MERRY XMAS!
Hinckley 1 Yeltz 1
21 December 2002
Not quite the present we were hoping for, but the mighty Yeltz gained another point in our fight for survival with a 1-1 draw at Hinckley. A first half goal from Skidder was cancelled out by an equaliser early in the second half, but by all accounts we had the better of the game and deserved more.
Boxing Day takes us to high-flying Stafford, and then Hastings visit The Grove next Saturday.
I'm off on my holidays at the weekend so updates to the site will be a bit slower than usual until after the New Year. Merry Xmas to all of you out there, and hopefully I'll see many of you at Dover on January 4th.
Match Report from DJ
Hinckley United: Whittle; Cartwright, March, Crowley, Penny, Dakin, Storer, Dyer, Sadler, Voice, C. Smith (Fox 45). Unused Subs: Wilkes, Preston, Doughty.
Halesowen Town: Adamson; Newall, Hines, N. Smith, Collins, Stone, Skidmore, Ashby, Leadbeater (May 76), Master (Trainer 76), Colwell. Unused Subs: Brennan, Shanahan, Reece.
Referee: S. Cooke (Mansfield) Attendance: 346 Booked: Storer (24)
Halesowen put up a gutsy performance to earn a point at draw-specialists Hinckley but could have returned with more in a game they dominated on a heavily-sanded surface.
This was Halesowen's first visit to Middlefield Lane since the 10th April 1986 when 274 spectators watched the Yeltz win by a lone goal just a fortnight before the last trip to Wembley.
Richard Colwell fed Stuart Skidmore overlapping down the right in the 4th minute but his cross went along the face of goal. Two minutes later Colwell then sprayed a pass out to the left for Kirk Master to cut in and fire a 25-yard shot against the base of the post with goalkeeper Tommy Whittle beaten.
The Yeltz went ahead in the 18th minute when Jason Ashby chased and won a long ball near the bye-line and waited to play a perfect pass into the path of SKIDMORE for the battling midfielder to plant a 20-yard strike into the top corner of the net. Lee Collins then powered a 26th minute over the bar before Chris Adamson came into the action by collecting a long-range effort from David Sadler a minute later. Ashby then bravely charged down a Whittle clearance in the 32nd minute but luckily for the Hinckley defence the ball broke for a throw-in. On 37 minutes Hinckley skipper Andy Penney headed down a long cross but Adamson beat Chris Smith to the ball. Adamson then tipped a Scott Voice header over the bar as the home side won two corners. A minute before half-time Hinckley cleared a left-wing corner but the ball fell for Colwell to hit a dipping shot that was tipped away for a corner by Whittle.
The Knitters levelled four minutes into the second half when substitute Martin Fox touched a free-kick for VOICE to drive past the wall and beyond Adamson from 20 yards out. A 58th minute cross from Stuart Storer then gave Voice a free header but Adamson saved low down.
Halesowen finished strongly and dominated the final half-hour but could not find a winning goal. On the hour a 25-yard shot from Master along the ground was turned away for a corner by Whittle and four minutes later Neil Smith latched onto a cleared corner with a 25-yard strike which looked goal-bound before striking the Hinckley crossbar. On 67 minutes Ashby beat his marker and squared for Master but his shot was cleared off the line. Master then floated in a 75th minute free-kick and Gavin Stone ghosted in at the far post but hit over from close range whilst in the 77th minute substitute Leroy May put a long cross wide of the mark in front of goal.
At the other end Voice hit straight at Adamson in the 83rd minute and Dyer just failed to connect with a Sadler cross. A minute later Whittle turned away a Phil Trainer shot for the first of two corners but Hinckley held on for a point to record their fourth successive draw.