HIGHFIELD UNITED UNDER 18’s 2011/12

 

MANAGER / COACH     John McLachlan
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SQUAD     (provisional squad numbers)


01  JAKE MURPHY
02  DANIEL HOWLAND
03  JOE PLUMRIDGE
04  ADAM CAMPFIELD
05  CALLUM ARTHURS
06  ROBERT McCONKEY
07  JOSH GODDEN
08  JOSEPH HENNESSY
09  JOE BRION
10  LEWIS BACK
11  JOE EDWARDS
12  KIERAN HUNT
13
14  KALLUM CATON
15  MATTHEW POTTICARY
16  TAYLOR MUNRO
17  SPENCER MORRISON
18  JOSH HOWARD
19
20

MATCH REPORTS

SUNDAY 10th September 2011
RAMSGATE FC v HIGHFIELD UNITED
RESULT 2 -1 ( HT 1-1 )
 
Highfield scorer JOSEPH HENNESSY.
Highfield man of the Match : ROBBIE McCONKEY
Report :
A very windy day which rendered any reasonable level of playing football almost impossible. Our lads did their best and were very unlucky not to come
away with a point. Playing with the wind we managed to take the lead when Joseph got on the end of a fine through ball from Joe Brion. Ramsgate
levelled it up before half time but not before one of the games many contentious issues had arisen. Taylor was clearly brought down from behind as a
ramsgate defender rugby tackled him on the six yard box as he was about to drive his shot goalbound. He fell to the ground and grabbed the ball with
his hans for what he assumed was to be an assured penelty. Sadly the ref didnt see it that way and awarded Ramsgate a free kick for a deliberate
handball but refrained from booking Taylor ? Our players looked totally bemused by all of this.
The second half saw very few actual clearcut chances for either team and the Ramsgate winner came about from yet another bizarre set of
circumstances. Jake picked up a long through ball on the bounce but an incident involving the Ramsgate strikers and a Highfield defender prompted him to
throw the ball away and step in to break up the players. Seeing an empty net one, the ramagate striker nonchalently stroked the ball goalwards. We all
stood gobsmacked at the stupidity of it all and it cost us the game. Lessons learnt by everyone I hope, as you just cant take matters into your own hands .

SUNDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER 2011
MOLTON EKYL SENIOR DIVISION 1 FIXTURE 

HIGHFIELD UNITED  1 RAMSGATE YOUTH  0  ( HT 0 - 0 )

SCORER ; TAYLOR LEE MUNRO

HIGHFIELD MAN OF THE MATCH : ADAM CAMPFIELD.

Report :

A beautiful late summers afternoon was complimented by an excellent game of football played out by two very evenly matched sides.  Ramsgate

Youth are in their second season in the senior first division having finished runners up in 2010/11 campaign. Highfield are obviously in their first of

hopefully two seasons at senior level.  Despite this there was never much between the two sides thoughout the match and the result was only decided in

the  88th minute when taylor grabbed a winner from close range following a fine headed attempt from Dan.  Fine performances all over the pitch from the

Highfield lads and nominatiing a motm was very difficult indeed, however, Adam just edged it with a magnificent display in the heart of the defence. 

Fair play to Ramsgate who were very unfortunate not to take away a point from the fixture and had a couple of possible penalty area hand ball decisions

go against them but to their credit, there was no aftermatch bleating about possible injustices and their manager took the defeat on the chin and

complimented us on a fine all round display despite his obvious dissapointment at losing the game so close to the end.  I would expect the return fixture

to be another fiercely contested affair and we look forward to it.   Well done everyone. 

25th sept 2011
EKYL SENIOR DIVISION 1
FIXTURE :
DEAL TOWN RANGERS FC   V   HIGHFIELD UNITED FC
RESULT 0 - 3     (HT 0 - 1 )  
HIGHFIELD SCORERS :  JOE BRION , JOSEPH HENNESSY and TAYLOR LEE MUNRO
HIGHFIELD MOTM : JOE BRION
REPORT :
A glorious day weather wise combined with a beautiful flat pitch were the perfect setting for a fine game of football.
Deal were struggling for players due to late registrations and could only field 10 but they were in a confident mood following a comprehensive victory the
previous week. The match started very tentatively with both sides eager not to give to much away, however, the first real opportunity fell to Deal who were
awarded a penalty for a push in the back on an attacking player by a highfield defender following a Deal corner. A little harsh but at least the referee
proved consistant throughout the match and you can really ask for no more from them. Anyway justice was done as Jake produced a fine save to keep 
the scores level @ 0 - 0. It stayed that way until just before half time when Joe Brion produced a moment of brilliance to give Highfield the lead. Getting a
short corner passed to him, he sidestepped the onrushing defender before curling the ball into the top corner. A marvellous effort from a player who was
obviously relishing the chance to get his legs into a new pair of socks having lost his originals in less than three weeks ?  Also during the first half, Lewis 
produced a wonderful shot with his left foot , beating everything apart from the underside of the bar which deprived him of what would have been an
outstanding goal.   So  1 - 0 to Highfield at the interval and probably just deserved.  The second half produced a far more open game and plenty of
chances fell at both ends. Jake producing a couple of masterful saves to keep the lead intact while the Highfield players were peppering the Deal goal as
the seasiders began to struggle with the intense effort of only having ten players and the very hot temperatures under a blazing sun.  Joseph Hennessy
finished of a fine Highfield move which had been Orchestrated by Joe " sox " Brion who was having a stormer of a game.  Taylor completed the victory,
lashing one in from 25 yards and the job was done.  Again, fine efforts from the Highfield squad who all played their part but it was " sox " who grabbed
the headlines today and who was awarded the Highfield man of the match accolade.  The new ruling which rules out roll on / roll off substitutions is
proving a pain. ,Travelling away as we did today, is a long way to bring players to just stand on the touchline and hope for 10 or 15 minutes at the end of
a game. So in the sporting nature of being fair to everyone , all the substitutions were made at half time. This may well prove risky in the future as any
injury in the second period would immediately put us down to ten men. I may have to ask for a volunteer in the future to sacrifice his own desire to want
to get out there to be kept on the sidelines incase of an incident whereby we may need a late replacement.    

SUNDAY 6th NOVEMBER 2011
MEKYL U18 SENIOR CUP QUARTER FINAL
FIXTURE : THANET COLTS V  HIGHFIELD UNITED 
RESULT :  THANET COLTS   1 : 4   HIGHFIELD UNITED ( HT 1 - 1 )
HIGHFIELD SCORERS ; JOSEPH H (2) , HERBIE and JOE EDWARDS
HIGHFIELD MOTM : HERBIE
 
Yet again, another very windy afternoon and with the game being played in the wide open spaces of the Hartsdown College sports fields, it promised to be
a very difficult tie but in reality Highfield were never really threatened despite concededing a first half goal which made matters much closer than they
should have been.  On seven minutes, Joseph scored a fine opener as he was the only player to react to a parry out from the Thanet keeper as he
smashed it home from close range following a deflected Josh G shot.  Both teams struggled with the wind and neither convinced with their efforts to break
the other down, however, Thanet forced a corner and following a scramble in the six yard box, managed to get an equiliser just before half time.
The second half saw Highfield take complete control and goals from Herbie, Joseph and a magnificent free kick effort from Joe ( Ronaldino ) Edwards
secured the victory.  Fortunately, Football was the winner today over unnecessary aggression.
Well done to everyone for keeping their cool during some rather unsavoury aftermatch incidents.
Keep up the good work lads.

SUNDAY 13th NOVEMBER 2011
MEKYL SENIOR DIVISION 1
FIXTURE :MONKTON YOUTH v HIGHFIELD UNITED 
RESULT : MONKTON YOUTH 4 : 4 HIGHFIELD UNITED  ( HT 3 - 2 )
HIGHFIELD SCORERS ; Dan (3) & JOSH G 
 
HIGHFIELD MOTM : Daniel Howland
 
A cloudless sky, unbroken sunshine, temperatures in the mid-teens with shorts and tee-shirts the order of the day. June ? July ? No, mid November !!
Absolutely incredible !!   Anyway a glorious day was complimented by a fantastic game which had everything. Goals aplenty, near missis, great saves,
last ditch defending, end to end football, never-say-die attitude from both sides and a fitting final result.
Not for the first time this season against us, Monkton were quick to get into their stride and within three minutes had gone 1-0 up. A cheap corner was
conceded by Highfield who still rubbing the sleep from their eyes, stood and watched while the ever lively and constant threat Monkton Centre forward,
lashed the ball home from six yards with not a Highfield player within 3 yards of him !!!!!
Monkton tried to press home the early advantage, but every passing minute saw the Highfield performance improving and some neat interplay between
Dan and Herbie soon levelled it up with Dan stroking the ball home. 1-1.  The see-saw pattern of the match was begining to be so evident. Monkton went
2-1 up before Dan and Herbie combined again for Dan to make it 2 each.  Monkton then deservedly took a 3-2 lead before the interval but the game was
far from over.
Highfield started the second half in determined mood and following a spell of intense pressure, Josh G lashed a loose ball home from the edge of a
crowded penelty area. then Dan sprung onto a fine through ball to leave a determined Monkton defence and keeper for dead. 4-3 Highfield.
The time ticked on and with but five minutes left Monkton forced an equiliser. 4-4. Drama at both ends in the concluding minutes and a fantastic save in
the last minute by the giant Jake Murphy secured a well earned draw for the Highfield team.
A quality game played out by two sides who were intent on playing football as it should be played. Credit to all the lads involved as it was a wonderful
match to watch and I think all who played in it enjoyed it nearly as much as we did watching.   Dan was awarded the MOTM award for a marvelous effort
highlighted by his incredible hat trick.        

SUNDAY 20th NOVEMBER 2011
MEKYL SENIOR DIVISION 1
FIXTURE : HIGHFIELD UNITED V RAMSGATE FC
RESULT :  HIGHFIELD UNITED 1 : 3 RAMSGATE FC ( HT 0 - 2 )
HIGHFIELD SCORER JOE EDWARDS
 
HIGHFIELD MOTM : JOE EDWARDS
 
Another dry and sunny day but a noticeable change in temperature as the Autumn finally looks to have arrived.
A disappointing performance from the Highfield lads who just didn’t seem to be up for it at all today. Ramsgate took the lead within a minute and
controlled  the first half until adding to their lead in the 44th.  2 down @ half time and frankly that flattered us. A 15 minute period of improved play
early during the second half, resulted in us pulling us one back when Joe E burst past the Ramsgate defence and thundered in a wonderful individual
goal but it was never built upon and Ramsgate gradually closed the game out and grabbed a third late in the game.
We will have to do so much better next week when we face Deal in the Cup semi final.

 
 
SUNDAY 27th NOVEMBER 2011
MEKYL ALBERT ALFRED MOORE MEMORIAL CUP SEMI FINAL
FIXTURE : HIGHFIELD UNITED V DEAL TOWN RANGERS
RESULT :  HIGHFIELD UNITED 2 : 0 DEAL TOWN RANGERS 0 ( HT 1 - 0 )
HIGHFIELD SCORERS : DANIEL and JOE BRION
HIGHFIELD MOTM : JOSEPH HENNESSY
 
Yet another dry and sunny day but a strong wind kept the temperature down.  A good effort this week from Highfield who managed to defeat table
topping Deal for the second time this season.  Somewhat bizarrely Deal struggled to field a full team for this fixture and were always up against it as
Highfield protected the early lead that Daniel had given them.  Joe B sealed the victory late on for Highfield in a match that was more memorable for the
result rather than the overall performance. To their credit, Deal battled extremely hard but it was always going to be a tall order for them after falling
behind so early in the game and despite a lot of huffing and puffing from both sides, actual goal scoring opportunities were of a rarity as the game was
mainly fought out in midfield. Joseph gave a true Captains performance in that area throughout the game which enabled us to secure the victory.
So after losing three successive cup semi finals on penalties, Highfield ultimately buried the ghost and moved through to a final.
Let no one be left in any doubt whatsoever about what an excellent achievement this really is, as we are only a very small club competing against some
of the very big names in East Kent Football and we are more than holding our own.  With the final likely to be many months away we now need to focus
on attaining the best possible league position we can and hopefully build towards the seasons climax by putting in some solid performances through the
remaining fixtures.
 
Well done to all the players who never cease to amaze me