TOOMEY TREBLE GIVES UNITED A CLASSY VICTORY
BOSS PRAISES TEAM FOR DEMOLITION OF EGHAM
PAUL Hughes praised the character of his Hayes and Yeading United side as they beat Egham Town 4-0 in their first home Isthmian League South Central Division league game of the season.
Benefitting from the flat green expansive surface at the SkyEx Community Stadium, which had seen Derrick Matthews recognised as the runner-up in last year’s Southern Football League FA Groundsman of the Year awards, United dominated.
Lewis Toomey netted a hattrick and substitute Lee Barney netted the fourth as Hayes continued their strong team displays of pre-season. The only negative was losing captain Scott Donnelly for the next few games after he suffered a bad concussion.
Hughes said: “It was a very solid performance from the team. I felt the back line gave us a very strong base.
“We’ve got excellent character and experience back there, which makes them very reliable.
“I also felt both wing backs were very disciplined in their work and that contributed to our solidity and ability to retain possession for long periods. They are always our out ball.
“The front players runs dictate where we pass the ball and their work rate today was exceptional. They made it easy for the man on the ball to find them.
“Lewis Toomey deserves great credit for his hat-trick and Duncan Culley next to him put himself about, created two goals and was a great presence up there all game. We were very difficult to handle.”
Losing Donnelly was a blow and the boss added: “It was the only minus as he is a very influential player for us. I felt Scott Bridges’ presence and ability in the middle of the park kept us dominating that area of the pitch after Donnelly’s exit and it was great to see Josh Chamberlain back in the midfield. He’s a player with great quality and has a lot to offer us.
“Another pleasing aspect of today was the contribution from the bench. All three players did very well when they came on and I’m pleased that Lee Barney got his first league goal for us. He’s worked very hard in pre season and he was clinical when he took his chance.
“Overall, it was a good display. There were moments of complacency during the game which we mentioned to the players afterwards. If we cut those bits out and keep focusing on what we are good at then we will be tough opponents for anyone at Step 4 this year.”
United and are in FA Cup action on Saturday with a trip to Gloucestershire to face Brimscombe & Thrupp.