GOAL-DEN BROWN’S ON SONG
Striker’s double downs Martyrs
HENDON ended a fourgame run without a win with victory over fellow high-flyers Merthyr Town.
The win also saw Hendon climb above Merthyr, who finished with ten men after skipper Ashley Evans saw a second yellow card near the end.
Hendon manager Jimmy Gray told The NLP: “We played well and I think we deserved the win.
“We kept a clean sheet out there and that has pleased me almost as much as the three points.”
Josh Gould made his Swansea City U23s debut and saved a penalty.
His Merthyr debut was unhappier as he was nearly embarrassed by a secondminute backpass that beat him but fortunately came back off the outside of the post.
Ryan Prosser came close to opening the scoring for the visitors when he shot powerfully, but Danny Boness produced an excellent save in the hosts’ goal.
In the 15th minute another error from Gould, this time a poor clearance, fell to Cole Brown, who took a touch and rolled the ball into the net.
Hendon’s second goal, seven minutes later, was a superb team goal.
It started with Bayley Brown, who found Matty Harriott. His pass sent Connor Calcutt clear and with Gould uncertain whether to narrow the angle, he rolled the ball to Brown and he did the rest.
A succession of yellow cards followed as the game became decidedly tetchy.
Chances were at a premium but Hendon’s Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick almost scored with a speculative angled shot while, in stoppage time, Lee Lucas failed to reduce the arrears with a shot aimed straight at Boness.
Hendon replaced Luke Tingey with Taishan Griffith before the second half, but Merthyr rather lost their way and there were few openings in a tight second period.
Prosser had another effort on target after 52 minutes, his header going close to the
crossbar but Boness acrobatically tipped the ball over the top.
With an hour gone, Hendon had an escape when a Merthyr free-kick flew across the penalty area, avoided all of the players straining to make a touch, and bounced inches wide of the far post.
The Greens replied with a superb third goal, in the 73rd minute, Hippolyte-Patrick, set up by Ricardo German, and he sent a scorching drive into the top corner to confirm an impressive and important victory for the home side.
And with five minutes to go, Evans’ frustration got the better of him and he collected his second booking and was sent for an early shower.
The word from Merthyr players and fans exiting at the end was the same: “This was a very bad day at the office.”