Ten-man United return pointless from Cornish trip
LONG JOURNEY TO TRURO ENDS IN TIGHT DEFEAT
AN impressive run of home wins ended for Hayes & Yeading United on Saturday as they fell to table-toppers Truro City 1-0 in the Southern League Premier South.
It was once again a game of two halves with United disappointed not to nick a point come the final whistle, despite playing much of the second half with 10 men.
The only goal of the game came in the ninth minute, a rocket of a shot that keeper Jack Smith had no chance with, but by then the visitors had already missed an open goal and hit the post and bar.
They had the ball in the net again before the break, ruled out for an earlier handball, and despite one effort off the line and another parried by the goalkeeper United were second best in the first half.
After the break a change in formation and double substitution saw a marked improvement, but the task was made tougher when Omar Rowe was shown a red card on 53 minutes. Both sides had chances to score and Toby Little had a penalty appeal waved away in injury time, but the Cornish side held out for the three points.
Boss Paul Hughes was reflective but disappointed post-match.
“They were quicker, more reactive and made better decisions than us in the first half which is why they created more than us,” he said.
“Second half from us was excellent. We were the team pushing and looking for the equaliser and they were the team on the back foot, even though we had been reduced to 10 men for the majority of that period. We can take pride in that. We had opportunities to get something from the game against the side top of the table. We need to take that into the Christmas period.”
The games come thick and fast for Hughes and his squad. On Tuesday they were due to make the short distance to Walton Casuals for a much rearranged league fixture and there is another local game on Saturday at former landlords Beaconsfield Town. With no Boxing Day game, United will entertain Metropolitan Police on Saturday December 28 at The SkyEx Community Stadium, before a trip to Farnborough on New Year’s Day.
The first Saturday of the new year sees promotion chasing Tiverton Town visit before the return fixture against Beaconsfield Town on Tuesday January 7.
Despite defeat on Saturday, United slipped only one place in the table. Their mid-table position with several games in hand sees them well placed for a play-off push if they can maintain a fit and available squad and pick up points.