Game 2 Keuka College 19/08/14

Tuesday started off with a tour of the Alfred State University that is located on one side of Alfred town. Obviously some of the touring party had had their own "tours" during their time in town, but this time we were led by an alumni of the college who was able to give us a more personal experience of the school.

As has been the case throughout the tour, the daily schedule details were sent out via different forms of social media. Meet times, required kit, colour of uniform for the day. As we gathered outside the college's admin building, it was all set for the first official team tour photo. See if you can see who did not read the message correctly. . .

The tour included a wander around the campus, lunch with the girl's volleyball & men's football teams as well some time in the campus shop where Rob Price decided all of the items he could buy to remember his time on tour, he choose a pink, glittery beanie hat. Upon paying for their goods, the cashiers asked if they could have a whole tour party photo that they could show their friends & families. I'm not sure who they thought we were, but the boys were all more than willing to pose & act celeb like.

When asked if anybody was interested in finding out any information on any particular subjects or faculties, our resident boat captain Jake Hobbs piped up that he was keen on art & in particular "none of this modern day rubbish, but old school portraits." Cue a 15 minute detour via the art galleries to the whole of the rest of the tour's amusement.

Hobbsy wasn't the only tour member that enjoyed his time massively. Coach Chamberlain made a new friend whilst in the engineering & mechanics sector. Having heard that the school have close links to NASCAR & actually build their own vehicles, Chamberlain attempted to engage in polite conversation with the lead lecturer in motor sport engineering.

Due to an earlier than planned finish on campus, we were invited to head to the campus farm where the university milking system is something of an art form. Unfortunately, as with all farms, the area was quite muddy & dirty. This didn't go well with the mixture of new white & grey sneakers that were being worn by our boys. Whilst some went in to get close to nature (& in some cases, get the obligatory selfie with a cow that will do the rounds on social media), others remained in the relatively safe enclosure & looked through the glass at the animals. They also got a good view from there of the cows!!

Harvey made the 54 mile trip South to face their second successive Division 2 opposition in Keuka College. After a fantastic display and result on Monday night against Rochester Institution of Technology, the team were looking to start where they left off come the 4:30 kick-off. 

Again operating the 4-2-3-1, coaches Stevenson and Walton altered the line-up at the expense of Aaron James who they decided to rest after his physio session this morning on his IT band at Alfred State Collage, an injury sustained the week before the tour started. Smith also came into the line-up in place of Hearmon, who was nursing a toe injury from the game vs RIT. Ansell came in for Taggart as the lone striker.



Starting XI - Roche, Nelhams, Davison, Nunn, Price, Donald, Brazier, Maffia, Smith, Taylor, Ansell

Harvey took a while to get in gear, the 28 degree temperature and extremely humid conditions was always going to ask a lot from the players - especially after playing 90 minutes less than 24 hours ago against another Division 2 side. However HGS took the lead when Maffia gambled on a wayward long pass from Donald which was headed back across goal unintentionally by a defender following some miscommunication, he then brought the ball out of the air and with his second touch calmly slotted it past the advancing goalkeeper. James Roche ensured the team would still not concede, denying the striker with a magnificent save with his right foot.

Coaches Stevenson and Walton were forced into some unplanned changes when Hearmon and James were forced off after initial introduction with recurring injuries. 

Kueka came out of the blocks much faster than Harvey, who failed to retain the high tempo they had been playing at in the closing period of the first-half. The rain was now pouring at this point and the players had to fight through to fatigue to prevent the home side from getting back into the game. 

The HGS defence which seemed almost indestructible at this point was then finally broken on the 82nd minute mark when a superb through ball found the feet of the forward, who classily touched and finished into the net for the equaliser. With the momentum undeniably with the home side now, Harvey really faced a big final eight minutes plus stoppages to dig out a result. The quality of passing ensured Kueka kept the majority of possession, the two central midfielders providing flair and creativity which proved difficult to contend with throughout the game, particularly in the final stages when options from the bench were extremely limited. 

In the 86th minute a sublime cross found the feet of the forward who slotted past Roche to surely win the game for the Americans. Harvey hit the floor in dismay and exhaustion, to only see the linesman holding his flag up for offside. Despite a final push, neither side could find a winner, and a draw was probably a fair result in conclusion of the 90 minutes played. 

At the time of the final whistle, both goalkeepers were on the field for Team HGS with the subs bench being made up of players who had taken knocks or were struggling through exhaustion. This makes the grinding out of the draw even more impressive against a side who had 29 players in their squad as it was still the pre-cutting stage of their pre-season.


FT - Kueka College 1-1 Harvey GS 
Scorer - Maffia. 
Man of the Match - Kane Nelhams/Sammy Davison. 

Although the game may feel like a defeat, the boys can take many positives from a spirited performance, especially as previously mentioned on the back off a 0-1 win yesterday night vs Rochester Institution of Technology. 
Next up, Houghton College tomorrow night, 7:00 kick-off. 

Match Report by Ryan Taylor.
Photo Credit - Coach Chamberlain. 
Follow us on Twitter for more updates @HGSSport.

Game 1 Rochester Institute of Technoogy - 18/08/14

Monday day had been set aside as a free period for the boys, so they could become familiar with the town of Alfred, but more importantly, get to know their families a bit better. The boys took this opportunity to spend time enjoying the good weather around their families' pools & hot tubs or alternatively through a wander around the campus on one of the two universities in town.

The town is pretty quiet at the moment, as students come back from Wednesday onwards. I'm sure once the students start to come back during the next though, having some British soccer players in town will go down well.

Some boys took the "get to know the local area" idea a little too literally though. ON his way to do a pick up ready for departure to the game, Coach Walton happened to find Charlie Hancock & Nathan Smith wandering the streets in a state of mild panic & sweating. Upon pulling over, Coach James was told that they "couldn't find their family housing" & had spent the past 30mins running up & down blocks trying to find a familiar sight. This alone would be enough for either/both of them to "earn"them the bum bag of shame, however Nathan made that title his own later in the day. Since he left the hotel on Sunday, he had been worried that an envelope full of his spending money had been lost/stolen. This obviously hampered his purchasing power since. However, he revealed that he had instead left the envelope at home!!

Again the meet time was strictly met by all playing members & we were soon on our way to the large Rochester Institute of Technology campus.

Harvey kicked off their USA Tour on Monday night with a journey north to Rochester to take on National Division 2 side Rochester Institution of Technology. Having trained the previous night at Alfred University after meeting their new families and completing the seven hour drive from Boston to Alfred, the squad were in good stead ahead of the predicted competitive opener. 



Coaches Stevenson and Walton opted to retain the formation that they had used since the beginning of tour training, 4-2-3-1; which had proved most effective throughout the preparation matches ahead of August 15th. The squad have shown flexibility when called upon, quickly adapting to numerous other systems in experimentation such as 4-4-2 & 4-5-1 in friendlies, at the ask of the management, thanks to the array of versatile players the squad possesses. Having begun pre-tour conditioning and training 7-months back, the coaches would have faced a managerial headache when deciding the eleven players who would take the pitch for the 7:00 kick-off. 

 

The team lined up as follows: Roche, Nelhams, James, Davidson, Brazier, Nunn, Donald, Maffia, Hearmon, Taylor, Taggart.

HGS kicked-off the match after a sharp 30-minute warm up which saw the players break sweat in the 26 degree humid conditions. The team were more than aware of the high physicality the opposition bought to the field, with several early challenges testing their discipline. HGS remained calm however, and began to dictate in midfield, despite being outnumbered by RTI's 3-5-2. Captain Josh Donald and Harry Nunn showcased an impressive partnership, winning headers, second balls and tackles, and on the 12 minute mark Nunn calved the home side's defence in half with a brilliant pass that found forward Ronan Taggart who fired just over. 



Following an interchange between Nelhams, Taylor and Taggart down the right flank, Hearmon picked up the ball before finding Taggart again who's shot was saved by the keeper - before Maffia was on site to rebound home, at the second time of asking after his first effort was saved, leading to ecstatic team celebrations. 

Harvey took the 0-1 score line into half-time, where they could regroup under further instruction from the team-talk and also get some more fluids on board. By now the sun had set, and the new pitch was proving sticky when dribbling with the ball. RIT were making the most of their large squad, with persistent substitutions throughout the corse of the game. HGS introduced Ansell, Smith and Hobbs for Taggart, Hearmon and Nelhams, and their energy and freshness proved pivotal in the maintained tempo and intensity of the spirited Harvey performance. 

The home side became frustrated with their failure to break the outstanding HGS defence, which remained compact, marshalled by the superb James and Davison, who competed for and stopped more less everything Rochester threw at them. James Roche was called into action a couple of times, twice punching away crosses that were goal bound. The majority of the ball in the second half was in the middle of the field where both teams were full blooded in battle, the referee leaving several challenges go unpunished - Brazier, Donald and Nunn consistently performing a series of well timed and hard challenges in combat.  Aaron James and Ryan Taylor face a trip to the local dentist tomorrow morning following a clash of heads and an elbow; speaking volumes of the game's competitive and physical environment. 

Harvey's electrifying pace on the counter-attack provided a real problem for the Tigers, but HGS couldn't grab a second and kill the game off. Maffia with the best chance of the second half put his shot just wide of the far post on 78 minutes following an incisive pass from Donald. Taylor later failed to get his shot away following a long run up field into the penalty box. Sam Ansell's deflected effort went just over the bar and his temperament was later put to the test after being wiped out a dozen times by the rather clumsy opposition defenders. 

A magnificent effort from RIT's number 8, cannoned off of Roche's crossbar in the 90th minute to give Harvey a late scare but they hung on courageously to take their first tour victory back with them an hour and a half South to team HQ, Alfred. The players and management all playing a huge part in a team performance in which everyone could have been proud of, Mr Walton even losing his voice from the touchline shouting instructions.

FT - Rochester Institution of Technology 0-1 Harvey GS 
Scorer - Maffia.
Man of the Match - Sammy Davison.

The boys celebrated the result with a 20 minute game of shower bowling, followed by a three minute ice-bath to help remove lactate and keep muscles conditioned for tomorrow's clash with again Division 2 side Kueka College (4:30pm kick-off). 

Match Report by Ryan Taylor.
Photo Credit - Coach Chamberlain. 
Follow us on Twitter for more updates @HGSSport.

Boston MA - Alfred NY 17/08/14

Yesterday's early start time of 9am was out done with a 7am leave from the hotel in order to be able to break the 8 hour journey in to smaller journeys & still have time to stop for breakfast & lunch.

Again the threat of being dropped from the first game of the tour was enough to make sure that all 19 members of the tour were in the vehicles & we were on the road by the designated time. With the long journey, the choice of seat in the cars was very important. Those who were simply happy to get in & get there got the back seats & were asleep by the time we had hit the highway (Sam Ansell taking after Coach Walton by being asleep for pretty much 7 of the 8 hour journey!!) whilst those who were keen to make the best of the journey called "shotgun" & offered the drivers some company & most importantly a DJ role. Luckily for Coach Stevenson's vehicle, Donald actually remembered his Aux cable this time.

Those in Coach Walton's car were treated to something very, very special. Jake Hobbs, obviously still buzzing off of being captain of his own Duck boat, was in fine karaoke form singing along (with the correct words sometimes, but mostly making up his own versions of songs) to Miley, Robbie & Ellie. . .

The breakfast stop was much needed for the boys as they were all starting to get hungry. Luckily for them, the service area that we stopped at included a McDonalds, so the now customary wifi check was completed by some members before the cars had even been put in to park. For those on tour who are Liverpool fans, the internet brought them good news, as they found that their team had beaten Southampton. Finding time in between the status updates, the image posts & the message sends (& for some members of staff, a clan battle), it was all back in the wagons for the 2nd stage of the journey.

This section of the trip seemed to take forever. The I88 was gargantuan yet very bumpy, so the ride was not smooth in comfort. With mile after mile of straight highway, flanked only by trees & open land. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the lunch stop took place where the boys were able to refuel again. For those in Coach Walton's car, this seemed to come at a good point, seen as 4 of the 5 passengers were heavily involved in a tough season on their Championship Manager game (obviously Ansell was still sleeping at this point). Ethan Maffia had done so badly, that he had just been sacked by Valencia. Nothing a Subway & refillable soda can;t sort.

Upon reaching Alfred, there was just enough time for us to unload the wagons before we were met by the families who each took the pair of boys that they had been so kind enough to volunteer to host for the week. The excitement & buzz of the tour so far seemed to go at this point & be replaced by silence as they knew that they were soon to be broken up as a group & taken in by strangers (minus a few email conversations). What they didn't know or appreciate though was that these families are amazing & will do absolutely anything & everything for our boys. Some of the families who are hosting this week, have been doing so since the first tour & get as much out of the experience as we do. We simply couldn't do this tour without them, something that was made very clear to our boys on the journey. Details about the evening's training session were exchanged & the boys were then off to their homes & families for the week.

The start of the session was delayed as the boys were all too keen to exchange details of how great their families/houses were. Their trepidation had quite quickly gone & if anything, the session had gotten in the way of them from getting to spend an evening with the families.

A light-ish session was completed so as to get the boys moving & get rid of any stiffness from the past couple of days of mass travelling & a lot of cramped sitting. Set pieces was a nice finish to the session. Hopefully the fruit of this will be seen at some point this tour.

Tomorrow is the big day that we have been building up to since late January. Reminders were made about the importance of having a good/leisurely time during the day, as well as making sure that the right diet was considered so that we are all in the right shape for our first game against RIT.

HGS Hits Boston - 16/08/14

Although Friday was a long day of sitting, waiting & travelling, many of the boys were up in time for breakfast at the hotel. Despite the 8am breakfast meet, 4 boys took the opportunity to get up even earlier & join Coaches Chamberlain & Stevenson on a run round the lake. Although it was only 6.45, the temperature was still high & meant that Messers Brazier, Nunn, Nelhams & Donald were able to work up a hard sweat & got rid of some of stiffness from the flight.

The hotel we stayed in was not the largest & with the craziness that occurred when our boys came in to the breakfast hall, it was clear that they had not had to contend with a group breakfast order many times before. There were waffles & pancakes & eggs & cups of coffee all over the place. In the end, all the boys were able to grab something to eat & retreated back to their rooms in order to grab their things ready for our journey in to the city.

The 9am leave was met by all boys after the warning the previous night that anyone who was late would be dropped for the next game. The boys boarded the buses & the music was soon pumping. All apart from in Coach Stevenson's wagon who, despite Donald spending over $20 on a $5 Aux cable, had forgotten it leaving them with the roulette that is American radio.

The journey to the city centre was smooth & a lot easier than the reverse journey was the previous evening. Once the cars were parked, we wandered over to the pickup venue for the morning's activity. A Duck tour of Boston.

For those unaware of what this is, we boarded an amphibious vehicle & had a guided tour of the city by land as well as in the river!! Whilst on land, we drove around the city whilst our very entertaining tour guide/driver offered us some interesting facts (& in his words, some even more interesting lies) about the city. Straight away, Coach Chamberlain's profession as a history teacher struck fear in to the tour guide when he thought that he would have to go by the book with his tour & get his facts correct. Upon questioning Coach Chamberlain about his knowledge of the city & it's history, he soon realised this would not be a concern. . .

As is the norm for a Duck tour, once we had retracted the wheels & entered the river, the driver opened it up for members of the touring party to be captain & drive the boat. Without hesitation (& almost in unison) the whole squad nominated Jake Hobbs. If anything though, Jake didn't put up too much contention to this having already got in to the Duck spirit by purchasing his own quacker!!

After floating around the river & then heading back to the Duck Centre, we disembarked from the vehicle & then headed towards the busiest tourist region of the city. Quincy Market. It was a good half hour walk that required us to walk through the centre of the city which the boy's didn't necessarily appreciate. The frequency of shops & restaurants that offered free wifi was greatly appreciated though as it was now midway through the 2nd halves of the opening Premier League games (& for Coach Walton & Sam Ansell, half way through the latest Championship games) as well as the opportunity to update Instagram & SnapChat to friends at home (parents - we did suggest this could have been a great chance to touch base with you to tell you that they are having fun. We cannot say whether they heeded our suggestions though).

Quincy Market, as suggested earlier, is the busiest area of the city for tourists. It is also home to the best shopping district in the city, something I'm sure all the boys really enjoyed. Looking at the amount of bags that they carried away after their exploits, Foot Locker & Abercrombie & Fitch enjoyed our visit!!

After doing our bit for the US economy, we made our way back to the cars to deposit our purchases before heading to our evening entertainment. An evening at the ballpark to watch the Boston Red Sox take on the Houston Astros. This is something really special as Fenway Park is the oldest ball park in America & the Red Sox are a very successful team, so to be able to watch the game is something amazing & truly American.

The Coaches made good use of the concession stand & the available souvenirs, whilst the boys took their seats for yet more individual & team selfies. The game itself was a big scoring affair, with the Red Sox winning 10-7 thanks to 2 huge Home Runs from David Ortiz. Unfortunately a combination of a lack of understanding of what was going on with the tiredness from the day before meant that our boys may not have fully got to grips with the ins & outs of the game.

During one innings change, the coaches agreed that for his over priced Aux cable purchase (& subsequent forgetting of said cable), Josh Donald would be the worthy carrier of the bun bag for the following day. Roche handed over responsibility just after he had added his Red Sox ticket stub to it as a momento.

Upon the finish of the game, a short walk back to the cars allowed our boys to see Boston by night, although it was no less busy than during the day as game day in & around Boston is a spectacle. Having parked just along from Boylston Street where the marathon finish line is every year, we were able to take a few moments on our walk back to think about the impact that the bombing there in 2013 could have had on the city & it's people.

London - Boston - 15/08/14

The many months of waiting & excitement as well as the various countdown clocks that were doing the rounds on Facebook & on their personal phones, all counted down to this morning. The America Tour 2014 was here. . .

It was an early start for all involved with a 4.45 meet at the school. All involved today including Mr Bristow & Mr Goodfellow, who kindly assisted with the transport of the touring party up to the airport. Luggage was loaded on to the minibuses, goodbyes were said to mums & dads & the boys were all eager to buckle up in the readiness to get going quicker. Despite the early start, Jake Hobbs decided to arrive in his mum's car, whilst wearing his sunglasses. A strange choice when it was pre-sunrise.

All were looking very good in their tour travel kit. All that is apart from James Roche, who decided that instead of going with the many directions & instructions of wearing his travel shorts & tour hoodie, he would choose his own ensemble. Something that was quickly picked up on by both the staff & the boys.

The journey up to the airport was largely uneventful & fairly smooth. For whose who were in Mr Goodfellow's bus, they were treated to a small glimpse in to the "Goodfellow Family Holiday Playlist" with entries from Adele to The Proclaimers & all the way through to Thin Lizzy!! 

Within no time, we were at the terminal unloading our bags & looking for the correct check in zone. Our early start had been successful meaning that we were there in plenty of time. This gave the boys the opportunity to have a wander round the terminal & grab some snacks & forms of entertainment from the shops. In doing so, they happened to bump in to Jeremy Clarkson (of Top Gear fame). Most were happy to simply lurk around the newspapers to grab a glimpse of him, however Ronan Taggart simply went over & grabbed a selfie.

Before we knew it, it was time to check in, drop the bags off & head through security. Again for most, this was a smooth & simply process, having read & taken heed of the instructions that were given to them prior to arrival with regards to packing of items & liquids. Again Mr Roche struggled though, with his bag being pulled aside, opened & searched intensively. Only to find a shower gel container that had made it in to his hand luggage instead of his check in bag.

Time was given to the boys again to grab some food before we all had to meet up at the gate in readiness to board. The early start was starting to take its toll on some of the boys & the opportunity to finally take their seats on the plane was welcome. Coach Walton, as is usually the case, was one of the first to fall asleep once buckled in to his seat, but others were soon to follow, with many photos being taken of boys in various states on unconsciousness. The selection of media available was appreciated by the boys, with the prospect of seeing The Hobbit making Sam Ansell openly rejoice as he "had not seen that yet!!" The food served was also greatly appreciated & before we knew it the fasten seat belt signs were lit ready for landing.

Through security & customs we went without any fuss & onto the luggage reclaim area. Jake Hobbs' bright orange bag, that had taken much abuse during the day, came in to it's own at this stage when it was immediately visible to everyone when it went round, rather than having to be hunted for. It was then on to the rental car place where 3 (very) large wagons were collected. The boys organised & separated themselves in to the 3 separate vehicles & we were on the road. The GPS sat nav systems that were rented as part of the car deals came in to instant importance as our journey required us to drive through Downtown Boston. Not as useful as his colleague's was Coach Walton's that was pre-set to give out directions in Spanish!! Seeing Boston from the highways & through the car's windows was enough to get the boys excited about tomorrow's prospects.

After a 30 minute drive, we arrived at our hotel for the next couple of evenings where we all unpacked & simply chilled out for a bit before we went for a group walk around the lake that was located next to our hotel. This allowed the boys to loosen up their muscles after a long day's travels whilst also just getting themselves used to the American way of life. After a good 45 minute wander, it was all back in the vehicles to head to our evening meal at Fuddrucker Burger Joint. 

Fuddruckers is known for it's big burgers & thick shakes, so naturally a competitive Man v Food competition was organised. The prospect of trying to beat the 2009 squad in the number of 1lb burgers eaten was set. For those who weren't feeling as hungry. Or for those who like Josh Donald described himself as having a small stomach, there was simply a 1/2lb option. Of the 9 who took up the challenge, there were 8 successes. Working out the figures, almost half a stone of beef was consumed!!

To finish of the day, & to let the food & mass amount of meat to settle before bed, the boys were given the chance to have a walk around a small shopping mall. Before arriving for dinner, Josh Donald was given the task from Coach Stevenson to buy a simple Aux cable for their car so they could listen to their iPods. Unfortunately Donald took this as an immediate task & went to the Bose outlet to spend $21 on an Aux cable that he could have purchased tomorrow during his day in Boston city centre for a couple of $s.

Before we headed back to the hotel, the group were pulled together to for tomorrow's details to be given. Timings were told, as well as the punishment for any late comings were warned. Finally the tour first aid bum bag (in a fetching purple/pink colour) was handed over to James Roche for his stupidity during the day. His task is to now carry this with him for the following day, offering support & medical assistance when needed, whilst also adding a piece of tour memorabilia to it. This will be decided daily by the coaches & handed out each evening.

HGS USA v. Hawkinge Town - 05/08/14

Tuesday night saw our boys take on familiar opponents in Hawkinge Town, the team they battled hard with to earn a draw on Sunday. Just as their squad was different from then, gaining & losing a couple due to work commitments, Team HGS was also able to call upon a near full squad for the first time this pre tour campaign, with only Davison away.

Pre game, Coach Stevenson lead the warm up session. A session that the boys will implement before every training session & game as it will make sure their bodies are physically prepared & they are mentally set for the game.

Once the warm up was complete, the boys followed Coach Walton in to the pavilion to go over the plan & set up for today's game. Again, we went with the setup that we have been working on since Easter. Today just saw a couple of positional changes for some boys taking in to account what we learnt from our opposition on Sunday. There was also a whole team idea for when we weren't in possession of the ball, something that caught us out in the first half last game.

With the confidence gained from Sunday's performance, we started well. The now expected high intensity pressing was evident from the outset. We gave Hawkinge no time on the ball. This resulted in us winning possession all over the pitch. Various times we hustled in packs or pairs, forcing a mistake from them to pick up the ball before spreading it across the field to find open players. Switching the point of attack from one side to the other has been a strength of our's throughout, but I'm sure the Hawkinge front men were tired of simply running, chasing the ball across the field.

An early change was required after a rather heavy tackle was made on Taylor (ironically from one of his club team mates) leaving him with a rather nasty mark on his leg. With the tour so close, we made sure we were very cautious with an injuries or knocks, so Taylor was subbed off briefly so he could recovery & gain some treatment.

The first half followed pretty much the same pattern. HGS would pressure hard & win possession. With some well timed passing, free players would be found, who would then use the ball effectively to bring in to play our 3 attacking midfielders or work off of Ansell in the lone strikers role. Shots were taken at goal, or attacking set pieces were won. For a period of 15/20 minutes, we had Hawkinge on the back foot. Cross after cross & forward balls through were wasted without ever really testing the keeper.

With all the possession & the run of the game, Harvey should have been in front, however the half time break came with the scores level. The standard goalkeeper change took place, replacing Roche (who had made a very good reaction save at the near post late in the first half) with Hancock. The other routine rotation of players also took place, with those who came off in the first half, returning to the action. Again the system & set up we had worked on throughout these games, as well as the individual game plan for today's were proving a success, so the replacements were simply like for like rather than changing anything massively with Kane Nelhams joining us from his work shift to slot in the holding role whilst Jake Hobbs came on at right back.

The 2nd half, now refereed by Coach Stevenson, started in a similar vein as how the first finished. Team Harvey constantly pressing the ball across the field & then using the possession wisely once the mistake was forced. Unlike the first half though, we didn't really use the ball well in the final third & our attacks mostly came to nothing. 

With 15 minutes to go & the scores still level, for some reason we took our foot of the pedal & allowed Hawkinge to come in to the game for a period. With the ability they have in their side, this was a mistake. A couple of intelligent runs from their front 3 created gaps by pulling our players out of their structure, which they exploited well. A simple ball split our back 4 & left a one-on-one chance for their striker which he wasn't go to turn down. With their dominance throughout, this goal shocked our boys from which affected them. Much like Sunday, Hawkinge then took advantage in quick time with a second. A great volleyed strike from just outside the box again gave Hancock no chance. It came from a simple ball over the top that wasn't dealt with again.

The game kind of just trickled along for the final 5 minutes with neither side having much dominance over the other. Our boys' hard work in the first 75 minutes meant that they were unable to form one final push to at least get on the score sheet. 

With the game finishing 2-0 to Hawkinge, despite our dominance, it was a nice reminder to our boys how important it is for them to make use of the possession they have by converting it in to goals. Again they were by far the fitter side, & at times played the much better football, but Hawkinge showed that it simply takes a couple of lapses in concentration & we are out of the game. This will be the case when we play some of our American counterparts, who may match us on the fitness stakes.

One final training session on Thursday, before it is down to the boys to prepare themselves for the tour. Both on the field by resting up & recovering from any injuries or niggles, but also off the field with their packing.

SQUAD - Roche, Hancock, Taylor, Nunn, James, Price, Brazier, Donald, Maffia, Taggart, Hearmon, Ansell, Nelhams, Smith, Hobbs

Man of the Match - Harry Nunn/Ronan Taggart

HGS USA v. Hawkinge Town - 03/08/14

This Sunday saw a massive step up in our pre-tour preparations with a game against Hawkinge Town. Despite only being formed in 2013, Hawkinge have had a very successful time. They won their competitive regional league last season without losing a game. This dominance saw them promoted not just the 1 division as is standard, but instead up 2 leagues ready for this season. This being their first pre-season game of the year meant that they were in a position of experimenting with their large 18 man squad, however we knew that they would combine the physical aspect that Lyminge did with the technical ability that the HGS USA Rep team possessed, so being a good test & indication of how far our boys have come.

Due to an afternoon kick off, Team HGS were reduced to only having 12 of their 16 man squad available due to other commitments. This required some tactical reshuffling from Coaches Walton, Stevenson & Chamberlain with Ansell being moved back to centre back alongside captain Donald to hopefully deal with the big physical strikers that we knew Hawkinge possessed. This opened up a position for returning Ronan Taggart (who was yet to make his debut for the touring side having been on what seems like a constant holiday all the way back to Easter when he went on the cricket tour to Barbados). 

If the boys were under any confusion about what standard their opposition, this was dispelled within the first 5 minutes when Hawkinge broke quickly down either wing & had chances at goal. Nothing came of these, but the damage was done as our boys were then disjointed & found themselves out of position. Something a team with the quality that Hawkinge possess enjoyed as they exposed the gaps. 

Despite this pressure, Taggart had a great chance to open the scoring with a run through on goal after a great ball through from Taylor (keen to impress as he's playing against not only his club side but against his Dad who coaches Hawkinge). Unfortunately he was just too wide to have a clear view at goal & the keeper made the save. Despite this positive play, HGS found themselves behind soon after. In quick succession, a ball down the line in behind our defensive line led to 2 well taken goals for our visitors. A combination of new players & a lack of communication proved our downfall.

A quick reshuffle of formation from Coach Walton followed the restart, something that seemed to relax the boys & despite being behind for the first time this pre-season, Team HGS didn't let their heads drop & just collapse. Some gutsy work from Brazier & Donald challenging for the ball in the middle whilst Smith, Hearmon, Maffia & Price offered great resistance & challenges against their larger & stronger counterparts. This work rate meant that at the half time break, it was still only 2-0 to Hawkinge.

With limited resources compared to the other fixtures, Coaches Walton, Stevenson & Chamberlain had a long chat whilst the boys rehydrated in terms of their plan for the 2nd half. The outcome resulted with a sticking to the system that had been successful for the 2nd part of the 1st half, but with a few personnel changes. Walton brought himself on at the back, allowing Ansell to form a partnership for the first time with Taggart up front. A few other switches to allow some periods of recovery & we were back under way. The plan for the 2nd half was simply to work hard all over the field & win the half.

Instantly from their kick off, the upped pressure was evident with a pack of 3 or 4 hunting the ball down all over the field. This pattern of play continued throughout, with Hawking looking like they didn't know what had hit them. Team HGS were picking up the ball all over the field & using it intelligently to get to within shooting range of the goal. After 10 minutes a break through was made when Taggart was released again to bear down 1-on-1 with the keeper. This time however he made sure & slotted the ball past him.

Despite bringing the scoreline back to within a goal, HGS didn't let up & continued with the pressure. In particular Nathan Smith, who again despite his size, was more than able to out muscle some of the midfielders in order to win or retain possession. It was from one of his challenges that the ball fell to Hearmon. With his usual tight control on the ball, he wiggled in & out of defenders a couple of times, but was eventually brought down what looked inside the box, but actually just outside for a free kick. Donald stepped up to take the kick, but must have seen Hobbs' penalties too much as he what can only be described as scuffed the ball in to the ground. Luckily for him, the wall jumped & leaving the keepr unsighted meant he equalised with 10 minutes left to find a possible winner.

This third goal came soon after. Team HGS were really forcing mistakes from the Hawkinge side with their high intensity pressure A great sign that all the hard work from January was paying off. The ball was won again by the front 5, who then interchanged passes to allow Maffia to run at their defence. His shot was blocked, but the ball fell to Smith who calmly controlled & passed the ball in to the net. Nothing more than his performance deserved.


It had now turned from a rescue job at half time in to a protection mission with only 5 minutes to go. This didn't stop the forward momentum though with a few efforts at goal still testing their keeper. The best of the lot coming from Taylor, who from near on 30 yards out & wide on the sideline, hit a shot come cross that had beaten the keeper all ends up. Unfortunately the cross bar saved him. Goal of the tour still lays at the feet of Coach Walton's volley at Lyminge!!

With only a couple of minutes to go, a rare Hawkinge break forward ended up with them being in the our box in a threatening position. Despite being ushered away from the centre, a slightly mistimed tackle brought the attacker down giving them the chance to earn a late draw from the penalty spot, something they duely took. 

Despite this late equaliser, the boys & coaches were not too downbeat when the whistle went as being disappointed with a draw against that opposition says a lot. More importantly though, the effort, work rate, passion, level of football played & simple guts & determination in the second half was something for everyone associated to be proud off. We go again on Tuesday against Hawkinge again, this time with a more complete squad, so hopefully with similar intentions, a win is not too much to expect. . .

SQUAD - Roche, Hancock, Brazier, Price, Donald, Maffia, Smith, Ansell, Walton, Rolfe, East, Revill, Taylor, Hearmon, Taggart

Man of the Match - Josh Donald

Scorers - Taggart, Donald, Smith