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Hythe Town Under 18's - Match Reports - Season 2008/09 End of Season Awards 2007/8 - Click here Hythe Town 5 Ramsgate
3 - Alfred Albert Moore Memorial Cup Final After settling the league title weeks
prior to the cup final, Hythe had the time to prepare fully for
their most important match of their season as they looked to take
the League and Cup double in their last seas
At 2-0 to the good on the half-time whistle Hythe went in very happy
knowing that one more goal early in the first half would kill off
their opposition, however that wasn't to be the case and the Rams
attacked from the restart, Hythe again counting their lucky stars as
Man of the Match Tony ALLEN came to the rescue time and time again.
That was until Ramsgate finally did score to pull them back
into the game and give them hope, the goal had a huge impact and it
was Ramsgate again who scored soon after when ALLEN made three
saves but Hythe were unable to clear and the Rams slotted
home the equaliser. With Hythe heads down and 15 minutes to go Rams
capitalised and scored what looked to be the winning goal late in
the game. But Hythe kept plugging away but when a corner came
in and Jake Harvey hit the bar it didn't look promising that Hythe
would get anything from the game. That was until with 5 minutes to
go a ball was floated in and the excellent Ben LAUZON powerfully headed home the third to take the game to extra time and put
Hythe into raptures. With the crowd getting behind Hythe
there was only ever going to be one winner and when Brian MOFOKENG shrugged off two defenders and sprinted in on goal, everybody was
willing him to score and when he slotted in the fourth goal and
ran to the support it was clear that Hythe were to be the cup
winners and that top goalscorer MOFO had done it again! Hythe
held out for the remaining of extra time but when Rams
cleared the ball out, Adam BOXER got there first and smashed home a volley from all of 30 yards
which dipped delightfully over the helpless Rams keeper and
confirmed the League and Cup double for Town. A huge Thank You from the team goes to
the fantastic supporters who traveled down to Whitstable, our long
term Sponsors Gary Abbott and his wife Lindsey Abbott, and Buzzlines
coaches for taking the team and fans down to the match. Man of the Match - Tony Allen Team - Tony Allen, John Tsimba, Jake Harvey, Matt Fellows, Carl Taylor, Rob Featherbe, James Ridgway, Tom Penn, Ben Lauzon, Ricky Underdown, Toby Rolfe, Brian Mofokeng, Adam Boxer.
New
Romney 0 Hythe Town 4 - 05/04/09 In
Hythe's penultimate league encounter they needed a draw against
their only contenders for the title who were also their opponents
of the day. A strong side took full control early on and dominated
proceedings heavily, midfield maestro James Ridgway pulling the
strings and ripping apart the New Romney side through the middle.
The opening goal came quickly and it was joint man of the match
James Ridgway himself who skipped past three defenders before
calmly slotting home the first goal. The goal brought further
belief into a high confidence Hythe side and before long it was
debutant Sonny Shields back from a long term lay off to break past
the Romney defence and grab Hythe's second goal and set them on
their way to title retention. A third goal was added almost
seconds later and it was back to form striker Ricky Underdown who
drilled home the third goal and leave Romney with a mountain to
climb. Further golden chances for Hythe fell to striker Liam
Cooper, who was unlucky not to get his first for the club. At
half-time Hythe were three goals to the good and cruising to the
Molten League Senior Division Title for the second year running.
The
second half brought more life from the home side as they attempted
to push for a goal and a foothold into the match, but Hythe stood
strong and weathered the long ball for large periods of the second
half. The better football was still coming from the visitors who
were pushing for more goals to kill off the game, super interplay
between Ridgway and Lauzon could have brought about an excellent
goal only for the Romney defence to scupper the attack at the last
minute. The game was eventually rounded off when a free kick from
Adam Boxer was whipped in and not dealt with, and centre half Matt
Fellows smashed home the bouncing ball and gave Hythe a
comfortable 4-0 victory and the title to go with it. Hythe
will look to complete the double when they visit Whitstable FC on
May 3rd to play in the Cup Final against Ramsgate, all are
encouraged to come and watch the match and support the lads in
their last game as under 18's. Joint
Man of the Match - Ricky Underdown/James Ridgway Scorers
- James Ridgway, Sonny Shields, Ricky Underdown, Matt Fellows
Hythe
Town 2 Herne Bay 1 - 29/03/09
With just three games in the league left of the season, Hythe
needed 4pts in order to guarantee them the Senior Division, but a
good footballing Herne Bay side were out to ruin Hythe's party
when they visited South Road for this late season encounter. The
game was played at a high tempo with Hythe playing well and
looking to break the deadlock. The half continued to be fast paced
but with no real chances being created, half chances falling to
both sides but never troubling either keeper. However to the shock of the Hythe support and players in particular
it was Herne Bay who snatched the opening goal when a long ball
led to confusion between keeper and defence and allowed the Herne
Bay striker to tap home the advantage. The goal riled Hythe into a
response as they attacked from the kick off, leading them to the
immediate equaliser when the ball dropped to Ben Lauzon on the
edge of the box who smashed in a shot which deflected into the net
past the Bay keeper and leaving him with no chance whatsoever.
The half ended 1-1 and Hythe knew that a win was needed if they
wanted to wrap up the league early before the cup final. The
second half began but was a lot flatter than the first with both
sides attempting to get the winning goal. Hythe were left to
shoot from long range and left it very late before getting
the winning goal in the final minutes when Jake Harvey fired in a
shot which bobbled over the keeper and gave Hythe the win.
Man of the Match - Jonny Tsimba Scorers - Ben Lauzon, Jake Harvey Herne
Bay Harriers 1 Hythe Town 4 - 23/11/08 On
a cold and very wet afternoon, Hythe knew that conditions may help
to hinder their current 100% record for the season so far. A good
solid start however helped to ease those fears hugely as they
snatched the opening goal inside the first 10 minutes. The goal
came when Adam Boxer whipped in a corner to the far post, headed
goalwards by Jake Harvey and knocked into the net by Matt Fellows
for his second goal in successive games. With
a good early start under Hythe’s belt it may have been expected
that they would go from strength to strength and begin to pull
away from the Herne Bay Side, however this wasn’t the case as
the opposition had other ideas and managed to score the equaliser.
Capatalising on a mix up between defence and goalkeeper, allowing
the Herne Bay striker to nip in and slot home with ease.
The goal did spark life back into Hythe and they began to start
playing football again although it looked as though they
wouldn’t get the third goal of the game before the half time
whistle. That was until midfield maestro James Ridgway skipped
through the Herne Bay defence before lashing a volley across goal
only for it to end up in the back of the net, giving Hythe their
advantage again on half-time. The
second half was very tight between the two sides as they both
seemed to be cancelling each other out in the final third.
Herne Bay giving Hythe some worrying moments at times but
restricting them to long range shots made sure that they were
unable to get a foot hold back into the match.
The third goal for Hythe came when a cross from the right wing
tested the keeper who punched out to the 18 yard box only for Jake
Harvey to follow up the rebound and smash home giving Hythe
breathing space in what was a tough second half. With the momentum
from the third goal Hythe managed to get a fourth soon after when
Ricky Underdown was slipped through on goal and finished into the
bottom corner keeping him at the top of Hythe’s scoring charts
and giving Hythe a seemingly comfortable 4-1 away victory. Man
of the Match - Mark Read Scorers
- Matt Fellows, James Ridgway, Jake Harvey, Ricky Underdown Team
- Tony Allen, John Tsimba, Joe Bullard, Matt Fellows, Rob
Featherbe, Carl Taylor, Adam Boxer, Mark Read, Jake Harvey, James
Ridgway, Ben Lauzon, Ricky Underdown, Ben Williams, Brian Mofokeng Hythe
Town 3 Great Chart 0 – 16/11/08 With
16 goals in Hythe’s last two matches it looked an ominous task
for the visiting Ashford outfit, however goals were seemingly hard
to come by for the previously free scoring Town side. They started
the game well, dominating the midfield and putting pressure on the
Great Chart defence for large periods of the first half. Great
Chart found it difficult to get out of their own half as Hythe
continued to press wasting several chances to take the lead, Ricky
Underdown, Brian Mofokeng and Jake Harvey all having decent
chances to break the deadlock. Hythe did eventually manage to take
the lead when a superb threading ball between the centre half and
full back by Ben Lauzon put Brian Mofokeng in one on one with the
Chart keeper and he finished well into the bottom corner. Further
chances were wasted by Hythe from set pieces as well as open play
and they had to settle at being only 1-0 up at the break. The
second half was very much more of the same in terms of Hythe
having several chances in front of goal but unable to get the
goals that they deserved. The second goal came quite late in the
half when a long range shot from Jake Harvey flew into the net,
beating the Chart keeper convincingly to give Hythe a 2-0 lead and
making them breathe a lot easier. The third came soon after when a
free kick taken by Carl Taylor was whipped into the box only for
the Chart keeper to spill it and centre half Matt Fellows to tap
into the net and wheel away in celebration and send Hythe home 3-0
winners and maintaining their 100% record for the season so far. Man
of the Match - John Tsimba Scorers
- Brian Mofokeng, Jake Harvey, Matt Fellows Team
- Tony Allon, John Tsimba, Matt Fellows, Joe Bullard, Rob
Featherbe, Carl Taylor, Ben Lauzon, Jake Harvey, James Ridgway,
Tom Penn, Mark Read, Brian Mofokeng, Ben Williams, Ricky Underdown After
winning the first 6 games in the league it was the week of the cup
and after a bye in the previous round, Hythe came up against
Prince of Wales in the quarter final of the cup. Hythe had
previously beaten Prince of Wales 10-1 away in the league fixture
and would need to produce something special to better that score
line in extremely windy conditions. Both sides seemed unable to
deal with the wind, neither side able to grasp a firm foothold on
the match, until Ricky Underdown was put through and he duly
finished giving Hythe the opening goal. Hythe then began to play
football despite the wind trying its best to restrict any flowing
play. Hythe
grabbed a second when a long free kick from Joe Bullard held up in
the wind before being headed home by Jake Harvey, Hythe continued
to press the Prince of Wales defence and were able to get their
third and fourth goals before half time. Ricky Underdown getting
his second heading in a corner at the near post from Adam Boxer
and James Ridgeway snatching a goal for himself finishing well
into the bottom corner with his left foot. With
Hythe 4-0 up at the break it would have been easy to sit off and
see the game through, that wasn’t the case as Hythe attacked for
more goals, and goals is exactly what they got - Brian Mofokeng
getting in on the act scoring past the Scorers
- Underdown x 3, Jake Harvey, James Ridgeway, Brian Mofokeng, Ben
Lauzon, Carl Taylor Hythe
Town 8 Canturbury Youth 2 - 26/10/08 Hythe’s
storm towards retaining the league title continued as they saw off
Canterbury with relative ease in bad weather. Hythe were damaged
early on when regular keeper Tony Allen pulled out before kick-off
meaning Matt Fellows had to stand in for the match. The
set back was made worse when Canterbury grabbed the first goal
when a mistake between keeper and defence led to the Canterbury
Striker rounding Fellows in goal and slotting home to give
Canterbury the early advantage, severely against the run of play.
The lead didn’t last long though as Hythe continued to play the
best football they had all season and when a well positioned
free-kick was won Jake Harvey stepped up and smashed home the
equaliser into the bottom corner. Hythe
continued playing impressive football and had several more chances
in front of goal in order to grab the lead but were unlucky, until
a corner whipped in by Adam Boxer was headed in by Harvey grabbing
both his and Hythe’s second goal.
Hythe didn’t stop for the remainder of the half and had
even more chances; the best falling to Brian Mofokeng who headed
against the bar, that was before James Ridgeway got Hythe’s
third from close range and giving Hythe a comfortable lead at the
half. The
second half began much slower from Hythe and Canterbury started to
claw their way back into the game but were unable to break the
backline as Hythe stood firm. Hythe
then introduced Ben Williams into the match and he made an
immediate impact onto the game linking up superbly with strike
partner and joint man of match Ricky Underdown grabbing two well
taken goals to put the game well and truly to rest. Hythe
continued to press and next to join the score list was Adam Boxer
who had another impressive game and finished it off well with neat
flick at the front post putting Hythe 6-1 up.
Credit must go to Canterbury though who never gave up and
got a consolation goal when a clearance rebounded off the
Canterbury forward and shot into the Hythe net. At
6-2 the game was still not over and Ben Lauzon got in on the act
however the best goal of the match and a definite contender for
goal of the season already came right at the end, when a cleared
ball fell to Tom Penn who sent a thunderbolt into the top corner
of the goal from huge distance leaving the Canterbury Keeper with
no chance. Man
of the Match - Jake Harvey/Ricky Underdown Scorers
- Jake Harvey x 2, James Ridgeway, Ben Williams x 2, Adam Boxer,
Ben Lauzon, Tom Penn Team
- Matt Fellows, Toby Rolfe, Jake Harvey, Joe Bullard, Carl Taylor,
Rob Featherbe, John Tsimba, Tom Penn, Ben Lauzon, James Ridgway,
Adam Boxer, Brian Mofokeng, Ricky Underdown, Ben Williams Ashford Borough 0 Hythe Town 3 It
was Hythe’s fifth game of the season and it was the turn of an
Ashford Borough side to ruin Hythe’s 100% record in the league
so far, Ashford were confident of upsetting the odds after winning
impressively 13-1 in their match the previous week. The wind was
very strong and this seemed to affect the way the game was played
by both sides, neither side were seemingly able to keep the ball
on the ground and play any decent passing football. However
with Hythe kicking with the wind advantage in the first half they
did manage to grab the opening goal when Ricky Underdown volleyed
in past the Ashford keeper to put Town ahead and on their way to
yet another victory, carrying on from last seasons winning run.
That goal sparked some life into both sides and the game gradually
improved as Hythe and Ashford began to get into their stride, that
was when Hythe struck again when top scorer Brian Mofokeng had his
initial shot saved but followed up the rebound and put Hythe into
a much more comfortable lead. Late
in the first half however their was a long delay when a serious
clash of heads led to Hythe skipper Joe Bullard being left
bloodied and the Ashford counterpart being taken off looking much
worse for wear, Hythe going into the half time nreak 2-0 up, but
the half ending on a sour note. Scorers
- Ricky Underdown, Brian Mofokeng x 2 Hythe Town 3 Stars and Stripes 0 In
Hythe’s fourth game of the new season they were pitted against a
newly formed Stars and Stripes side, in a some what local derby
between two Hythe teams. Hythe started the game edgily and were
seemingly unable to keep possession of the ball for a sustained
period of time, and ending up playing into the hands of the Stars
outfit with the ball spending a lot of time in the air. With
neither side doing much in the way of golden opportunities, and
half time looming quickly, it was up to Ben Lauzon who snatched
the opening goal with about 20 minutes to go in the first half, a
looping header into the opposite corner, leaving the Stars keeper
without a hope and giving Hythe first blood. The
goal gave Hythe a much needed lift and they nearly doubled that
lead immediately, a powerful header from a swung in corner by that
man Ben Lauzon hit the post and fell to him again only for the
well struck rebound to hit the woodwork for the second time in as
many seconds. Hythe did get their second goal on the stroke of
half time when a pin point pass from full back Toby Rolfe found
Ricky Underdown in the box and a well placed volley into the far
corner gave Hythe a two goal cushion at the break. The
second half was again very scrappy and neither side had much to
show for in front of goal, but a comedy of errors from the
frustrated Stars defence led to an own goal which put Hythe into a
commanding and comfortable 3-0 lead. A late shot from Stars to grab a consolation goal was
thwarted by Hythe keeper Tony Allon who saved well to his left,
giving him his first clean sheet of the season and with that the
Man of the Match award for this week. Man
of the Match - Tony Allon Scorers
- Ben Lauzon, Ricky Underdown, own goal Team
- Tony Allon, Toby Rolfe, Joe Bullard, Matt Fellows, Rob Featherbe,
Carl Taylor, Mark Reed, Ben Lauzon, Tom Penn, James Ridgway, Adam
Boxer, Ricky Underdown, Ben Williams, Brian Mofokeng Hythe Town 4 Ramsgate 2 - 05/10/08 In Hythe’s third game of the new season, they met a strong physical
Ramsgate side who had won both their games previously, the same as
Hythe. The game started in an open fashion with both sides looking
to take the early advantage, however the first goal was Hythe’s
and it came from in form striker Ricky Underdown, adding to his 2
goals from the last game, by shrugging off the last defender and
neatly finishing into the far corner giving Hythe the 1-0
advantage. Hythe kept the tempo of the game up and started to pass
the ball around nicely and it wasn’t long before they grabbed
their second goal of the game, a ball played over the top of the
Ramsgate defence for Ben Lauzon to latch onto the ball before
calmly lobbing the oncoming goalkeeper to give Hythe a strong lead
at half-time. Hythe started well again in the second half but were shocked as a
resurgent Ramsgate side came out for the second half with the aim
to get something out of the game, which they so nearly did. A long
ball to the controversially onside Ramsgate striker allowed
Ramsgate a chance in the box; however he was brought down and
awarded a penalty for Ramsgate to get a foothold in the game.
Ramsgate duly finished the penalty and gave themselves half a
chance, something which they built on straight away as Hythe
remained in a slump, another long ball over the top deceived the
defence and Ramsgate slotted in the equaliser. With the scores now level, Hythe knew they had to step up a gear and could
have put the game away with Ben Williams having countless chances
to put the game beyond reach.
However as the game neared closer to the end, up came
centre half Matt Fellows to head home the third goal from a well
taken corner. Hythe didn’t take their foot of the gas though and
a counter attack down the right hand side ended with Ben Williams
redeeming his previous efforts with a super finish into the far
corner leaving the keeper with no chance and Hythe another 3
points. Man of the Match - Ben Lauzon
Scorers - Ricky Underdown, Ben Lauzon, Matt Fellows,
Ben Williams Team - Tony Allon, Toby Rolfe, Joe Bullard, Matt
Fellows, Rob Featherbe, John Tsimba, Carl Taylor, Adam Boxer, Ben
Lauzon, Tom Penn, James Ridgway, Ben Williams, Mark Reid, Ricky
Underdown.
Prince of
Wales 1 Hythe Town 10 - 14/09/08 After
Hythe’s opening day victory over New Romney, it was the turn of
Prince of Wales of Canterbury to end Hythe’s 100% record however
they had to overcome a Hythe side that were brimming with
confidence and playing very good football. The
second half was much more of the same from Hythe and goals from
Ben Williams, Jake Harvey, two for Brian Mofokeng, as well as a
brace from Ben Lauzon and a second of the game from Ricky
Underdown meant Hythe comfortably ran away with victory. Although
Prince of Wales did manage to pull one goal back midway through
the second half, a goal which meant nothing more than consolation
for the home side. Man
of the Match - Jake Harvey Scorers
- Ricky Underdown x 2, Ben Lauzon x 2, Brian Mofokeng x 2, Ben
Williams
,Jake Harvey, Tom Penn, John Boxer Team
- Tony Allon, John Tsimba, Jake Harvey, Matt Fellows, Rob
Featherbe, Carl Taylor, Tony Rolfe, Tom Penn, Ben Lauzon, Adam
Boxer, Mark Reid, Ben Williams, Ricky Underdown, Brian Mofokeng,
Joe Bullard, James Ridgway Hythe
Town 3 New Romney 2 - 07/09/08 As
the new season kicked off it was Hythe who started with three
points to start the season off strongly. The
second half began well for Hythe with substitute Brian Mofokeng
breaking the Romney defence and giving Hythe a two goal cushion, a
cushion which was needed when a needless free-kick was given away
on the edge of the box and allowed New Romney a chance to get back
into the game, with a free-kick well placed pulling a goal back
for New Romney. Man
of the Match - Matt Fellows Scorers
- Joe Bullard Team - Tony Allon, John Tsimba, Jake Harvey, Matt Fellows, Rob Featherbe, Carl Taylor, Tony Rolfe, Tom Penn, Ben Lauzon, Adam Boxer, Mark Reid, Ben Williams, Ricky Underdown, Brian Mofokeng, Joe Bullard, James Ridgway Hythe Town Under 18's - East Kent Youth League Champions 2007/8 - End of Season Awards..... In the first season of it's reintroduction to the club set-up the Under 18's team have done everything asked of them.....by winning the league with a team including potential 1st and Reserve Team players of the future! John Underdown's lads managed to win their final eight games of the season in a row - the only sequence of results that would bring them the title! The club celebrated with a fantastic Race Evening including the End of Season Awards for the title winning squad! Looking at the current 1st Team squad, the previous incarnation of the U18's side had a huge impact - two players that started their playing careers in the junior side are current Club Captain Gavin Ransley, and our most loyal player in the current line up Jason Brazier. It goes without saying, that this shows the value of the side to the club - but for now this is their moment........congratulations lads, you deserve it!!! Below is a summary of what was dished out on the night, not forgetting a big thank you to Team Sponsor - Gary Abbott:- Goal of the Season - Jake Harvey Golden Boot - Brian Mofokeng Most Improved Player - Ricky Underdown Most Consistent Player - James Ridgeway Managers Player - Brian Mofokeng Player's Player - Tom Penn Coach's Player - Joe Bullard Clubman of the Year - Joe Bullard
Brian Mofokeng receives the Manager's Player of the season award from main team sponsor Gary Abbott
Player's Player of the season Tom Penn, Gary Abbott, and Manager John Underdown
Clubman of the year was received on behalf of Joe Bullard by his Mum! |
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