Another Harrowing Misadventure (Ages Challenge)

[Faramir]

21.7.10

Harrow Hill (3) Exeter (0) Friendly

"It's only a friendly is the mantra I keep having to say to myself," grinned Heartwood.

"There is no doubt the boys are playing well- two more from Wharton and one from Clark- good goals all of them," offered Pearson.

"Still, you *know* it won't be this easy when the season starts."

***

24.7.10

Harrow Hill (0) Bolton (2) Friendly

"It wasn't that bad of a match on our part," commented Pearson.

"No, we could easily have had a couple goals- had not Nicola Donazzan cleared two off the line," agreed Heartwood.

"The goals we allowed them to score were preventable. A rebound and then one that escaped marking. It wasn't like they carved us up on offense."

[Faramir]

28.7.10

Dundee United (0) Harrow Hill (1) Friendly

"Another terrific goal by 'Silk'," said a pleased Heartwood.

"He certainly wowed the crowd with that one. He almost added another later too,"

"I was happy with the defensive effort today- though if their shooting had been on the mark we likely would have lost this one."

***

31.7.10

Harrow Hill (4) Cinderford (0) Friendly

"A good win to prep for the opening of the season in a week," stated Heartwood.

"They weren't much competition, but it was still good to see us execute this well," answered Pearson.

"Now, we try to tune them up for our opener as we host Swindon."

[timpino]

MORE

[Faramir]

timpino- *chuckles* no worries there, lots more to come on this story

***

1.8.10

The Best Little Club You Never Heard Of- Until Now

Interview with Harrow Hill's Manager James Heartwood

By Martin O'Hara- FMS August 2010 Issue

You may not have heard of Harrow Hill- the little club from Mitcheldean that rocketed through League 2 to finish as Runner-Up to Brighton last season- but you will. Led by their unorthodox Manager James Heartwood, this band of youngsters showed impressive play and desire as they continually frustrated more experienced sides in League 2 play last season. Sporting a starting lineup that last season had no one over the age of 19, Harrow Hill played relentless, pursuing football that is well suited to their youth. A little over a year ago I sat with James Heartwood and we discussed his unusual theories about running a small football club like Harrow Hill and what his goals were. Given that Harrow Hill demonstrated an ability to reach lofty goals that no one expected of them, it was time to revisit Heartwood and find out more about the best little club most of you have never heard of.

O'Hara- When we last we talked, you were looking forward to League 2 play and content with where Harrow Hill was- both financially and with your roster. That certainly worked out well for you. Would you care to give us your feelings on last season?

Heartwood- I can't explain how proud I was of what the club accomplished last season. It was hard work and execution that gained us promotion- it wasn't luck or good fortune. That the boys were able to accomplish that at their youthful ages- is a testament that we are on the right track in building the club.

O'Hara- Many more now know of your unusual stance on not wanting players over the age of 25 for your club. Could you summarize that for readers who may not have heard it previously?

Heartwood- My thoughts on 25 year olds must be taken in context. When I discuss that age, I am particularly discussing that age relative to a small club like Harrow Hill. My thoughts are clear- at age 25 players simply become too expensive for a club the size of Hill to keep them under contract- well, if you have done a good job of finding the right players and developing them that is.

O'Hara- It is clear you and your Assistant Manager Bob Pearson are on the right development track. Harrow Hill Under-18s and Reserves have won their respective Groups for the last 4 seasons running. Not only that, but the Under-18s scored 24 wins in 24 matches and only yielded 5 goals all season, while scoring 78. Does this success on your lower sides reflect on the future of the Senior side?

Heartwood- I have to hope so. Actually, I believe implicitly that it has given our youngsters a strong grounding in both our system and how to make it succeed. That success helped usher in our approach of using players in total from those sides and that has carried us up to League 1 this season.

O'Hara- Any predictions on how Harrow Hill will fare in League 1?

Heartwood- (laughs) Predictions are your business Martin, not mine. I can tell you I am excited about our club. We are adding more good players to the Senior side this season- midfielder Michael Jones may be the best known one- and we plan to battle every club we face. If they beat us, they will earn it.

O'Hara- Speaking of battles, Harrow Hill is already into legend status with all small sides in England. You played Italian powerhouse to a 2-2 draw in a friendly three weeks ago. How do you feel about that?

Heartwood- It was a friendly Martin. It doesn't mean anything. But, I was excited when Lazio called and wanted to schedule it. I was pleased that the boys could take away some great memories from that match. We may not have beaten them, but we did make an impression on them. Their Manager, Delio Rossi, was very complimentary and many of their players offered ours souveniers from the match. They expected us to be in awe of them and instead we showed them we respected them, but were there to play.

O'Hara- It won't happen anytime soon, but what are your thoughts about some of the players you have groomed from 15 year olds leaving at age 25?

Heartwood- It hasn't happened yet, so it isn't something I am worrying over. I am sure there will be some sadness- there has already been some as we have had to allow some players to move to other clubs as their future here dimmed. Paul Wilcox is a good example of that last season. He helped Boston United beat us toward the end of last season and I was proud of his effort and play. That might be the reflection I want to carry- that players developed here at Harrow Hill play hard, play the right way and know how to win.

O'Hara- How do you see the future of your side- perhaps in the next 3 years?

Heartwood- Bob (Pearson) and I have been talking about this a lot. We both see a window of opportunity developing for perhaps the next 3-6 seasons. We have a good group of players under contract for extended periods. These contracts are favorable, in terms that we retain control of choice- with no minimum fee release clauses. Because of that, and the financial health of the club, we can afford to require very high value for any of players that interest bigger clubs. This is important because some of those players are going to gain more notice this season. No predictions on what we can accomplish in that time, but we feel we have a competitive club that we are going to work hard to keep improving.

O'Hara- Has the recent sale of last season's Captain- Tim Spencer- affected the club?

Heartwood- Anytime you lose a player the caliber of Spencer, it is bound to affect your club- and the dressing room too with us missing his leadership. Tim is a perfect example of extracting value from a club that wants one of our players. West Brom was willing to pay us 2.4 Million for Tim. At this point, I felt we could not turn down a sum like that- that helps ensure the future financial viability of the club. We have able replacements for Tim and he had already told me that he really would like to move on to a bigger club. That all came together nicely- he is happy and we are happy too.

O'Hara- You spoke a lot about the financial viability of a small club last time we talked. Is Harrow Hill still on track with your plans?

Heartwood- (chuckles) Martin, we just talked about the sale of Tim Spencer for a goodly sum and then you ask that one? The club is well off. I would venture to say we are the best funded club of our size in England. The Board made us a Professional club last season and we have wonderful training facilities. We remain under budget in relation to our Board's expected weekly wages. About the only thing we are lacking is a larger stadium, but that is certainly a ways off at this point. We are well on track to remain a profitable, viable club for years to come.

O'Hara- I feel a little like a good luck charm when I wish you the best in League 1 play- given that it worked so well last season.

Heartwood- I will take good luck Martin, but I will be happier if we continue to play the same committed brand of football we have shown the past two seasons. The results can speak for themselves at that point.

[Faramir]

7.8.10

Hill Swats Swindon

In a thoroughly impressive League 1 opener, Harrow Hill easily defeated Swindon 4-1 at Larksfield Road. If the pundits believed that Hill's performance against Lazio in friendlies was a fluke, they need look no further for a demonstration that it wasn't. Hill was clearly the quicker club and caused the Swindon backline no end of problems with their swirling attack. Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan slotted the ball across and Martin Wharton drove it past Brad Jones into the left side of the goal. Swindon answered promptly as Rory Fallon got up above Paul Ellis to deflect a corner past Andrew Evans. Hill didn't miss a beat as they jumped to the attack and a quickfire double put them up 3-1. Wharton made it a brace when he drove a rebound past Jones after Jones parried a shot from Darren Stevens. 'Silk' then scored his 1st goal on a wonderful chip over the stranded Jones when the Keeper tried to challenge him. Hill threatened to add to the lead, but had to settle for being up 3-1 at halftime. There was no letdown for Hill in the second half as they continued to pressure the visiting side. 'Silk' made it a brace and had the Larksfield faithful chanting his name after another sensational strike past Jones midway through the second half and earned himself MOM honours. With the 4-1 margin, Hill played more conservatively in closing out the visiting side.

"We couldn't have asked for a better start," beamed Pearson.

"It was what I was hoping for. It was great to get Martin Wharton and Jimmy off to a good start," replied a pleased Heartwood.

"It was everyone too- the relentless pressure on the ball drove them to distraction."

[Faramir]

10.8.10

English League 1 Odds- from Totalbet.com

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

Doncaster 7-4

Oldham 7-4

Gillingham 7-4

Sheffield United 2-1

Bournemouth 3-1

QPR 3-1

Harrow Hill 100-1

</pre>

***

10.8.10

Chesterfield Catches Hill

Chesterfield fought back for a second half equalizer as they wound up in a 1-1 draw with Harrow Hill at Saltergate. It was a match of missed opportunities for Hill as they played well in the first half, but had difficulty finishing their attacks. Martin Clark and Chris Briggs both had superb chances that they missed wide of the net on. Hill did grab the lead when Briggs made a terffic pass across the area to pick out MOM Alex Coulson bursting into the area. Coulson rapped his shot inside the right post past Rhys Evans. Coulson missed on two other good chances in the half as Hill went to the dressing room ahead 1-0. Chesterfield fought back and Andrew Evans made a diving parry to stop Imad Ali's header to open the second half. Evans wasn't as fortunate midway through the second half as Ali flicked a header past Evans, despite being challenged by Scott Davies. Neither side had a good chance to break the draw and they settled for splitting the points.

"We could have won this one. With just a bit better performance we would have," grumbled Heartwood.

"Our finishing lacked authority today. I don't why Martin Clark wouldn't shoot, but he passed up a couple really good chances," replied Pearson.

"Alex Coulson's selection as MOM was a good one, he was easily the most dynamic player out there today."

[timpino]

one quick question: Does Harrow Hill a greatish reputation for a non-league club? you signed alot of players the first season, even if I went for utter utter carp and trout I would still not be able to sign that much players... or have you retained all the english players? because when I do this I can usually build a squad of deadbeats that sees me going from loss to loss, just the way it's supposed to be

Also KUTGW and awesome story, love the talk between you and pearson especially when you decided to sell off almost the entire first team squad

[Faramir]

timpino- Well, longish answer here. This story is played with FM06, and starting from there meant there were more players available and at least some of them weren't so picky about playing for an obscure club (which is what Harrow Hill is- lowest level of club more or less). I did include all the English players (using Large DB too).

Now, having said that, my start with Harrow Hill in FM07 (Fondest Wishes story) was much harder because getting any level of quality players to sign on with me was difficult. Still, I have years (eons) of experience building small clubs up from the lowest levels in CM and FM and if I am able to pick out players that have a few particular skills- I can usually make it work for me. FM07 is much harder in starting this way though and the slower pace of Hill improving in that story is testament to that fact.

Glad you liked the interviews

***

14.8.10

Hartlepool Hushes Hill

Hartlepool proved very opportunistic and very fortunate as they were able to beat Harrow Hill 2-0 at Larksfield Road. The opportunistic portion was scoring on limited chances. Michael Jones lost the ball in midfield and Hartlepool turned that counter-attack into the lead when Cicero snapped a shot past Dean Mitchell. David Foley made it 2-0 later in the half when he deflected a cross from Simon Gillett past Mitchell. Hill managed to gain some good scoring chance, but Keeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulous earned MOM honours but getting a piece of every shot. He had other worldly help from his backline as they cleared three balls off the line for him. Hill outshot Hartlepool 13-6 for the match, but could not find the finishing touch. Their troubles weren't helped when Martin Wharton had to leave early in the second half. The final whistle found a clearly frustrated Hill side left with a 2-0 home defeat.

"Defensive mistakes that were killers- again," sighed Heartwood.

"We never really got going on offense either. We had trouble setting ourselves up in their area," offered Pearson.

"It was a tough way for Dean Mitchell to debut for us- in a match with little help from his backline."

[Faramir]

21.8.10

Hill Sear Stevenage

After struggling through the first half and early portions of the second half, Harrow Hill's offense suddenly came together and they used a quickfire double to dump Stevenage 2-0 at Broadhall Way. The first half featured many missed passes and tough tackles as the two clubs were clearly ready for a rough match. With the war of words during the week between Graham Westley and James Heartwood, no one was surprised that the spirited two clubs were battling out on the pitch. Hill's best chance in the first half came when Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan slid a pass across to unmarked Lee Williams, but Williams completely missed an open left side of the goal. Sullivan also missed inches wide late in the half. Stevenage had come close but Charalabos Charalobous' rising blast skimmed the crossbar. The second half began with more of the same as good scoring chances were scarce. Hill finally broke through midway through the half when MOM Brian Ball picked out Jammal Shahin coming late into the area. Shahin's wicked volley of Ball's cross sailed into the right side of the goal. Less than three minutes later Scott Davies launched a pass up the left sideline. Ball picked it up and slipped past two would-be tacklers before blistering a shot past Chris Howarth into the far right side of the goal. Hill then did nice work on their backline as they supported Andrew Evans as he claimed his clean sheet.

"Five minutes of good play- and that was enough to get us the match," said Heartwood as he shook his head in wonder.

"The turning point was Brian Ball seeing Jammal Shahin coming in late. His cross was beautifully timed," commented Pearson.

"It was nice to see Jammal get the goal. He doesn't get enough credit for his work as gameday sub for us."

[Faramir]

24.8.10

Bournemouth 2nd Half Blitz Buries Hill

Bournemouth was down, but not out, as they trailed Harrow Hill 2-0 at halftime. The second half belonged to the home side as they took advantage of indifferent play by the Hill backline in fighting back for a 3-2 win that moves them on to the second round in the League Cup competition. Hill looked very good in the first half as they took the lead when MOM Adam Patterson deflected an Andrew Hodgson corner past Fraser Forster. Hill made it 2-0 as Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan rapped home a rebound after Forster made the initial stop on Jon Burns from close-in. Bournemouth began their rally in the opening moments of the second half as Bradley Wright-Phillips deflected a cross from Stefano Costa past Dean Mitchell. They were back to even when Erik Salkic flicked a header past Mitchell on a cross from Stephan Petersen. Bournemouth made Hill pay for another bad pass as they turned Anthony McMahon's giveaway into the late match-winner as Gojko Kacar's through ball put Tom Devaux in free and he blasted a shot past Mitchell to broom Hill out of the League Cup.

"Ok, that was frustrating," grumbled Heartwood.

"We played with little composure- especially on the backline- in the second half," agreed Pearson.

"Anthony McMahon's passing keyed both the match winner and the equalizer. I have seen enough of him now- we have other options- so I think it is time for the transfer list for him."

"It certainly ruined a fine match by Adam Patterson. He looked superb out there today."

[Faramir]

28.8.10

Hill Wrecks Rotherham

In a stunning display of attacking, Harrow Hill crushed Rotherham 5-1 at Larksfield Road. Hill put their stamp on the match in the first half when they scored four goals including their first in the 2nd minute as Brian Ball skinned Paul Morgan and then slid the ball across for Martin Clark to put away past James Hoad. Ball helped setup the second goal as well, when he intercepted a pass and pushed it to Darren Stevens. Stevens showed superb vision as he slipped a pass forward and Martin Wharton hammered home a precision goal with trademark finish to make it 2-0. Scott Davies was the architect in setting Wharton up for a brace as his through ball was on the money and Danny Higginbotham couldn't close Wharton down before he slammed his shot into the right side of the goal. Rotherham ruined Andrew Evans clean sheet as Neil Preece made a terrible choice on his backpass went right to Kristof Aelbrecht. Aelbrecht had Evans at his mercy, as he had moved out of position to try and collect the backpass and he launched a 40 yard shot into the empty goal. Hill shrugged off the goal and stormed right back to make it 4-1 at halftime as Clark made it a brace for himself as he fired the rebound back into the open goal after Hoad had parried Wharton's blast. Higginbotham then added to Rotherham's woes when he was redcarded for taking down Clark as the last man late in the first half. Hill maintained possession virtually the entire second half and Clark finished off his hat-trick when Alan Wilkins flicked a header down for him and he slid his shot inside the left post to cap the 5-1 rout.

"A great match, one of the best we have ever played," said a happy Heartwood.

"We took advantage of our opportunities today. We could easily have had another two or three goals," said an also pleased Pearson.

"Hopefully, we can build on that."

[timpino]

Is that Danny Higginbotham? who used to play for man utd?

KUTGW!

[Faramir]

timpino- same one (leftback) thanks

***

30.8.10

Hill Destroy Wycombe

Harrow Hill added another impressive win as they followed up their rout of Rotherham with a convincing 4-0 win over Wycombe at Adams Park. Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan somehow didn't wind up with the MOM despite a hat-trick and assist on the other goal, but he was clearly the player Wycombe couldn't cope with. Hill was off on a flyer when Silk nipped a pass to Lee Williams as he slipped free of Danny O'Donnell's marking. Williams ripped his shot past Paolo Acerbis into the left side of the goal for a quick lead. Sullivan scored his first goal on a beautifully timed pass from MOM Adam Patterson that allowed Silk to redirect the ball into the open side of the goal. Sullivan then made it a brace with and his 5th goal of the season as he deflected a cross from Patterson inside the left post. Patterson helped make Sullivan's last goal possible. Patterson picked out Craig Briggs as he came clear. Acerbis stopped Briggs, but Sullivan snapped the rebound into the goal to complete his hat-trick and finish out the scoring in the match. Andrew Evans put up an easy clean sheet for Hill today.

"'Silk' certainly is living up to his hype so far," drolly observed Pearson.

"He was in the right place a lot today. I still have to wonder at giving Adam Patterson the MOM, 'Silk' should have gotten it."

"At least Jimmy took it well, no bad feelings on it."

[sherm]

Still an excellent read Faramir always enjoy reading your stories especially the Harrow Hill adventures

[Faramir]

sherm- Thanks for the kind words Glad you are enjoying the Harrow Hill stories- I certainly am enjoying playing them

(Now if I could only get a jersey *chuckle*)

***

30.8.10

"Another sale Bob," stated Heartwood.

"Which one of our unhappy ones?"

"We completed the sale of Craig Reid to Luton for 210K."

"That's a pretty nice return for him, considering he wouldn't sign a new contract with us."

"He saw he wasn't going to get any playing time behind the others at forward- so wanted to move. It's a good deal for both of us."

***

1.9.10

"A clean sweep," beamed Heartwood.

"Not only that, but we also had both the Runners-up as well," agreed Pearson.

"Brian Ball as Player of the Month, with 'Silk' Sullivan just behind. Darren Stevens as Young Player of the Month with Scott Davies only losing out by a few votes- makes everyone on the club feel good."

"We are on the right track Jim. Now if we can just keep these youngsters focused for an entire season."

"You're right. That will be the hard part- the grind."

***

2.9.10

"Another sale completed," said Heartwood to Pearson.

"I thought the transfer window was two days ago?"

"It was. This one didn't need to go through the window."

"Ah."

"Curtis McCarthy will be moving to Welling and they paid us 35K to make it happen."

"He deserves a chance to start somewhere. He will be a solid midfielder."

[Faramir]

4.9.10

Hill Hangs on for Narrow Win Over Grimsby

Grimsby clearly wanted to break out of their recent struggles and believed that Larksfield Road was the place to accomplish that. Instead the visitors saw Harrow Hill win a closer than it should have been match by a 3-2 margin. The visitors took advantage of Darren Stevens' having to be off the field for treatment as they found space and Tcham N'Toya slipped away from Craig Alexander's marking to score an easy goal past Dean Mitchell. Hill controlled the play for the remainder of the first half after falling behind and hit back with a quickfire double to take the halftime lead. Martin Wharton's sizzling pass made its way to Martin Clark and he rifled it past Ricardo Gonzalez to make up for the goal he had lost when ruled offside a few minutes earlier. Stevens then set up Wharton nicely and he hammered a shot home past Gonzalez. Hill moved ahead 3-1 midway through the second half as Craig Briggs, on for a tiring Clark, took a good pass from Wharton and steered it past Gonzalez. Grimsby wasn't ready to quit and hit back as Jermaine Palmer deflected a cross past Mitchell after sliding by Alexander. Hill kept the visitors in check for the rest of the match to close out the 3-2 win.

"We were very good in stretches, but very bad defensively in stretches," commented Pearson.

"For all the griping that Craig Alexander made about not playing of late- if he keeps playing like that he won't see any playing time at all," stated Heartwood.

"I wish we could see the real Dean Mitchell too. He hasn't really played a good match yet- but you can see that it is in him."

[Faramir]

11.9.10

QPR, Hill Battle to Draw

QPR took the early lead thanks to a Harrow Hill gift, but returned the favor later in the first half as the two sides battled to a 1-1 draw. Alex Coulson handballed in the area and James McFadden made the most of the gift for QPR as he converted the penalty kick past Andrew Evans. To that point, Hill had played extremely well in the match and was a little unfortunate to be losing- as Keeper Colin Doyle had come up with fantastic saves against Lee Williams and Michael Jones. QPR gifted Hill with the equalizer when Mark Wilson's backpass to Doyle didn't have enough steam on it. The ball laid free just inside the edge of the area on the wet pitch and MOM Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan took full advantage as he swooped in and blasted his shot past Doyle. Both sides had good chances in the second half, but it was Doyle's superb parry of a Brian Ball header that allowed the home side to split the points with Hill.

"A match that we could easily have won," sighed Heartwood.

"If we execute a bit better on offense- it would have been a win easily- but we failed to do the best with our chances today," agreed Pearson.

"I was disappointed that Alex Coulson made a dumb play like that. There was no reason for him to even think about using his hand- the play wasn't even dangerous."

"Just a loss of concentration. Hopefully, he learned his lesson after you pulled him out at halftime."

[Faramir]

18.9.10

Hill Steals Last Minute Win Over Stoke

It took a dramatic match winner in second half injury time for Harrow Hill to escape with a well-earned 1-0 win over Stoke at Larksfield Road. Hill dominated the first half of play and peppered Stoke Keeper Grant Young with 9 shots. Young was stellar as he made acrobatic saves on Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan and Martin Wharton to keep things scoreless. Andrew Evans was called on for a couple strong stops of his own as Ishmael Miller and Stephen McPhail blasted away from close range. Hill grew increasingly frustrated in the second half as their luck was terrible. Wharton hit the crossbar, Sullivan hit the right upright and Brian Ball hit the left upright in a trifecta of sorts. Hill's luck went from bad to worse when the referee hauled out the redcard to send Paul Ellis to the showers at 64 minutes for a professional foul. Hill refused to sit back and play for the draw as both sides attacked up and down the pitch. Sullivan, now working at rightwing due to shuffling, keyed the match winning goal on a counterattack. A quick pass from Andy Reid put him free down the right side. Sullivan timed his pass to Craig Briggs, on for Wharton, perfectly and Briggs finally found a way past Young as he skimmed his shot into the right side of the goal for a dramatic match winner. Hill still had to survive a last Stoke attack and Evans pushed Jay Boothroyd's shot away to preserve the 1-0 win.

"A great, battling effort," beamed Heartwood. "This is why I love this team- they don't quit."

"We earned the win, but it could have been much easier if we had found a way to score with all our first half pressure."

"True, but a win is a win. We can work on things, but to have the win in the books is nice."

[Faramir]

25.9.10

Hill Buries Bournemouth

In a match that added to Bournemouth's woes, it was clear the staff, players and their Fitness First fans are all wondering what is wrong with their side after Harrow Hill handed them a humbling 5-1 loss at Fitness First Stadium. Hill looked the sharper side the entire match and quickly took the lead when Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan sent a beautiful through ball to Craig Briggs. Briggs made a quick move and slipped his shot past a diving Darren Randolph to get Hill off on a flyer. After Randolph made good saves on Sullivan and Briggs, it was Sullivan's inventiveness that put them ahead 2-0 as he made a twisting flick header to find Jon Burns alone at the edge of the six yard box. Burns blasted his shot inside the right post for his 1st goal at Hill. Bournemouth gained a glimmer of hope when Gojko Kacar rapped home a short cross from James Tomkins after slipping Scott Davies' marking. The match remained close in score at 2-1 until midway through the second half, but Hill really was controlling the play and their pressure paid off as a well executed passing sequence allowed Terry Reed to hammer home his 1st Senior goal. Hill made it a quickfire double as Sullivan picked up his 3rd assist of the match with a pass that allowed Briggs to bag his brace. Randolph kept things from becoming worse with a couple fine saves, but Joe Keenan was called for tripping Craig Briggs in the area and a penalty resulted. In a testimony to how the match had gone for Bournemouth, Randolph saved the penalty kick of Burns, but Alex Coulson's quick cross allowed unmarked Briggs to finish off his hattrick and MOM with his 5th goal of the season as he headed into the left side of the goal to complete the 5-1 rout.

"Briggs was brilliant today," said a pleased Pearson.

"He is showing everything we were hoping he might when we got him from Hitchin," agreed Heartwood.

"Silk is a wonderful playmaker. I think people are starting to realize that finally after today."

"He has superb vision and with his ball control skills it makes it very difficult to defense him properly."

[timpino]

A quick question: Do you watch the games and write the reports or do you look at stats and then write it up? Love the reports, think you ought to do good as a reporter actually, even the headlines remind me of my old local paper, if translated to swedish that is.

Oh, and how is old Danny H.? he must be one of the older geezers?

[Faramir]

timpino- the way I manage is to watch the match on 'full' for about the first 10 minutes- to get a feel for things. I switch to 'extended' after that- and yes, I do watch the whole match. Long, long time ago I was sports editor for college newspaper- so I do have a wee bit of the background to write them up Danny H was older at this point...

***

27.9.10

"Another player is happy with his new home," commented Heartwood to Pearson.

"Who did we sell now?"

"Winger Steve Payne was pleased to accept a contract from Hampton and Richard."

"How much did they pay us for him?"

"Initially 18K, but they did give us a sell-on clause."

***

28.9.10

Late Hill Fightback Brushes Off Brighton

In a fluid match that was entertaining in the extreme, Harrow Hill managed to fight back with a pair of late second half goals to earn a deserved 2-1 win over Brighton at Larksfield Road. The first half was an exercise in frustration for Hill as they outplayed Brighton by a large margin, only to see Ben Foster perform brilliantly and keep them off the scoreboard. Hill trailed at halftime as Sylvan Ebanks-Blake had overpowered Paul Ellis to deflect a cross from Colo Halit past Andrew Evans. The second half began with more Hill frustration as Martin Wharton drilled a shot off the crossbar. As the match moved into the last ten minutes of play, the Larksfield Road crowd was clearly downcast. Hill's fortunes changed as Adam Tann knocked over Martin Wharton in the area. Andy Reid stepped up and converted the penalty to finally equalize for Hill. Hill wasn't content to play for the draw and Wharton earned MOM honours as he took a pass from Paul Cross and hooked a hard, low shot past Foster for a late match winner. Hill survived Brighton's last attempts to rally as Andrew Evans turned Filipe Morais' rising shot over the crossbar to preserve the win.

Heartwood shook his head in wonder, "I thought we were done Bob. After all the frustration we had from Foster, the crossbar and their timely tackling- I didn't think we had the right stuff today."

"The penalty call- finally- gave us the life after Andy Reid converted it," replied Pearson.

"I was worried that it was going to be another no-call, like their other challenges in the area."

"He thought about it, but in the end the referee couldn't ignore making the call- especially because Martin Wharton would have had a great scoring chance if Tann hadn't bumped him."

[Faramir]

2.10.10

Reading and Hill Battle to Draw

Reading and Harrow Hill both walked off tiredly after a spirited match at Madejski Stadium that saw the sides splitting the points in a scoreless draw. The two Keepers deserved the lion's share of the credit, as this certainly wasn't a bore draw. Both Graham Stack and Dean Mitchell made several superb saves each as they preserved their sides' share of draw. The match was evenly played from start to finish and although there were swings of possession by both sides, they were equal in attack up and down the pitch. Readings' Keith Keane earned MOM honours and he had the timeless moment of the match when he threw himself in front of a shot from Darren Stevens and kept the ball from going into the open goal in the second half. Mitchell showed exquisite timing as he parried away a deflected header by Andrew Keough and also made a point-blank save on Arnold Bruggink. Reading's Stefan De Weerd was redcarded at 65 minutes for a professional foul. Hill failed to take advantage of the home side being down to 10 men.

"It was great to finally see Dean Mitchell play like we were hoping," commented Heartwood.

"He played a solid match. The result was a fair one given the hard play by both sides."

[Faramir]

9.10.10

Hill, Plymouth Tangle to Draw

Harrow Hill outplayed visiting Plymouth for much of the match, but were forced to settle for splitting the points in a 1-1 draw at Larksfield Road. Hill had controlled much of the flow of play in the first half, but found themselves trailing at halftime when MOM Neil Barnett snuck behind and flicked a header past Andrew Evans on a Paul Wotton free kick late in the half. Hill showed they had new desire coming out for the second half and Martin Wharton equalized when he deflected a pass from Paul Ellis past Lubos Kamenar to equalize in the opening moments. Hill spent the rest of the half trying to find a match winner. Though they rattled the post and the crossbar, Hill could not find the twine behind Kamenar and were left with the 1-1 draw as Hill outshot Plymouth 19-6 for the match.

"We had a lot of good work in the midfield, but our passing and shooting broke down in their area," observed Heartwood.

"They did a good job of challenging us there," replied Pearson.

"True, and we certainly had no luck on our side. Still, we managed to contain Steffan Iversen this time and that was the reason we had a chance to win the match."

[tree]

great story so far keep it up it must be hard trying to keep 2 stories going at once

[Faramir]

tree- thank you actually have 4 active ones at the moment, but usually I have played far in advance on some of them- which is the case on 2 of the 4 stories- and then alternating my play on the other 2 active stories- typically a season at a time.

***

12.10.10

Hill Hammers Hull

In another impressive display on the road, Harrow Hill handed Hull a stinging 4-1 loss at The Circle. Lee Williams enjoyed his return to the lineup and demonstrated he had lost none of his touch as he scored in the opening minutes when he whipped in a loose ball from just beyond the edge of the area following a Hill corner. Hull equalized when Andy van der Meyde blasted a trademark 25 yard rocket past Andrew Evans. The lead returned to Hill late in the first half with a brilliant solo effort by Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan. Sullivan took on two defenders in the area and after Vincent Enyeama stopped his initial shot, he somehow hooked the rebound into the goal. Williams made it a brace when he scored a sensational goal to open the second half. Williams took the ball at midfield and scooted down the left side before rifling a sharp angled shot past Enyeama. Jon Burns then finished off the scoring late in the half as he was in the right place to fire the rebound back in after Craig Briggs shot bounced back off the crossbar. Darren Stevens earned MOM honours for Hill.

"Another superb effort from the boys," offered a happy Pearson.

"I was impressed by how they jumped right back to pressure Hull after van der Meyde had scored the equalizer. That was what I was hoping to see from them."

"It was great to get Lee Williams back too. He is such a dangerous shooter- especially when paired with Silk."

"Those two do seem to work best together."

[Faramir]

16.10.10

Hill Manages Millwall

It was off on a flyer and then hard work that helped Harrow Hill outlast Millwall and score a 2-0 win at Larksfield Road. Hill scored in the opening moments of the match as a beautifully choreographed passing sequence saw Darren Stevens slipping a pass to Martin Wharton and Wharton snapped his shot past Paul Smith inside the left post. Andrew Evans was called on to make excellent saves against Freddy Eastwood and Jamie Whitehead as the visitors tried to rally. Both clubs were playing determined defense in the midfield and much of the play was confined there. Hill moved into a more comfortable 2-0 lead when MOM Wharton sent a pass ahead to Craig Briggs. Briggs, on for tiring Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan, skipped a shot past Smith as he struggled to retreat from his exposed place beyond the edge of the area. With the 2-0 lead, Hill really put the defensive clamps on Millwall and helped Evans post a clean sheet.

"Just enough to win," murmured a smiling Pearson.

"Offensively- yes. Defensively we played a really fine match and drove our visitors to distraction," commented Heartwood.

[Faramir]

23.10.10

Hill Fights Back to Draw With Sheffield United

Sheffield United seemed to have everything going their way in the early stages of hosting Harrow Hill at Bramall Lane. With 3 of 4 regular Hill backline starters out due to injury, the home side took advantage of the replacements. John Bruce was called for a trip on Danny Webber in the area and Matt Fisher converted the penalty kick to send Sheffield United off on a flyer. The home side made it 2-0 at fourteen minutes as Luca Vitale struck a booming 25 yard shot past Andrew Evans. It appeared Hill was teetering on the edge of winding up a rout victim. Hill managed to regain their composure and began attacking with more effectiveness. They made their improve play pay off when Martin Wharton deflected a cross from Brian Ball past Joe Lewis to draw a goal back before halftime. Early in the second half, MOM Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan made a terrific play with the ball and then smashed a shot past Lewis for the equalizer. Hill didn't stop with the fightback as they continually pressure Sheffield United in the late stages and forced Lewis to make a couple brilliant saves on Sullivan and Terry Reed. Hill had to be content with the 2-2 draw, but they had given the home side all they could handle and could well have come away with a win in the match.

"I am very proud of how hard the boys worked to fight back for the draw," stated Heartwood.

"Me too. I can't help but think we almost had the win though," answered Pearson.

"Well, it would have been nice, but after going down so quickly I am pleased we got back to even with them."

[Faramir]

30.10.10

Hill Meltdown in Mansfield

Mansfield put paid to Harrow Hill's 14 match unbeaten streak as they delivered a convincing 4-1 to their Field Mill faithful. Just as was the case against Sheffield United, Hill yielded 2 quick goals to open the match. Gary Harkins flicked a header past Dean Mitchell on a cross from Hayden Mullins. Aurelien Joachim followed that with a blistering shot past Mitchell after a midfield giveaway by Michael Jones allowed the counterattack. Hill remained calm and worked hard to try to get back into the match. Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan was seemingly everywhere up front and finally got a deserved 10th goal of the season when he deflected a cross from Adam Patterson past Ben Williams early in the second half. The wheels fell off for Hill at that point as their backline looked awful the remainder of the match. Robert Ryan dallied, dribbled and then lost the ball in the Hill area to Shaleum Logan whose laser shot past Mitchell made the score 3-1. Logan added another when David Mills failed to clear a rebound away and Logan potted for a brace to close out the 4-1 Hill loss.

Heartwood mused, "You know Bob- except for the terrible play of our backline- we didn't play that bad. Ben Williams was brilliant when he needed to be and we just plain missed a few chances. Overall though, the offense was there."

"The defense wasn't -- the backline was brutal today. Dean Mitchell didn't play that well either, though he had no help."

[Faramir]

6.11.10

Briggs Burns Barnsley

Craig Briggs proved opportunistic, Craig Gallagher proved mistake prone and Harrow Hill fought back for a 2-1 win over Barnsley at Oakwell in their FA Cup 1st round match. The first half saw a flowing match which was punctuated by errant shooting from both sides. Moving the ball was easy, finishing was not as neither side seemed able to get their shots on target. Barnsley changed that equation when Chris Shuker ran down a long pass down the right sideline and crossed to the middle. Peter Nilsson was completely unmarked and had an easy time redirecting his header past Martin Pearson to give the home side the lead going to the dressing room. Hill came out with a more determined effort in the second half and Craig Briggs proved how dangerous he was. Barnsley's Keeper Craig Gallagher mishit a ball while trying to clear it away and Briggs scooped up the ball and raced past Gallagher to fire the ball into the open goal to equalize. Terry Reed then skinned Shuker just outside the area and zipped a quick pass to Briggs. Briggs whipped the ball at the goal without stopping it and his quick shot caught Gallagher out of position and unable to reach the ball as it skittered into the goal for a brace. Hill played determined defense with the lead and helped Pearson close out the 2-1 win that will move Hill on to the 2nd round of the FA Cup.

"Good thing Craig Briggs likes to shoot," grinned Pearson.

"Yes, his nose for the goal was the difference- especially in the second goal," agreed Heartwood.

[Faramir]

20.11.10

Oldham Owns Hill

Looking at the stats, this might seem a fairly close match, when in reality Oldham showed good finishing and great backline play as they defeated Harrow Hill 3-0 at Boundary Park. Sepp De Roover got Oldham off to a fine start when he snuck in to head a cross inside the far right post as the Hill backline lost track of him on the play. Boyd Mwila made it 2-0 midway through the first half when he slipped past Andy Reid and flicked a header past Andrew Evans to make it 2-0 at halftime. Hill was generating possession and chances, but were doing a poor job of getting their shots on target as Alex Coulson and Martin Wharton both missed sitters. Hill was still battling in the second half, but they were making 'one pass too many' in the area and squandered several great opportunities without getting a shot. Oldham put the final stamp on the match as Mwila got free again behind the Hill backline and deflected a long centering pass from MOM Paulo Renato past Evans.

"I thought you were going to go over the line," stated Pearson.

"I was very, very close. I could not believe that they called Jimmy Sullivan offside- when he was in the middle of four Oldham players and then they said Mwila was onside on the ensuing pass- when he was 10 yards beyond our backline when the ball was kicked."

"It was a bad call, but it wouldn't have mattered. We didn't score when we had our chances."

Heartwood nodded, "We were too 'nice' in the zone- we kept trying to be perfect with one more pass- and it didn't work at all."

"Not to mention missing two wide open goals in the first half."

"Those hurt. We will just have to get back to the basics again- especially defensively."

[Faramir]

23.11.10

Hill Takes Extra-Time Win Over Daggers

Harrow Hill had to work hard to overcome a couple defensive errors, but accomplished the task in the second half of Extra-Time as they scored to beat Dag & Red 3-2 at Larksfield Road in their LDV Vans South 2nd Round match. Hill looked much the better club in the first half, but both sides failed to score by the end of the half. Hill finally struck for the lead as Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan put Craig Briggs, just on for a tiring Lee Williams, in free and Briggs snapped his shot past Jan Budtz. Hill seemed well on track for the 1-0 win, thanks to Jordan Fowler's 2nd yellow card, when Scott Davies dallied with the ball late in the half. The Daggers turned that opportunity into a goal as Liam Francis hammered the rebound past Dean Mitchell at the 87 minute mark for a dramatic equalizer. Hill again moved into the lead as Alex Coulson made up for missing an earlier sitter by rapping home a shot after a superb cross from Briggs. Hill again allowed the Daggers and equalizer as Chris Moore's long cross sailed past Mitchell and caught the upper corner of the goal to make it 2-2 going into the second half of Extra-time. Hill finally finished off a long, injury filled match when Brian Ball's cross was deflected past Budtz by Briggs for his brace and a dramatic match winner. Briggs also earned MOM honours for his efforts.

"We were lucky today. Those were bad defensive blunders and we somehow survived them," stated Heartwood.

"Some good work in all the other areas though. Craig Briggs was dazzling again today," replied Pearson.

"Briggs was the only one whose injury will keep him out for awhile."

"That is amazing. I thought for sure that Dean Mitchell and Andy Reid would be out- they hobbled through the entire match."

"Nothing serious is what the doc said."

[Faramir]

27.11.10

Hill Battles Brentford to Draw

It was clearly a disappointed Harrow Hill side that left Larksfield Road with only a scoreless draw against visiting Brentford. Hill dominated the visitors, outshooting them 11-4 in the match and never really allowing Brentford a good chance to score. Hill's finishing was again the problem as they moved the ball well, but could not get stretch the twine behind Keeper Michael Hilton. Martin Wharton had the best chance for Hill in the match, but Hilton made a diving stop of his scorcher late in the first half. Martin Clark, on for a tiring Darren Adams, also had a good chance in the second half that Hilton was able to palm away. It was an easy clean sheet for Andrew Evans.

"Just one goal," muttered Heartwood.

"We earned a win, but only if we could score," agreed Pearson.

"Our passing was good, but we have to take the shots- and Adams was hesitant to do that today."

"It was his first start after coming back from injury. His being hesitant was understandable."

[Faramir]

1.12.10

Hill Fightback Rumbles Past Rushden

Harrow Hill got off to a horrid start in hosting Rushden as they fell behind 2-0 before midway point in the first half. They managed to right themselves and with a terrific second half they fought back for a 4-2 win and were rewarded by a standing ovation from the Larksfield Road fans. Chris Poole handed the visitors a goal in the opening minute of play when he tried to clear a ball in the Hill area and he passed it directly to Eero Peltonen and Peltonen rocketed a shot into the open left side of the goal past Andrew Evans. Jason Schofield then picked out Sean O'Keefe slipping in unmarked at the far post and O'Keefe had an easy time pushing the ball into the goal as Poole watched in anguish. Hill's rally began when Brian Ball deflected an Andrew Hodgson corner past Nickolas Stuhlinger to make the halftime score 2-1. Hill equalized early in the second half when Lee Williams calmly headed a long cross from MOM Danny French inside the left post. It took until the late moments of the second half before Hill could finally storm ahead. Alan Wilkins scored his 1st goal of the season after coming on for Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan as he volleyed a pass from Andy Reid past Stuhlinger at 84 minutes. Jon Burns then put the cap on the match as he finished off a superb Hill counter-attack by slipping a shot past Stuhlinger inside the right post to make the final 4-2.

"I hoped we had a good second half in us," said an obviously happy Heartwood. "That was about as good as I could have wished for."

"The boys really took your talk to heart. We finally started playing better offensively in the second half," offered Pearson.

"The win was a bit costly injury wise though. Andrew Evans will be out 2-3 weeks and Alex Coulson a bit longer."

[Faramir]

4.12.10

Hill Move On in FA Cup

A quickfire double in the first half and dominant play in the midfield was enough to enable Harrow Hill to broom York out of the FA Cup competition with a 2-0 win at Larksfield Road. York's backline was a key ingredient in Hill's success. Alan Wilkins strolled into the area and fired it past Dean Brill after taking a pass from Kevin Bischoff who was trying to pass across the backline. Less than three minutes later Darren Adams deflected a short cross from Terry Reed past Brill to make it a 2-0 halftime lead for Hill. Hill had other chances to score, but mainly contented themselves with offering strong support for Martin Pearson as he chalked up a clean sheet in this FA Cup 2nd round match. Hill defender Robert Ryan earned MOM honours.

"A good effort, especially considering the patchwork lineup I put out there," smiled Heartwood.

"They wanted to play, they were hungry and it showed in their pursuit of the ball. We always had pressure on the ball today," commented Pearson.

[Faramir]

7.12.10

Hill Slips Past Port Vale

Port Vale, clearly facing a desperate struggle to avoid relegation this season, tried to break out of their latest slide against Harrow Hill. It wasn't to be for the home side, as Hill scored a second half goal and escaped with a taut 1-0 win over the last placed side. Port Vale looked sharp in the early going and Martin Pearson was called on to make a could good saves against Jonathan Pringle and Billy Paynter. Hill came close when Martin Clark's header skittered just outside the right upright. Anthony Scribe also made a fingertip save on Martin Wharton to keep things scoreless going to halftime. Hill looked sharper in the second half and the introduction of Craig Briggs for Clark really helped them pick up the pace offensively. Briggs sent a beautiful pass to Rob Hodge as he broke in free down the left side and Hodge made a quick move with the ball before slotting it past Scribe to score in his debut. From that point on, Hill played a more conservative attack and dogged defense around their area. Fine tackling removed a couple excellent scoring chances and although Scribe managed a great save on Wharton to keep Hill from clinching the match late, Hill still held the 1-0 margin at the final whistle as Pearson put up another clean sheet. Hill defender Danny French earned MOM honours in the match.

"We survived a close one there," stated a relieved Heartwood.

"They wanted a better result against us pretty badly," noted Pearson.

"That was a pretty good debut from Rob Hodge. He could easily have received MOM honours."

[Faramir]

11.12.10

Hill Escapes With Another Close Win

Another club locked in the relegation battle came challenging Harrow Hill and they barely managed to defeat Doncaster 1-0 at Larksfield Road. It was another second half goal and a tough, challenging defense in the closing stages of the match that won it for Hill. Hill controlled the first half of play but failed to score despite the constant pressure they kept on the visitors. Gustave Aldofo Sivadon played well in the Doncaster goal and he made diving stops on both Lee Williams and Michael Jones, as well as leaping to push a Brian Ball header over the crossbar. Hill kept up the pressure in the second half and finally found a way to score on Sivadon as Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan blasted a shot off the crossbar and Craig Briggs, on for a tiring Williams, was right there to snap the rebound into the goal. With the lead, Hill leaned on its midfield and backline play to hang on. Though they outshot the visitors 18-4, it was clearly Hill that was under pressure in the waning moments of the match. Doncaster appeared to equalize when Dave Howell flicked a header past Martin Pearson just before injury time. The Assistant Referee immediately waved the goal off as Howell was ruled offside for lingering in the Hill area while the counter-attack developed. The final whistle found Hill a tired, but content club as they had held on for the closely played win and another clean sheet for Martin Pearson.

"Whew!" said Heartwood. "I was able to lose my temper when Howell scored that late goal."

"At least they finally got it right. They got away with that other one in the first half and Martin Pearson made a great save," answered Pearson.

"Briggs has been a terrific asset to us this season. His ability to come off the bench and score has won us several matches."

"Including todays."

[Faramir]

18.12.10

Hill Glides Past Gillingham

Harrow Hill's dynamic young forward Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan had been a bit quiet of late. That is the case no longer as Sullivan scored four goals in helping Harrow Hill rout struggling Gillingham 5-1 at Priestfield. Hill was off to the races quickly in this match as Martin Wharton's fine cross was easy for Sullivan to put away in the first minute of the match. Sullivan then added to that at the 8 minute mark when he scored what well might be Hill's Goal of the Year. Wharton skipped a pass to Sullivan in traffic in the area. Sullivan pivoted to his right and went around three defenders in the area before blasting a booming shot past Gary Parsons to stun the Priestfield faithful into silence. Gillingham tried to rally, but Martin Pearson was able to smother a couple of good chances from Sherjill Mac Donald. Sullivan then completed the hat-trick at 41 minutes when Wharton passed to him as he blazed past Gary Naysmith. Naysmith could not make up the ground and Sullivan snapped his shot inside the left post to put Hill ahead 3-0 at halftime. Sullivan then made it four goals when he had an easy time deflecting a sharp cross from Rob Hodge past Parsons. Gillingham ruined Martin Pearson's clean sheet as Tamas Vegh sent a looping cross into the six-yard box and Mac Donald flicked it past Pearson. Wharton then made it 4 assists for the match as his sharp shot was saved by Parsons, but Craig Briggs was on hand to whisk home the rebound to cap off the impressive 5-1 win.

"Great match by Silk. I don't know that I have seen a better individual effort goal than his 2nd one," beamed Heartwood.

"Jimmy had the magic going today. That was one of the best overall matches we have played as well," agreed Pearson.

"It was very nice not to have another nail biter. Do you realize Bob? It is midseason and we are in 1st place!"

"We are? Oldham lost again?"

"Yes. Pretty amazing half a season, eh?"

"Now all we have to do is keep them focused to play like this through the grinding part of the schedule."

"That is very true. We need to keep them focused on playing one match at a time."

League 1 Midseason Table- 23 matches remaining

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

1- Harrow Hill 48 pts (+25)

2- Oldham 43 pts (+15)

3- Hull 43 pts (+13)

4- Stoke 42 pts (+19)

5- Sheffield United 42 pts (+16)

6- Brighton 42 pts (+5)

7- QPR 39 pts (+16)

8- Reading 37 pts (+11)

9- Millwall 34 pts (+10)

</pre>

[Faramir]

21.12.10

Brighton Brooms Hill

Brighton took advantage of the towering presence of Portugese Forward Hugo Almeida as he led them to a 2-0 win over Harrow Hill at Falmer in their LDV Vans South 3rd Round match. Almeida, who earned MOM honours, soared above Craig Alexander to deflect a long cross from Steve Finnan past Dean Mitchell in the fifth minute. Finnan and Almeida repeated that combination as Almeida leapt between John Bruce and Alexander to score at eighteen minutes. Hill had their chances, but the Brighton backline was very sharp in clearing rebounds away and played a big part in helping Ben Foster to earn a clean sheet in the match. Hill also suffered two goals by Lee Williams being waved off as Williams was ruled offside on each of the apparent second half goals.

"Just wasn't our day," observed Pearson.

"We didn't play well enough to win this one. I am still waiting to see the real Dean Mitchell in goal. For all his promising potential and the too-soon comparisons with Paul Robinson- he really has only played one good match for us so far."

"He is young. This season has been his first exposure to Senior playing time. He looks like he will develop, but may not be ready as fast as Andrew Evans was."

[timpino]

Great stuff as always! Nice to see you at the top of the league!

My estimate: promotion this year 3 years in championship and another 2 before you conquer England!

Keeping it at 1 post/day that would net you: aprox 1 year left to the point where we can all hail you as the champion!

[Faramir]

timpino- thanks much All I can say is that this story will eclipse "The Bet" as the longest I have had on here...

***

26.12.10

Hill Singes Swindon

Harrow Hill put together a strong first half and then benefitted from an early redcard as they held off Swindon for a 3-1 win at County Ground. Brian Ball earned MOM honours and got Hill on the scoreboard first when he took a pass from Danny Edwards and snapped a shot Brad Jones. Ball made it a brace and a 2-0 halftime lead for Hill when he deflected a cross from Alex Coulson inside the left post later in the first half. Shortly after Ball's 2nd goal, Julian Bennett earned his 2nd yellow card for the home side, which impacted their ability to rally against the quicker visitors. Hill moved ahead 3-0 early in the second half when Jimmy 'Silk' Sullivan scored his 15th goal of the season as he whipped a shot past Jones after Martin Wharton's blast carromed back off the crossbar. Swindon's only bright spot came when Sean O'Hanlon outleapt Edwards and deflected a free kick from Jack Smith past Andrew Evans to ruin the clean sheet midway through the second half.

"Another nice effort, I am very pleased with how well the boys played today," stated Heartwood.

"Brian Ball had the scoring touch today, he should have had a hat-trick," commented Pearson.

"It was close, that header that skimmed the crossbar- I thought it was in."

"He did too."

[Faramir]

28.12.10

Hill Sinks Stevenage

Harrow Hill demonstrated their depth as they easily defeated Stevenage 2-0 at Larksfield Road in a match where the score could have been much worse for the visitors. Hill struck for the early lead with a counter-attack. Chris Howarth was able to get a hand on Michael Jones blast, but the ball trickled past him and Lee Williams was right there to push it into the goal for his 5th goal of the season. Hill piled on the pressure the remainder of the first half, but Howarth was brilliant with several diving saves to keep his side in the match as they trailed only 1-0 at half. Hill earned a penalty kick in the opening moments of the second half, but Rob Hodge missed wide right. Williams cemented his MOM selection when he drilled a curving 25 yard free kick past Howarth for his brace. With the 2-0 lead, Hill concentrated on keeping Anthony Elding in check as they helped Andrew Evans to another clean sheet.

"A very credible effort," commented Pearson.

"The boys did what they needed to to earn the win," agreed Heartwood.

"It was nice to see Lee Williams score a couple again. He had fallen on hard times of late."

"He showed that being in the right place at the right time is one good trait for a sniper."

[Faramir]

31.12.10

"There are going to be more changes Bob," quietly stated Heartwood.

"What are you looking at doing?" asked Pearson.

"It is time to let some of frustrated players have a turn at the transfer window."

"Besides those whose sale become final tomorrow?"

"Yes. As an example, Paul Cross, Robert Ryan, Terry Reed, Andrew Hodgson and Steve Allen are all going to be offered."

"Ok, I can understand now. All those players are unhappy about not getting more playing time."

"Yes, and I don't think they will play a major factor in our future- so now is the time to try and find them new homes."

"Which transfer sales are already finalized for tomorrow?"

"Paul Freeman is leaving on free transfer to Weymouth. Kingstonian is paying us 35K for Kevin Abbott. Rochdale will give us 40K for Gary McKenzie. Those ones will be final tomorrow."

"Did you see the news on monthly honours?"

"No, did we get any?"

"Not only got them- we swept them," beamed Pearson. "Martin Wharton was Player of the Month. Danny French was Young Player of the Month."

"That's great news, I am really happy for both of them."

[Faramir]

1.1.11

Hill Humbled by Chesterfield

The statistics for the match seem out of touch with the scoreline, but the scoreline is the only thing that counts as Chesterfield edged Harrow Hill 1-0 at Larksfield Road. Hill poured on the pressure the entire match, but Rhys Evans dazzled in Goal for the visitors and MOM Steve Burton did a great job policing up the area and keeping the Hill forwards from taking advantage of loose balls. Hill outshot the visitors 16-4 for the match, but the lone goal came in the first half when Imad Ali deflected a long cross from Kevin Franck past Martin Pearson. Hill had the ball almost the entire second half, but kept running into the brick wall of Evans and the Chesterfield backline as they could not find a way to score.

"We played well. We deserved better, but if you can't score..." sighed Heartwood.

"The chances were there. We got some good shots off, but they didn't allow any rebounds to go unclaimed and they won almost every header," commented Pearson.

[Faramir]

3.1.11

Hartlepool Hurt Hill

In a carbon copy of their performance against Chesterfield two days ago, Harrow Hill dominated Hartlepool and came away with nothing more than another disappointing 1-0 loss. Hill was clearly the better club in the first half, but could not find a way to score on the steady Keeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulous. Hartlepool struck for the only goal of the match early in the second half when Jack Lyons deflected a cross from Antony Sweeney past Andrew Evans. Hill desperately tried to get back to even, but even when things went right- Alan Wilkins scorched a ball that Konstantopoulous couldn't handle and trickled past him- it wasn't enough as MOM Darren Blewitt's desperate sliding tackle of the ball managed to keep it out of the goal.

"Two in a row Bob. We are playing well, but we have got to finish some of these good passing sequences," muttered Heartwood.

"The ball movement was very good. We were finding the open man all day, but then we just couldn't put our shots away."

[Faramir]

4.1.11

"Two more off off to new vistas Bob," offered Heartwood.

"Hmm?"

"Paul Cross is moving to Welsh side TNS for 130K initially, with some future fees. Steve Allen netted us 50K from Dulwich Hamlet for his services."

"I heard we had gotten bids on Terry Reed now too?"

"Charlton will likely get him. They offered us 600K and I accepted. Still waiting to hear if they work out a contract though."

***

7.1.11

"Two more on their way today Bob," commented Heartwood.

"Who is off the carousel?" asked Pearson.

"Scott Duncan is moving to Heybridge for 45K. Robert Ryan is moving to Scunthorpe for 200K."

"At least you managed to get the same amount back for Ryan- for what you paid for him."

Heartwood chuckled, "That was a condition of selling him."

[Faramir]

8.1.11

Middlesbrough Hand Hill Heartbreaking Loss

Harrow Hill battled EPL side Middlesbrough into second half injury time, but the home side came up with a dramatic match winning goal in the last moments to win the FA Cup 3rd Round match at The Riverside. Both sides played hard in a scoreless first half, but it was clear that Middlesbrough was more in control of the flow of the match. Hill's battling backline did well to help Martin Pearson withstand heavy pressure. Middlesbrough grabbed the lead in the opening moments of the second half as Johan Absalonsen capped a pretty passing sequence by firing a shot inside the left post past Pearson. Hill then stunned the huge crowd as they smartly answered. David Harris, moving up from Under-18s to make his debut, got free and showed fine finishing touch as he snapped a shot past Craig Gordon off a pass from Darren Adams. The two sides battled up and down the pitch trying to gain the next goal and it was the home side that finally accomplished the winner. Wayne Routledge took a deftly laid off ball from Darren Bent and smashed it past Pearson to send the tired Hill squad home with their 3rd consecutive loss.

"So close, so close," sighed Heartwood.

"The boys gave a good effort. We were outplayed today, but we never quit working for a result."

[Faramir]

12.1.11

Last Minute Equalizer Ruins Hill Effort

After controlling play for most of the match, Harrow Hill looked like they were on their way to another closely played loss. Hill had outplayed Rotherham for the entire first half, but Rotherham gained the lead when Kristof Aelbrecht headed a throw-in past Andrew Evans. Hill kept working but had nothing to show for their excellent play as Mihael Hertelendi was perfoming brilliantly in earning MOM honours for the match. Hill's luck finally changed late in the second half when Craig Briggs was taken down by Rik Beerkens in the Rotherham area. Andy Reid converted the penalty kick to get Hill back to even. Less than a minute later, Hill took the lead when Briggs snapped home a rebound after Hertelendi stopped Martin Wharton from in close. Hill couldn't hang on for the lead as Reid moved too far up the pitch and the home side lobbed over him to setup a counter attack that James Vaughan finished with a dramatic equalizer and Hill was left with another disappointment in a match they played well.

"I guess it's better than a loss," said Heartwood rubbing his temples.

"We outshot them 20-6. I don't know what it is with the keepers we are facing of late- but they have been ruddy brilliant against us." murmured Pearson.

"I think it just the stretch of the season. By the time we finish with our trip to Stoke at the end of the month, we will have played 11 matches since December 18th and only 3 of them at home. That is a rough stretch of schedule."

[Faramir]

15.1.11

Hill Miss Another Opportunity

Frustrated is a word that clearly covers the feeling in the Harrow Hill camp following a 1-1 draw with struggling Wycombe at Larksfield Road. Hill launched 23 shots at the visitors and only allowed 3 by them- but one of those three was an 80th minute equalizer by Danny Senda after Hill dominated much of the match. Paolo Acerbis played extremely well for Wycombe and had many excellent stops- especially in the scoreless first half of play. Hill finally gained the lead when Craig Briggs finished off his 14th goal of the season- after losing one to an offside call earlier. Briggs was the easy choice as MOM as Hill once again rue a missed chance to add a much needed win.

"We just keep working it Bob. We are doing most everything right," stated Heartwood.

"I know you're right Jim, but it is incredibly frustrating to be playing the way we are right now and not taking better results away from the matches."

"True, but we have to keep the boys focused. This is a stretch of football that you can let get you down- we need to use it is a building block in their learning process."

***

16.1.11

"The Terry Reed saga is finally complete," stated Heartwood to Pearson.

"Charlton finally came up with the money?"

"No, actually Sunderland was the one who got him under contract after Charlton missed their first chance. They still paid us 600K for Reed."

"Pretty penny for a player who is good, but didn't have a spot with us."

[timpino]

sorry about the bad streaks of results, maybe Heartwood needs to come up with a few tactical changes

KUTGW!

[Faramir]

Thanks timpino

***

22.1.11

Hill Maneuver Past Grimsby

Harrow Hill finally was able to put up another win, thanks to Craig Briggs. Hill called on Briggs to come on for Darren Adams and he once again made an instant impact to help lead Hill to a 2-0 win at Blundell Park. Grimsby looked the better club in the first half and Hill was fortunate to still be in a scoreless draw as halftime arrived. The second half opened the same way- with Hill struggling to break the midfield vise that Grimsby was applying. The introduction of Briggs seemed to bring the fire back to Hill's offense and MOM Darren Stevens showed exceptional vision as his long through ball was punctuated by Briggs' 15th goal of the season past Ricardo Gonzalez. It was particularly discouraging for Hill to get that goal as Grimsby had appeared set to score on a counter-attack of their own before Stevens skinned the ball from Tibor Tisza. Hill used another counter as Martin Wharton's pass was perfect for Briggs to half-volley past Gonzalez for his brace. Hill worked hard in helping Andrew Evans to another clean sheet.

"Finally, a bit of reward for all our hard work," sighed Heartwood.

"The funny thing is that they really did outplay us through much of the match."

"Turnabout is fair play I guess. I am just pleased that we finally got another win."