Tuesday 27th January 2009
Molten Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division Cup, 3rd Round
AYLESBURY VALE 3 HERTFORD TOWN 0
Just thirty-two hardy souls braved this one, though the weather was surprisingly mild compared with that at recent matches and the pitch looked in surprisingly good shape too. Due to work commitments and this being about as far as the Blues have to travel on a Tuesday night, there was a slightly unfamiliar Hertford town line-up. Glenn Draper, Ryan Gordon and Alex Scriven, who had all started on Saturday were all absent, so Dave Hunt moved to centre-half, Jamie Abbott resumed at right back and there was a rare start for Andy Chapman up front.
Teams - Aylesbury Vale: 1. Eddie farmer, 2. Alex Bateman, 3. James Baxter, 4. Tom Alabaster, 5. Justin Gordon, 6. Troy Bailey-Goss, 7. Stuart Corbould (capt), 8. Dan Wright, 9. Aaron Usmani, 10. John Bentley, 11. Daniel Jones. Subs Used: Martin Kynsey (for Bentley), Louis Cordice (for Usmani), Greg Driscoll (for Jones).
Hertford Town: 1. Lee Robinson, 2. Jamie Abbott, 3. Duncan Hamilton, 4. Joel Maybury (capt), 5. Dave Hunt, 6. Pablo Ardiles, 7. Owen Beale, 8. Matt McArdle, 9. Andy Chapman, 10. Attila Korsoveczki, 11. Michael Cooper. Subs Used: Rob Luya (for Chapman), Chris Spiteri (for McArdle), Magid el Amin (for Cooper).
The somewhat loose play at the beginning of the game suggested that this probably wasn't going to be a cup classic. Hertford Town though, had a good chance as early as the fourth minute. A cross played into the Aylesbury box ricocheted high into the air off a home defender and fell to Attila Korsoveczki. He hit a powerful half-volley that was on target but well saved by Vale custodian, Eddie Farmer, and eventually cleared. Six minutes later the Blues made another promising move. The ball was played wide to Michael Cooper, who put in a poor cross that was initially cleared. However the ball was played back into a dangerous position, eventually finding its way to safety in the arms of the jovial Farmer.
It was then the turn of the hosts to apply a little pressure. Justin Gordon tried a shot from distance, but his effort was well wide to the left. Shortly afterwards Vale won a corner, but the incoming cross fell safely into the arms of Blues' custodian, Lee Robinson. Aylesbury struck the first blow in the seventeenth minute. John Bentley appeared to take the ball around two or three Hertford players with consummate ease, and although his shot appeared to lack power, it was well placed wide of the advancing Robinson, trickling across the line to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Undaunted, the visitors immediately went back on the attack and Andy Chapman was played into a good position. However, he hit his powerful shot straight at Farmer. Vale soon mounted an attack of their own and a shot was hit from wide on the left, however it passed wide to the right of Robinson's goal. The ball was soon up the other end though, and again found its way to Chapman in a good position. However, all he could muster was a tame effort straight at the home custodian. Another counter-attack followed and after a dangerous cross into the Hertford box it seemed the hosts would surely double their lead. Somehow though, the Blues defence managed to scramble the ball to safety.
A good move for the visitors came in the 25th minute. Owen Beale played the ball to Chapman, who played the ball back to Beale. The impressive midfielder attempted a shot, but his effort was wide of the target. The ball was soon down the other end and the hosts won a corner, though this was easily dealt with by the Hertford defence. As the game approached the half hour mark Korsoveczki found himself in with a good chance. Having kept possession well, evading a number of challenges, his final shot was somewhat disappointing however, being hit softly at 'keeper Farmer. A few minutes later Beale went on an excellent solo run and got in a powerful shot on target. However, Farmer pulled off a magnificent diving save at the expense of a corner. Duncan Hamilton's cross was played in well but eventually went safely behind for an Aylesbury goal kick. The visitors soon won another corner and Hamilton's cross was again well played in, this time finding Korsoveczki. Somehow his shot was cleared off the line.
As the first half entered its final few minutes, the hosts again began to take the upper hand. They applied pressure and won a succession of corners. None of these came to anything however, and the referee soon blew the half time whistle.
Half Time Score: Aylesbury Vale 1 Hertford Town 0
The visitors possibly came out the slightly stronger side at the start of the second half and four minutes after the break won a corner. Duncan Hamilton played in a rather weak cross, which rebounded straight back to him. He then played the ball back in and this time found a Hertford head, but the effort was harmlessly wide. Ten minutes into the half, Matt McArdle caught a Vale player with a somewhat late challenge and became the first player of the evening to be cautioned by the referee. A few minutes later the Blues were back on the attack and Hamilton played in a well-weighted cross to Andy Chapman. However the big striker's headed effort was easily saved by Farmer. Aylesbury immediately mounted a counter-attack. John Bentley, advancing well with the ball under control, played in a superb cross to Aaron Usmani, who blasted a powerful header past Robinson and into the back of the net to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
After another spell of Aylesbury domination, Hertford made the first substitution of the evening, bringing on Rob Luya for the ineffectual Chapman. Luya wasted no time in getting into the action and within a minute of coming on, forced a good save from Farmer. A few minutes later with the ball up the other end Lee Robinson decided to go for a walkabout. The ball had been passed back to the Hertford 'keeper and he had it under control. He then started to walk it out of his area but was challenged and dispossessed by an advancing Aylesbury player. Fortunately for the Blues' custodian, the ensuing shot was wide of the target. The home side soon won a free kick inside the Hertford half, but again the shot was high and wide.
The visitors were still battling however, and were soon on the attack. Hamilton passed the ball to Luya, who played a dangerous cross into the Aylesbury box. This panicked the home defence, though somehow they eventually managed to clear the ball to safety. Play soon reverted to the other end of the field and the home side won a corner. This came to nothing and as McArdle brought the ball out of the Hertford defensive area, he was caught by an untidy challenge from Tom Alabaster. The Aylesbury defender was promptly shown a yellow card and Hertford awarded a free kick. A few minutes later the visitors were awarded another free kick, this time just outside the Vale 18 yard box. When it seemed like Dave Hunt would maybe try something spectacular, Hamilton stepped up and hit a shockingly poor effort straight at the Aylesbury wall.
There then followed a rash of substitutions. The home side soon brought on Louis (amusingly spelled Louise on the Vale teamsheet!) Cordice for Aaron Usmani (John Bentley having earlier made way for Martin Kynsey). Hertford withdrew McArdle and brought on Chris Spiteri. Aylesbury then made their final change, bringing on Greg Driscoll for Daniel Jones.
As the game approached the final minute of normal time the home side mounted a rapid attack. Dan Wright played the ball to substitute Kynsey, who made no mistake in placing his effort past Robinson and into the back of the Hertford net, to give Vale an unassailable 3-0 lead. As the game went into injury time the visitors were awarded a corner, though Hamilton's effort came to nothing. Michael Cooper was then withdrawn to give Magid el Amin his first taste of football as a Hertford Town player, albeit only for a couple of minutes. There was time for one more Korsoveczki effort , which was hit wide, before the referee blew the full time whistle.
The Blues had recently had an impressive run of victories, conceding few goals, but they have now lost their last three games, shipping eleven goals in the process. However this is probably just a blip and it is certainly not time to start the alarm bells ringing just yet. There were one or two good solo performances in this game and Rob Luya's impressive cameo performance suggests there are players in the ranks pushing for a place in the starting line-up. Anyway, its only Chalfont St Peter away, up next!
Final Score: Aylesbury Vale 3 Hertford Town 0