smothered the ball off Price's feet twice. We also lost a goal by Steve Rogers when he was ruled offside. Rogers did motor down the pitch after a sharp pass from Paulo Galli put him away and he scored under Price as he the keeper again tried to slide out and smother off the feet. Bournemouth equalized in first half injury time when Fabio Ferreira showed perfect timing as he deflected a free kick by Valdir past Williams. We regained the lead early in the second half when Liam Fowler was whistled for a handball in the area and Hector Caceres converted the penalty kick past Price. It was a tightly contested second half as the visitors sent men forward to try and equalize. We finally clinched the match when Rogers made it a brace with his 15th goal of the season in second half injury time to close out our 3-1 win.

[Faramir]

15.1.11

Burnley (0) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

We continued our winning ways with a strong effort as we kept Burnley penned up on their side of the pitch for much of the match in taking a 3-0 win at Turf Moor. A wonderful passing sequence allowed Dave Fleming to break in free from the left and he fired a well placed shot past Daniel Kiss inside the far right post to give us the lead midway through the first half. Matthew Preston made a beautiful move with the ball as he burst down the right side and took it around two would be tacklers before crossing. MOM Michael Holmes was there to meet the cross with a strong header that zipped past Kiss for his 10th goal of the season and gave us a 2-0 halftime lead. We kept our pressure on their midfield in the second half and added another goal when Holmes crossed and Simon Hudson, on for a tiring Michael Bradshaw, overpowered Michael Parkhurst and flicked a header over Kiss. Robert Clarke had another fairly easy clean sheet in the match.

[Faramir]

22.1.11

Holyhead Hotspur (1) QPR (2)

It was bound to happen eventually, but the combination of a hot keeper, a less than stellar performance on both sides of the ball, and Robert Clarke unable to make the big save handed us our first loss of the season as we fell 2-1 to QPR at The New Oval. QPR keeper Darren Buchanan rightfully received MOM honours because we launched everything we could and he made some brilliant saves in the match. We fell behind midway through the first half when Darren Barnes made an uncharacteristic bad pass. John Foster stepped in front of Sam Jones and was away. Both Barnes and Paolo Galli tried to close down Foster with late tackles, but he skipped past both and slipped a shot past Clarke. The second goal left me more than a little unhappy with the officiating as Magnus Myklebust wound up parked behind our backline and looked pretty clearly offside when sent a pass that he dumped past Clarke to give the visitors a 2-0 halftime lead. We tried to battle back, but the only shot that Buchanan missed all day was a sensational 25 yard rocket from Stephen Morgan to give us hope midway through the second half. It was disappointing to end our 30 match unbeaten string, but if we had played better- it would not have ended here.

***

24.1.11

Unhappy Paul Lee finally has a new home after Gillingham agreed to pay us 3.7 Million (with some spaced out over the next 6 months) for the forward. Lee made it clear he wanted to be featured- something that wasn't happening here- and it was time to allow him to move. 18 year old Josh Palmer will now get a chance to prove he belongs on the Senior side as he will replace Lee.

[Faramir]

29.1.11

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Darlington (0) FA Cup 4th Round

Josh Palmer made the most of his opportunity as he earned MOM honours in our 3-0 FA Cup win over Darlington at The New Oval. Though Josh didn't score, he was a dynamic presence at forward and set up Mark Potter to score as we gained the lead midway through the first half. It was still a close match at halftime, but we put things to rest when Gary Saunders and Simon Hudson scored in quick succession in the second half. We allowed the visitors only two shots on goal the entire match, so it was an easy clean sheet for Chris May as we sent Darlington packing from the Cup competition.

[Faramir]

1.2.11

Portsmouth (1) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

It took a strong second half, but we were able to outlast Portsmouth and put up a 3-1 win at Fratton Park. We struck early to gain the lead when Matthew Preston made a well-timed cross that allowed MOM Michael Holmes to sweep his shot into the open left side of the goal past Luke Steele. We failed to add to the lead in the first half and lost all our momentum when we allowed Aiden McGeady to deflect a Philip Ifil cross past Robert Clarke in second half injury time. Portsmouth poured on the pressure to open the second half, but Clarke was his usual brilliant self and we kept them from gaining the lead. Clarke also triggered the match winner when he used superb timing and lofted a long kick down the center and Holmes ran on to the ball and slipped a shot past Steele for his brace. We clinched the match with a superb passing sequence that saw Ian Price slip a pass across and Dave Fleming put away a shot in second half injury time.

[Faramir]

5.2.11

Holyhead Hotspur (4) Derby (0)

Though we held a 1-0 lead at halftime, it really took us until the second half to get into gear as we dominated Derby in defeating them 4-0 at The New Oval. The first half play was pretty spotty on our part, but Steve Williams gave us a nice steady effort in goal and kept them off the scoreboard. We managed to take the lead to the dressing room when Simon Hudson, filling in at rightwing today, broke in and deflected a cross from MOM Mark Potter past Lee Camp for his 10th goal of the season- our 4th player with 10 or more so far this season. We broke the match open early in the second half as Potter and Hudson connected again and Hudson had his brace with a well placed shot. Potter earned a hat-trick of assists moments later as his good pass sprung Ian Price for a quickfire double. It was unfortunate that Williams would not be able to complete his clean sheet as he had to leave with an injury and Chris May came on to finish out. Tony Owens scored his 1st goal for us to cap the scoring in our 4-0 win. Williams stretched knee ligaments and will miss a couple months to recover.

[Faramir]

15.2.11

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Southampton (0)

Another terrific free kick and an inspirational second half goal were enough to carry us to a 2-0 win over a stubborn Southampton side at The New Oval. Matthew Preston's dribble caused a free kick from the middle of the pitch and Hector Caceres provided another shining example of how dangerous he is at free kicks as he hooked a shot inside the right post for his 10th goal of the season- our 5th player to reach that level. Southampton tried to rally and pressed us hard the rest of the first half. Robert Clarke was again our bastion on defense as his fine work kept them off the board and us in the lead to halftime. Early in the second half it was MOM Stephen Morgan who wowed everyone- both our crowd and both sides. Morgan took a bad clearance by David Bentley and sent a wonderful lofted 40 yard shot over Paul Smith for what may be one of the best goals in Holyhead history. With that 2-0 lead we concentrated on closing out the match and had an easy time after Diren Akdemir was redcarded for hacking down Michael Bradshaw.

Championship Table- 33 played 13 remaining

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

1- Holyhead Hotspur 82 pts (+62)

2- Plymouth 66 pts (+13)

3- West Brom 60 pts (+17)

4- Leeds 59 pts (+19)

5- Sheffield United 59 pts (+17)

6- Stoke 56 pts (+7)

7- Wolves 56 pts (+6)

8- Portsmouth 54 pts (+14)

</pre>

[Faramir]

19.2.11

Crystal Palace (0) Holyhead Hotspur (3) FA Cup 5th Round

We surprised Palace at Selhurt Park as we throttled them in the midfield in brooming them from the FA Cup with our 3-0 win. Chris May proved again why so many big clubs are bidding for his services as he made several sensational saves early on in the match as we tried to settle down. Once we began spreading things out offensively, we found the space we needed and Simon Hudson crossed for Steve Rogers to put away past Samar Handanovic. We didn't have any chances to add to the lead as Palace rallied and we had to withstand more pressure. Josh Palmer earned MOM honours and continues to impress me in limited play. Palmer setup Rogers nicely for his brace early in the second half. Palmer then hammered home a goal after missing an open goal moments earlier as he drove in a rebound for his 1st Senior goal to make the final margin of the match 3-0.

[Faramir]

23.2.11

Doncaster (3) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

This was just one of those matches we were fated to lose. We came out flat and paid the price as the dynamic tandem of Doncaster forwards James Vaughan and Phil Eastwood put our backline to the sword. Vaughan scored first past Robert Clarke- who was out of magic to make up for our porous backline play today- after a good pass from MOM Joeleon Lescott. Doncaster then caught us out with a counter-attack and Eastwood burst past two attempted tackles to score easily past Clarke. Eastwood then repeated that feat in the opening moments of the second half for his brace. Gareth Bough played well in earning his MOM honours as we did have quite a few good chances, but were never able to remove the 0 from our scoreline.

[Faramir]

27.2.11

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Bournemouth (0)

The TV audience saw a game effort from Bournemouth as they managed to stave off our efforts to score until the very end of the match, despite being down to 10 men from the 11 minute mark after Mark Nelson received two quick yellow cards. We dominated the match after they were reduced, but weren't able to get a goal from our immense pressure as Lewis Price was brilliant in goal. We launched shot after shot- 17 all told- but he kept turning them away. In the late stages of the second half we finally found the goal we needed as Hector Caceres made a superb long pass that found Steve Rogers in full flight. Rogers burst past Luca Francini, already in trouble with a yellow card to his name, and fired a perfectly placed shot inside the far right post for the dramatic match winner. Robert Clarke had a very easy time putting up another clean sheet. Martin Hall earned MOM honours in the match. Rogers injured his ankle after his goal when Jose Machado hacked him down to earn a redcard and will miss a month of play healing up.

[Faramir]

2.3.11

Reading (1) Holyhead Hotspur (3)

A great start was very helpful in gaining us a 3-1 win over Reading at Madejski Stadium. MOM Michael Bradshaw got us off on a flyer when a quick counter-attack was finished well by Bradshaw on a fine cross from Matthew Preston. A few minutes later it was a quick 2-0 lead as Dave Fleming sent Michael Holmes away free and Holmes slid a shot inside the right upright past Kenneth Vermeer. We were forced to settle for that lead at halftime as Vermeer settled down and made several good saves. Robert Clarke also made several good saves, but in the opening moments of the second half it was Kalle Ljungberg deflected a cross from Fredrik Holster past Clarke to ruin his clean sheet and bring the crowd back into the match. The next portion of the match was a fierce battle as both sides sought the next goal. Bradshaw put his stamp on the match by powering a close-in header past Vermeer on a terrific cross from Holmes to boost our margin back to 2-goals. We maintained that through the final whistle to gain another hard earned win. The win clinched at least a Playoff spot for us with 10 matches remaining in the season and we maintained our 15 points cushion over 2nd place Plymouth.

[Faramir]

5.3.11

Wigan (6) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

We were thoroughly embarrassed as Wigan completely routed us 6-0 at JJB Stadium. We showed so little that there isn't any positives to comment from our side of the pitch. Our backline just didn't play today and Robert Clarke looked tired as he made bad decisions and eventually forced me to lift him for Chris May in the second half. Jason Kennedy earned MOM honours as he shredded our feeble attempts to mark him while scoring a hat-trick. The home side had single markers from Bjarni Thor Vidarsson, Victor Moses and Alexander Banor Tettey. I didn't scream after the match, but they knew I was very unhappy with the complete lack of effort.

[Faramir]

8.3.11

Holyhead Hotspur (4) Huddersfield (1)

This match was not as one-sided as the score might indicate as we were forced to battle a determined Huddersfield side to win out 4-1 at The New Oval. The MVP of the first half for us was keeper Chris May. May was dazzling for most of the half as our backline continually made mistakes in judgement. We took the lead early in the half when Michael Bradshaw put away a cross from Matthew Preston. They finally found a way to equalize past May midway through the half when Jonathan Stead rapped home a rebound after May made the initial save on Peter Weatherson. We took the lead again, against the flow of play, when Michael Holmes finished off a nice counter-attack by driving a shot past Magnus Bahne late in the half. Both sides were fighting hard for the first goal of the second half and it was a huge relief when Holmes made it a brace with his 15th goal of the season to put us ahead 3-1. We finished off the scoring when Hector Caceres converted the penalty kick after Cihan Yalcin tripped Holmes in the area and earned himself a redcard. With 8 matches remaining, we have an 18 point margin on 2nd place Plymouth and a 23 point bulge on 3rd place Leeds.

[milanfan_apoorv]

Yaaaay!!! we gonna be in the prem baby!! yeah!

if you win the next game and leeds loses you'c won the title! though you probably already have itg?

[Faramir]

milanfan- Well, it is pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point

***

12.3.11

Stoke (1) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

Another wasteful performance for us as our young club looks pretty worn out with all our midweek tilts building up. We outplayed Stoke for much of the match and especially in the first half. Our efforts went for naught as Steve Simonsen came up with save after save on our good chances. We also lost a goal when Michael Bradshaw was ruled offside when he fired a blast past Simonsen midway through the first half. We kept up the pressure but were stunned in second half injury time when Jack Hobbs couldn't keep Will John from taking a pass from MOM Michael Lea. John whipped a shot past Robert Clarke for the dramatic match winner. Hector Caceres then earned a redcard for a cynical foul on John as we were left with a disappointing 1-0 loss.