Wake-up call for United
GARRY Haylock hopes a 5-0 battering at the hands of Chelmsford will prove a wake-up call to his Hayes & Yeading players ahead of this weekend’s clash with Truro City.
The United manager was shocked by his team’s performance against the Clarets as the hosts failed to regain their focus after Devante McKain was sent off in the first half at York Road.
Boss Haylock, who was planning to make a few changes for last night’s (Tuesday’s) Middlesex Senior Cup tie with Hampton & Richmond, admitted his boys were second best throughout.
He said: “If that doesn’t give the players a wake-up call then we’ve got some problems. We didn’t play well at all and we deserved nothing. Some things went wrong in the game and we just didn’t cope with them. Things are going to happen and we need to deal with them.
“Sometimes you can re-group after a sending off. The reaction was disappointing and the score could have been worse to be honest. Dan Lincoln pulled off some fantastic saves, including keeping out a late penalty, so it could have been more.
“It’s good to get back on the horse. There will be a reaction. I wasn’t here but we’ve already been down to Truro and beaten them 2-0 this season. It’s better than us having to go all that way down there, but a game is a game and we need a response. If you get beaten 5-0 at home you would expect some changes.”
Haylock did not use McKain’s dismissal for two bookable offences as an excuse for the crushing 5-0 loss.
The 21-year-old may still be a relatively young footballer, but his manager could not understand why he made a reckless challenge that saw yellow turn to red.
He added: “Devante has played for Gillingham and Maidenhead so he’s not an inexperienced player but he’s still only a young player. I think he’ll learn from it.
“He got a yellow w card for handball which should never have been a booking, but then he made a silly lunge and gets another.
“You can say the decision to give him the first booking was unjustified, but he then made the decision to make that lunge, so you can’t blame the referee for that.”
Meanwhile, Northwood played out a goalless draw with Aylesbury in the Southern League Division One Central on Saturday. Wayne Carter struck twice to fire Uxbridge to a 2-2 draw with Aylesbury United.
AFC Hayes were also involved in a 2-2 stalemate in the Combined Counties Premier at the weekend as they were held at home to Chertsey Town. HILLINGDON duo Andy Lapthorne and Jordanne Whiley aim to boost their preparations for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park when they join Marc McCarroll in the line-up for the Nottingham Indoor tournament.
Quad singles finalist at the British Open in Nottingham in July, Lapthorne’s chief rivals for the title this week include South Africa’s Lucas Sithole, the player he finished runnerup to at the British Open and one of three players he will face at the Masters.
“These next three weeks are really big for me as I look to end 2015 on a high. After reaching the British Open final I want to come home from Nottingham this time as the winner,” said Lapthorne.
“It’s an ideal warm-up for the Masters, especially playing on home soil. With Rio in mind hopefully fellow Brit Jamie Burdekin and I can also get another title under our belts after beating the Paralympic champions in one of our two matches against them at the Doubles Masters.”
Whiley won her first Super Series title at the British Open in July and this week she features in a field that includes eight of the world’s top 10 women, including world No. 1 Jiske Griffioen, who Whiley was runner-up to at the 2014 Nottingham Indoor.
“I’m really looking forward to returning to Nottingham as British Open champion and will be doing all I can to leave this time as Nottingham Indoor champion, too, ahead of the Masters,” said Whiley.
McCarroll will aim to beat higher ranked opposition in the men’s singles and also partners fellow Brit David Phillipson in the men’s doubles, with the Rio 2016 Paralympics among their future goals.
Tickets for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters can be purchased at www. wheelchairtennismasters.com.