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Sunday 7th September 2008
Skew Bridge Res 2 Saints Supporters 3
The reserves kicked off their season a week late and were keen to get off to a good start. Unfortuently it was not to be.
Playing at the Folly instead of the usual home ground due to Saints not being able to provide a pitch was hopefully not going to be a problem and a healthy 14 players were available for selection. Mark Lewis was also in attendence as a fan due to his on going back problems.
The Skew started well and to be absolutely honest we dominated the play for the first 25 minutes. Clive did not have a save to make in goal and the defence were rarely put under any pressure. Stu Crabtree and Adam Fitton both went very close to breaking the deadlock but both of their close range efforts were cleared off the line. Mark Hiller looked like he was enjoying himself in midfield and after a bit of Ronaldo-esque stepovers near the touchline he cut inside and curled a long range shot agonisingly wide.
The domination soon contributed to our opening goal. Good play between Lewis and Stu feed James Yates who after a good run was fouled in the area and a penalty was awarded. Mark Hiller took up his responsability and placed the ball into the bottom right of the goal. No Problem. 1-0.
Despite the great play by the Skew we didn't make it count and after our corner the ball was played out to Saints attackers who ran and knocked it left, a speculative shot from 25 yards somehow fooled Pinder in goal and amazingly made it 1-1. Dissapointing to say the least.
The second half started very similar to the first, lots of possession and chances for the home team but we just could not make it count. Ant Monger was having a fairly quiet but solid game at right back and had decided the night before that he wanted to score his first goal today. He even described how he was going to "go on a run" to both James Hiller and Adam Ferguson, although this was at 11pm and he might have had a drink or two inside him.
What actually happened was quite different and spectacular. Giles passed the ball inside from the left wing to Crabtree, Ant had bombed up from the back and was about 40 yards from goal, Crabtree passed him the ball and he took a touch, knocked it five yards on and then from 35 yards let rip with an unstoppable screamer that flew into the top right hand corner of the net. 2-1 and an early contender for both Goal and Celebration of the season.
Marcus had to leave so Bart Snavely came on up front to partner Yates. Saints were mostly hitting long balls for the wide men and forwards to chase and again from an attacking position the Skew lost the ball and they hit our left. The wide man got passed Adam Ferguson and Fitton and broke into the area where James Hiller fouled him for a Penalty. After some gamesmanship from Pinder the forward made it 2-2.
The Skew pressed on and Crabtree was unlucky to see a header come back off the post after a good freekick from M Hiller. Ant then went off and Lewis moved back into right back with Ollie Galea coming on wide right. What seemed like only minutes later a long ball to Saints left winger was not dealt with and it allowed him the time to shoot and power the ball past Clive in goal to make it 3-2 to Saints Supporters.
The Skew pressed and pressed but could not make the break through as Yates and Galea both went close.
Final whistle 2-3.
County Cup next week with Pinder, J Hiller, Ferguson and Crabtree all away so a chance for those on the sidelines to get the team back ontrack and stake their claim for a place in the starting 11.
Skew (4-4-2) Pinder, Ferguson, J Hiller, Fitton, Monger, Rickett, Crabtree, M Hiller, Piasecki, Fox, Yates. Subs: Snavely, Galea. Not Used Devro.
Goals: M Hiiler (1), Monger (1)
Sunday 31st August 2008
Skew Bridge Res 5 St. Albans Royals 5
This would have been the first game of the season for the Skew but due to KGR not being able to field a team, we had a final ‘friendly’ of the season organized against division 5 team St Albans Royals.
The Skew had 12 players to select from and 2 new signings James Yates & Marcus Fox both attacking players made there debut, and what an impact they both made in the game.
The game started with a fast pace with the Skew knocking the ball around and having a lot of the possession, and this led to the first goal being scored a ball was fed down the left wing which James Yates, passed to Mark Hiller who beat 2 defenders and crossed for Marcus Fox to score from a diving header.
Skew made there pressure tell again with a corner from the left with Marcus crossing the ball, Fitton, Crabtree & M Hiller all rose for the ball with Mark Hiller beating everyone with his head and making it 2-0.
At 2-0 the Skew were looking comfortable, but a ball over the top caught the defence on the back foot and St Albans Royals made it 2-1. Normal order resumed though when the ball was fed into James Yates feet and he went on a wonder run beating 3 or 4 players with screams of pass from the team he carried on into the penalty area and swung his left foot at the ball beating the keeper and the man on the line 3-1 to the Skew and only 20 minutes gone.
At 3-1 it was looking good for the Skew, but a crazy 25 minutes brought the visitors 3 goals this was down to sloppy defending and bad communication within the defence 4-3 to the visitors, and the Skew let there frustrations known with many heated clashes with the opposition but this was mainly down to a few of there players going in over the top into challenges.
The second half started much the same as the first with the Skew dominating play and playing some really good passing football, and this good football resulted in another goal for Fox, with a ball played through by J Hiller, Fox ran onto the ball outpacing the defence and coolly slotting home to make it 4-4.
Again in the second half with the Skew playing some great football the visitors became frustrated and time after time they kept diving into challenges and were lucky not to have anyone sent off in this supposed ‘friendly’.
The second half was also a different story for the Skew defense Fitton, Ferguson, Monger & J Hiller played much more of a unit and were dealing with the threats from there forwards, a much better showing than from the first half.
With about 20 minutes the visitors scored after they were adjudged to have been offside even though they were clearly 7 yeards off. The Skew hit backwith an instant reply when Rickett was running into the box he was brought down illegally and the ref pointed to the spot. The penalty was taken by are third penalty of pre season, and Fox stepped up to seal his hat-trick and to make it 5-5.
Crabtree was fouled again in the box minutes later but this time the ref waved it away.
In the closing moments the Skew should have wrapped up the game and wasted some glorious chances. There was just enough time at the end for Rickett to get into the ref’s bad books for dissent leading to him being partially sent off although he did come back on to play the final few minutes.
In conclusion this was a great game for the neutral but the Skew really should have won the visitors only having 5 shots on target and them all going in but at least the Skew found there shooting boots, and finally finding some front men who can score, just need to work on the back line.
Bring on the season!
By Adam Fitton
Skew (4-4-2) Pinder, Monger, Fitton, J Hiller, Ferguson, Rickett,
M Hiller, Crabtree, Galea, Fox, Yates. Subs: Dudley-Cave
Goals: Mark Hiller (1), Yates (1), Fox (3)
Sunday 24th August 2008
Skew Bridge Res 2 Saints Supporters 2
Skew Bridge went into this final friendly of the season missing a few key players and drafting in last minute backup in the form of the industrious Matt Warren and Sam ‘The Cat" Dealey.
Skew lined up with a slightly weakened back four withnnnn Lewis P again doing a job for the team whilst being played out of position on the left of midfield. Again up front turned out to be a problem area - without the vital target man Skew so badly need to hold up the ball and relieve pressure.
Saints supporters had a full squad and looked determined to upset the Skew’s rhythm from the start. But Skew edged back into the game looking most threatening from dead balls, Stuart Crabtree and Adam Fitton both going close from Lewis’ pinpoint delivery.
About halfway through the half Saints supporters put over an innocuous looking cross that caught Clive Pinder in goal, off guard. The inexplicable way the ball spilled out towards the goal can only suggest there was a huge gust of wind in the six yard box! 1-0 Saints.
Skew looked dangerous down the right with Ant Monger and Mark short linking well and both being absolutely scythed down on several occasions due to ‘Liberal’ refereeing failing to control the primitive nature of the Saint’s players. In fact some tackles were so late that Mark Hiller reportedly got tackled on the way back to the changing rooms.
It is unprofessional to slag off the ref and say how poor he was at protecting the more skilful team so I won’t.
Skew’s pressure then told later in the first half as after good passing play Mark Hiller recieved the ball, strolled through to the edge of the area before curling home, left footed into the far corner Bergkamp style.
The sustained pressure then resulted in Mark Short bursting into the area only to be assaulted by one of the lumbering opposition who escaped any further punishment. Ollie Galea stepped up to slot home the spot kick. 2-1 Skew.
The first half ended with Sam replacing Clive in goal and pulling off a fantastic reaction save to deny the Saints supporters an equaliser.
The second half was non eventful with Ollie G fighting a lost cause on his own up front and again the ball continuously coming back after any attempted Skew attack. Pinder surely has to make a move in the transfer market for a target man to cover for Bart Snavely when unavailable.
Hiller senior put in an imperious performance to stem a multitude of opposition attacks and covering his team mates on numerous occasions, keeping his team’s noses in front going into the closing stages.
However with about 10 minutes to go Skew surrendered the lead from a free kick. The ball was floated to the far post where Ant M’s arial frailty was exposed as he put up little challenge to the Saints Supporters’ center back who finished with a mis-hit header into the far corner.
All in all a stuttering performance by the Skew but I’m sure with key players returning and new player starting to gel, the outlook for the season is bright.
By Ant Monger
Skew (4-4-2) Pinder, Devro, Fitton, J Hiller, Monger, Piasecki,
M Hiller, Crabtree, Short, Galea, Warren. Subs: Ferguson, Dealey
Goals: Mark Hiller (1), Galea (1)
Sunday 17th August
Oaks Reserves 2 Skew Bridge Res 5
The third pre-season friendly was against Oaks Reserves who will be playing in our division this season. The game was set up nicely with 13 players available for selection and the weather was just fantastic over at Westminster Lodge Pitch 6.
After just a few minutes the Skew fashioned their first chance with a great passing play in the middle with Crabtree, M Hiller and Short linking well before sending Snavely through the keeper doing well to block his effort.
The football being played by the full backs and midfield was fabulous. Hiller and Crabtree were combining well in midfield and look like they have played together for years rather than hours.
On the left Ferguson and Piasecki were seeing a lot of the ball and on the right the new partnership of Ant Monger and Mark Short was blossoming. Ant Monger at one point got the ball half way deep in our half ran with the ball playing one-two’s with M Hiller, Crabtree and then Short, eventually finding himself in the area, his shot went just inches over.
Lewis Piasecki starting on the left wing this game was seeing a lot of the ball and won us a corner after taking on the right back, who would go on to have to have a busy game. Piasecki then took the in-swinging corner and Fitton rose like a Salmon and headed the ball into the right of the net. 1-0, to the skew and no more than was deserved.
Davro and Dudley-Cave came on at left back and up front respectively and both saw a lot of the ball immediately such was the amount of possession the Skew had at the time.
Strangely after the first goal all the good football we had been playing stopped. Long balls and under hit passes allowed Oaks to get back in the game and amazing they levelled before half time. A cross from their left was dropped by Pinder and although the shot was fantastically saved the ball then fell to the edge of the area where another Oaks player was able to get his shot off. The ball then hit their own player on the line on its way in but amazing the Referee ignored the linesman’s flag for offside and awarded the goal. 1-1.
The second half started much better. Ant Monger had to come off with blisters so Davro moved to right back. Skew piled the pressure on and another corner was won, this time by Mark Short who looked lively throughout. The corner was again taken expertly by Lewis Piasecki, this time an out-swinger and Richard Dudley-Cave powered his header past the defender and keeper to put the Skew 2-1 up.
James Hiller had looked solid up until about the 60 minute dealing with through balls, headers and 50/50’s comfortably but chose this minute to try and run the ball out of defence, as he looked up he played a awful pass into the middle but it was easily intercepted and that left the opposition with a man over in attack. The ball was squared twice into space and ended up with the right winger who was unmarked and his shot flew into the bottom right of the goal. 2-2.
This gave the Oaks some wind in their sails but all their effort were either dealt with superbly by Adam Fitton who looked much sharper or were saved superbly by Pinder who looked very solid in the second half. His kicking in particular was back to its best.
The Skew then took the lead again. A chipped ball into the area from Ollie Galea was handled by the defender and the Ref duly awarded a Penalty. After Giles Rickett retired from Penalty duty last year and James Hiller’s awful record we need a new penalty taker and so brother Mark Hiller stacked his claim for the job and slotted the ball home inside the right post. 3-2.
Minutes later Ollie Galea who impressed again with his non stop running and tackling picked the ball up on the left and after a either deliberate or accidental ‘dummy’ he then passed to Mark Hiller who ran through 1 on 1 with the keeper and simply passed the ball under him an into the net. 4-2.
Then with 15 minutes left and the game effectively dead, Stu Crabtree picked the ball up on the half way line and despite cries for him to pass he ran on, looked up and from 25 yards let rip with an unstoppable shot that went crossbar and in.
An early ‘goal of the season’ contender even if it was only a friendly.
In the dying minutes the Skew pushed on for one more and after fantastic footwork by Mark Hiller in the area he passed to Bart Snavely to shoot, but unbalanced he put his effort a yard wide when really he should have scored.
Full time 5-2 but it could of been 10. Finishing needs to be better.
Skew (4-4-2) Pinder, Ferguson, Fitton, J Hiller, Monger, Piasecki,
M Hiller, Crabtree, Short, Galea, Snavely. Subs: Devro, Dudley-Cave
Goals: Fitton (1), Dudley-Cave (1), Mark Hiller (2), Crabtree (1)
Wednesday 13th August
Harpenden Rovers 2 Skew Bridge Res 3
The 2nd of our 4 pre-season “friendlies” against Harpenden Rovers was always going to be anything but friendly.
A much changed side from that which lost at Oakland’s on Sunday looked much more up for it from the start. Adam Fitton, Todd Baines, Daniel Devro, Adam Ferguson and Beasley all started with Simon Andrews and Steve Jones on the bench.
Skew won the toss and stupidly in hindsight, decided to play against the wind and sun in the first half. It was a very bad idea. Skew struggled to get the ball out of our half in all honesty and it was the hosts who had most of the attacking play. The home referee made sure that every decision possible went their way and the frustration showed particularly for James Hiller who felt the Skew were being very hard done by.
Rovers managed to get 3 very good through balls in to their 2 forwards in the space of 10 minutes but each time Hiller was able to out pace them and put the ball in to safety.
Ollie Galea came very close to scoring with an excellent run after a Mark Hiller through ball, starting on the right and taking him past their centre half and into the box, his effort going just wide of the near post.
To be honest though we spent the first half defending and were slightly fortunate to go in 0-0 at half time.
The 2nd half started very similar to the 1st, a lot of high balls being held by the wind and no real goal mouth action.
That changed in about the 60th minute. Skew were caught for the millionth time to far forward and a simple long ball by Rovers meant they had a man over on their left. The winger was able to get a cross over that was dropped by Clive Pinder in goal and allowed a simple tap in for the forward. 1-0.
Almost immediately a long throw from the right was flicked on by Simon Andrews and Mark Hiller ran on, bundled a bouncing ball past the defender and volleyed it into the bottom corner (albeit with a small deflection).
The Skew pressed for the winner with Todd Baines hitting the upright with a fantastic volley but unluckily went behind again. Lewis Piasecki was adjudged to have pushed their player in the box and a penalty was awarded. After the ref made doubly sure no one encroached the player put it away, 2-1 Rovers.
With 10 minutes to go the Skew really went for it. Beasley hit the post from kick off and Mark Hiller shot just wide. Then Beasley again tried his luck from range after the keeper got caught off his line, his lob landing perfectly in the middle of the goal! 2-2
Then with minutes to spare Rovers pushed on and left a space at the back, a good tackle by Steve Jones and an even better pass by Stuart Crabtree sent Beasley through one on one with the keeper and he took his time before slotting it past him into the bottom right. 3-2 to the Skew Bridge.
All that was left was a 60 yard sprint by Lewis Piasecki followed by a crunching tackle deep in the opposition half to end the game.
Well done lads.
Skew (4-4-2) Pinder, Baines, J Hiller, Fitton, Devro, Piasecki, Crabtree, M Hiller, Ferguson, Snavely, Beasley. Subs: Jones, Andrews, Galea.
Goals: Beasley (2), M Hiller (1)
Sunday 10th August 2008
Oaklands 4 Skew Bridge Res 0
Phew! Well at least we got the first pre-season game out of the way. A very mixed bag of players made up the first reserve team of the season. Stitch, Tom and Tawhid came in to help make up the numbers with 7 squad members either on holiday or injured. Clive sported his new Green keeper’s shirt and the rest of the team wore the all white strip.
The game started well with Stu and Mark linking well in Midfield and putting through balls down the channels. A combination of rustiness and a strong wind meant the pass always seemed a bit long.
Stitch did very well in his first game since 2001 and despite not being a footballer he made it very difficult for the opposition to get anything out of their left side. “New boys” Mark Hiller and Ollie Galea made their debuts in Midfield and Upfront and both looked assured throughout.
Lewis Piasecki playing slightly out of position at left back got a knock and had to go off with Tom Collins coming on to replace him. We fell behind shortly afterwards when a long ball down the left hand side was not dealt with properly. James Hiller got turned in the area which allowed the forward to give himself an angle and shot into the near post, the ball cannoning in off Clive’s arm.
5 minutes later and after another of our attacks had broken down Oakland’s counter attacked. Mark Short now playing at left back got caught ball watching and let his man go and 2 simple passes later the right winger simply had to pass the ball into an almost empty net. 0-2 and halftime shortly followed.
The plan for the 2nd half was to try and “have a go” at their goal. Now down to the bare minimum 11 players everyone knew they would be playing the whole 45 minutes.
We looked better in the second half and Bart and Ollie will be disappointed not to have made more of their chance with Stitch, Stu, Mark and James Hiller all putting excellent balls through for them.
A bad kick from Clive and a bad touch from Mark Hiller halfway through the half led to Oakland’s third goal, a simple finish was all that was needed by the forward and Clive stood no chance.
We pressed on in the final 10-15 minutes but could never get any meaning full shot off. The nearest we came was when Tawhid headed just over from 5 yards from a Mark Hiller Corner.
Another counter attack 7-8 minutes from the end led to the 4th and final goal as we were simply outrun and again a precise finish from their forward meant Clive could only watch as the ball went in.
That was our first friendly and it was Oakland’s forth, and with such a new “team” playing it was disjointed at times. There were however a lot of positives from the game(in particular Ant did not get injured) and we must use those and try to eradicate the mistakes in the coming games to make sure we are ready for the 1st league game on the 31st August.
A big thank you to the 3 guys who came in and played for us at short notice and a big improvement needed from everyone else on Wednesday night in our second of four pre0season friendlies, this time against Harpenden Rovers.
Skew (4-4-2) Pinder, Monger, J Hiller, Juneja, Piasecki, Galea, M Hiller, Crabtree, Short, Payne, Snavely. (Subs) Collins
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