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No	PLAYER	GOALS	OThER
1	Graham Bannatyne	.	GK
2	Lance Avery	.	.
3	Mark Streeter	.
4	Louis Munnery
5	Ben Thomsett	.
6	Jesse Stonell
7	Rob Frost
8	Lewis Clarkson		(C)
9	Ryan Betsworth		.
10	Ben Ruth
11	Ben Courtnage
SUBSTITUTES
12	Jordan Lee		On For B Ruth 25
14	Justin Wood		On For B Courtnage 73
15	..		Not Used
16	..		Not Used
17	..	.	Not Used
OFF FIELD
Manager		Dave Millar
Assistant		Nobby Dartnell
Coach
OFFICIALS
Referee		D Brain
Club Linesman (R)		Paul Scorer
Club Linesman (O)		.
Fourth Official		N/A
Attendance		N/A

Hikers BHA FC XI – 4 v 0 – Ringmer 2^nd XI

Vernon Wentworth Cup Round 2

30/01/10

Report by Steve Frost

The advantage of the early kick off is that if the game does not go to extra time you can get home and watch Final Score, the drawback is that Ringmer are not accustomed to kicking a ball this early on a Saturday afternoon and Hikers never let them settle into any sort of form.

Once again the team was a late assembled group of mainly young players who lined up on Stanmer Park pitch No 3. The overnight frost was generally clear or clearing from the playing surface leaving a sticky cloying mud destined to destroy any football which probably favoured Hikers more experienced squad.

Suffice to say there was not much in the way of football to report from this game from the Ringmer perspective with Ringmer producing no clear chance to threaten the Hikers goal throughout the 90 minutes. The reason for this was that the team were very rarely able to get the ball clear of their half for any significant period; they struggled to link defence to midfield and midfield to the forwards. Even route one didn’t get anywhere. Today, for Ringmer, even the Sunday football technique of hoof and run did not work.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that Hikers were all over the Ringmer goal, they were not, unfortunately the few shots they had on target found the net usually via some freakish route or good fortune which left Banners stranded.

Hikers, who play in the Premier Division of the Brighton & Hove District League, are currently in third with games in hand for a virtual top position. Hikers were clearly more accustomed to the conditions and their more robust football suppressed and intimidated the Ringmer team with a few notable exceptions.

Hikers had the start towards the east down the slope. Ringmer’s lack of luck was highlighted when Ben Ruth had to be substituted after only 25 minutes with cramp to both legs. Jordan Lee came on and went to left midfield, Ben Courtnage came across to right mid and Rob Frost moved up front alongside Ryan Betsworth.

For Ringmer the only clear opportunity of the first half fell to Ryan however his tussle with the Hikers defence was adjudged in their favour.

On 37 minutes, Hikers benefitted when a nothing shot converted to a lob which left the Ringmer defence and keeper stranded in no man’s land (1-0). The score staid this way until half time with neither side requiring their keepers to come to the rescue.

At half time, Woody arrived and kitted up after begging and borrowing boots from Ryan. One minute after the restart, Hikers stunned Ringmer with a second goal. Ringmer’s heads did not drop as they fought to recover the deficit. On 73 minutes, Ben Courtnage was rested after working tirelessly in midfield with a direct swap by Woody.

The remainder of the second half played out with Ringmer playing some improved football however they were caught twice with Hikers goals on 82 and 88 minutes. Final score 4-0.

Ringmer battled well throughout the game, never losing heart. Whilst on the subject of hearts, Ringmer cannot have a bigger heart than Jesse Stonell, who on many occasions was outstanding in his resilience and for much of the game was the only Ringmer player able to a master the conditions. Once again, the four youth team players all gave memorable performances.

On the day, the strength of the opposition and the pitch conditions probably meant that there was only going to be a Hikers win. Well done BHA, go on and win it so Ringmer can say they were beaten by the champs.

Please note: The above report is a personal view by the writer, Anonymous, and should not been seen as necessarily totally factual or accurate and in fact it could be a figment of his imagination. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the contents no liability rests with the writer and the contents should be studied and approved by the editor and Ringmer FC prior to publication.

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