Matt’s finish a Messi special
United’s loan star give him nickname after solo goal FOOTBALL
THE Hayes & Yeading United squad have nicknamed their recent arrival ‘Lionel Messi’ after his incredible solo goal helped sink Bath City.
Matt Jay joined the club on a youth loan from Exeter last month and made an immediate impact by netting on his debut in a 2-2 draw with Truro.
But the 19-year-old really announced himself on Saturday with a stunning individual effort which broke the deadlock and set Hayes & Yeading on their way to a dramatic 3-2 victory.
Jay latched onto a loose ball, skinned a Bath defender on the edge of the area and made his way past two more before nonchalantly slotting the ball into the far corner.
It was the kind of goal fans are more used to seeing at the Nou Camp than at Twerton Park and United manager Garry Haylock has revealed Jay’s team-mates have an extremely high opinion of the hotshot.
“Our players are calling him Messi,” the boss said. “He’s obviously not at that level and actually I don’t think he’s that type of player. He’s got very good feet but he’s more of a link man than Messi.
“One of my jobs at Exeter last season was to get players sent out on loan and a lot of clubs didn’t want to take him. They thought he was too small. When I came here there were three from Exeter I wanted to bring in and two of them scored for them in the FA Cup on Saturday. Matt Jay was the other one.
“MJ has the ability to play at a higher level. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that and I would expect to go back and play for Exeter in their first-team.
“The manager is looking at these players on loan and it is easier for him to keep an eye on MJ because I am still on his staff. I can give him my opinion on him.
“I think he needs a run of maybe 10 to 15 games to get him ready. He’s done very well but has got to continue that.
“If he plays for 15 games for us and scores 10 or 12 goals then we’ve had the benefit of him and then he will go back to Exeter and they will see the benefit of him.
“It’s a youth loan so there’s no cut-off point yet but we said we’d look at it after a month. We’ll have a conversation in a few weeks and probably speak after Christmas.
“It’s a long journey for Matt as well so it may be that he wants to go back, but I think we’ll review it in the New Year.”
Hayes & Yeading return to action with the visit of Sutton United on Saturday in a re-arranged fixture at York Road.
Elsewhere, Uxbridge and Northwood both played out 1-1 draws in the Southern League at the weekend as they held St Ives Town and Egham respectively.
AFC Hayes picked up a point from a goalless draw at Redhill in the Combined Counties Premier. HILLINGDON Swimming club made a splash with two stunning displays at major events.
A string of superb individual results in the London Winter Regional Championships was followed by a convincing team win in round two of the London Region Premier Division of the National Arena League.
First, swimmers travelled to the London Aquatic Centre at the Olympicmpic Park for the first regional open meet of the 2015/16 season.
The team put in some outstanding performances, none more so than 16-yearold Amy Grimshaw, who won the junior and senior 100m butterfly in her first outing in nine months due to injury.
Four other Hillingdon swimmers came home as regional champions (pictured above with Grimshaw).
Luke Spain won the senior 100m breaststroke, Alfie Collins, 15, won the 16/ under 200m breastroke and the 16/under 400m individual medley.
Ceara Barber, aged just 13, took gold in the 16/under 100m backstroke and Loulou Vos 16 won the junior 400m freestyle.
There were more podium places for Hillingdon too, with Loulou Vos taking silver in both the 16/under 800m freestyle and the 16/under 200m freestyle, and Barber in the 16/under 200m backstroke. Jemima Hall, 14, came third in the 16/under 800m freestyle and the 16/under 200m freestyle, Amy Grimshaw took the bronze in the 16/under 200m individual medley and Vos in the 16/under 100m freestyle.
Hillingdon swimmers finished in the top six in a further seven events, to make this a fantastic start for the club to the season.
A week later and HSC headed to Harlow to compete in the London Region Premier Division of the National Arena League.
After winning round one, the club romped home in first place in the second as they finished with a comfortable 40-point lead.
Head coach John Adye said: “Our swimmers showed excellent racing skills, resulting in consistent points being gained over the entire event. With eight teams competing, our swimmers were placed in the top six in all 50 races and in the top three in 39 of them.”
Hillingdon won with 319 points while runners-up were Ealing with 279 and Camden Swiss with 258 points.
The top eight teams in the Premier League will now go head-to-head in the third round on Saturday, December 12.
HSC is hoping to secure a place at the National Finals in April 2016.