Clinical United in control of destiny
HAYES & YEADING END HERTFORD’S UNBEATEN HOME RUN
PAUL HUGHES praised his “ruthless” Hayes & Yeading United side after they beat Hertford Town 3-0 away on Saturday in the Isthmian League South Central Division.
The league win came after a 2-5 away win at Edgware Town in the Middlesex Senior Cup and Hughes believes his side are beginning to control games.
“Hertford has notoriously been a tough place to come and get a result,” Hughes said.
“The fact they have started this campaign unbeaten at home was not a surprise to me. This made the result even more pleasing for us.
“A common thread this season has been how ruthless we are when the opposition make a mistake.
“The second and third goals showed how clinical we can be when this happens. Both goals were extremely well taken.
“Toby Little is now becoming a bit of a set piece expert with a great freekick to open our scoring. He is so often our match winner and for a left wing back to be so productive and influential shows how good he is.
“His shutting down and overall energy were at the right level.
“Lee Barney continues to be a real livewire for us. He’s our top goal scorer and his work rate has been phenomenal. He deserves what he’s getting at the moment and there are no signs he’s letting his foot off the gas. We’ve all been impressed with his non-stop running.
“I felt the game was largely controlled by us. They had a good 15-minute spell towards the end of the first half and credit to them for the pressure they put us under. I felt a few stern words at half-time helped us refocus. The standards we want to keep were evident in the second half. Our anticipation was better, we won the majority of second balls and, as a result, the second half was heavily controlled by us.
“At 2-0 the next goal is always the important one, and thankfully it didn’t fall to them after a great penalty save from Jack Smith early in the second half.
“This is where the goalkeeper is so important as those saves keep the momentum with you. Priceless.
“I reiterate how impressed I was with our control of the game and this is largely due to a very solid back line that are giving us a firm base to build our attacks from. We are the league’s top scorers but we also have one of the meanest defences. This combination bodes well. Let’s hope we can keep everyone fit and continue in this vein of form.
“Also, a big thank you to our travelling fans for their support. It’s always good to see them turn out in numbers. They are loud and create a great atmosphere for us to play.”
Wealdstone were knocked out of the FA Cup on Saturday after Bradley Bubb saw his 90th minute penalty saved only for Sutton United to then score an injury time winner.
Wealdstone went ahead on 50 minutes via a penalty before Sutton equalised from the spot 13 minutes later and made it anyone’s game. Bubb then missed the opportunity to put Stones through before Aaron Drinan won the match.
Wealdstone’s first team coach Mike Percival, said: “We’re absolutely gutted. We were one kick away from the first round proper, but we have to take the positives.
“We’re in a good moment here and although we’re disappointed, we have to stick together.
“We’ve played well against a very good side.
“It’s about game management. Of course we missed the penalty but the most important thing is not to lose – we should be in the hat. We are proud of the players, this group we are building here is a group that can do something this year.”