HUGHES DELIGHTED AT HAYES & YEADING PROGRESS
PAUL Hughes is delighted with the progress his Hayes & Yeading team are making as he prepares his players for their tough opening day trip to Cheshunt, in Isthmian League South Central Division, on August 11.
The club’s latest outing at Dunstable saw them win 3-0 with a now familiar squad, all except for injured goalkeeper Jack Smith.
“It was another tough game in that heat, but I think we performed well,” said Hughes.
“Of course I’m pleased with the way preparations are going pre-season, although there are always tweaks to be made.
“Results have been good but it’s performances and application we are concerned with at this stage of the year and to be honest I couldn’t have asked for much more from the players.”
United came close early on from a Toby Little corner which was cleared to Scott Bridges.
He returned the ball to Little who fired in a cross to beyond the far post which Manny Duku reached with his head on the stretch but could not force the ball back on target.
Five minutes later United had the ball in the Dunstable net as Duku and Kaan Fehmi combined well to send Little away on the left, his low centre being fired home by Lewis Toomey only for him to be denied by a raised flag.
Seven minutes before the break United took the lead when Fehmi ran at the home defence before pulling the ball back to Ola Olajubu, who set up a shooting chance for Bridges. His effort was fumbled, allowing Toomey to fire the loose ball home.
United’s lead was doubled just before half time and Fehmi was again the catalyst in the move and this time the finisher too as he played a neat interchange with Duku before firing home first time from the edge of the Dunstable area.
Ehui went close again with a 25-yard free-kick just after the hour mark and 10 minutes later United did have a third when a deep Bridges corner was controlled beyond the far post by Ryan Kinnane, the big defender smashing the ball home from an angle.
The goal followed a sublime United move that saw the corner earned in the first place.
Hughes added: “The league fixtures give us a tough opener away at Cheshunt so we need to be on our game from the off, so competitive games like this in pre-season and those still to come are standing us in good stead to be ready for a good start to the season.
“It’s difficult to tell where we are in terms of other clubs, especially as we are entering a new division and new league for us, but we look and feel like a proper team which at this stage of pre-season is very reassuring.”
Hayes entertain Wingate & Finchley on Saturday and then visit Berkhamsted next Tuesday as the pre-season preparations continue.