Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League Premier Division
Tuesday 1st August 2017
The new season got underway on Tuesday evening and both sides took a point in a game that produced little goalmouth action but nonetheless suggested both sides would be competitive in this division after suffering respective relegations last season.
Lance Key gave debuts to new signings Will Lawton, George Darling and Ed Rolph whilst the promising Joe Sutton made his first senior start for the club after a number of appearances from the bench last season whilst still an HFC Scholar.
A decent crowd of 176 that included a group of around 30 travelling Stutes didn’t have to wait too long for the first action as Yachtsman striker Pete Wiltshire was booked as early as the second minute for a late barge into Ayden Duffy.
The hosts started brightly enough, knocking the ball around well and using the full width of a very wide pitch and it took Histon a little while to settle into things. It was Danny Gould who had the first Histon strike on goal but his shot from distance was high and never troubled Viner in the home goal.
For the home side, the impressive Robbie Sweeney stepped inside from the left to get a shot away but that too was high. Histon enjoyed a good spell and with half an hour on the clock Lee Smith curled a lovely right footed pass into the path of Pat Bexfield who was running from deep. Bexfield had space and bore down on goal but as the angle narrowed the midfielders’ shot was a comfortable enough save for Viner.
Duffy was called into action on 37 minutes when Adam Smith’s shot from outside the area took a hefty deflection that forced Duffy into a smart save low to his right and soon after Shaun Taylor found too much space on the right and drilled in a shot across goal that was sent wide, also via a deflection.
Just before the break Histon had the chance of the game. Joe Sutton angled a lovely free kick to the far post where a number of Histon players were queueing up. It was met by Will Lawton but his close range header flew just over and it remained 0-0 at the break.
The second half ultimately didn’t offer much more in terms of chances. Sweeney created the hosts’ best moment when he broke away down the left at great pace before sending over a lovely low ball that just about eluded everyone. For Histon, Danny Gould became more of an attacking threat and on more than one occasion got close to opening up the home defence but it wasn’t until the last couple of minutes that Histon nearly broke the deadlock. Ed Rolph did well to make headway into the danger area before laying the ball off to Shaun Jenkins whose first time shot was just too high. Within a couple of minutes Jenkins again threatened with a well struck effort through a crowded area that was stopped by Viner.
No goals at full time then and no doubt both sides would have been happy enough with a point from this opening game. For Histon, a clean sheet and a point on the road is a reasonable start and there are signs that the team is making progress.
Next up for Lance and the team, Northampton ON Chenecks on Saturday afternoon in The FA Cup followed by a local derby against Ely City at The Glassworld on Tuesday evening (subject to an FA Cup replay being required of course).
Histon: Ayden Duffy, Tommy Wright, Will Lawton, Lee Smith (Shaun Jenkins 82), Max York, Evan Key, George Darling (James Carman 82), Joe Sutton (Simon Unwin 73), Ed Rolph, Pat Bexfied, Danny Gould.
Histon subs not used: Brendan Lees, Sheldon Weinman.
Histon yellow cards: Evan Key, Joe Sutton.
Wroxham: Will Viner, Shaun Taylor, Sam Bryant, Mark Shadrack, Michael Sommerfield, Tom Matthews, Adam Smith, Joe Manning (Matt Cook 84), Pete Wiltshire (Ross Gilfedder 65), Robbie Sweeney (Harvey Black 73), Ben Fowkes.
Wroxham subs not used: Lewis Meecham, Payton Swatman.
Wroxham yellow cards: Pete Wiltshire, Ben Fowkes, Tom Matthews, Adam Smith.
Attendance: 176
