Hornchurch 2-0 Bishop’s Stortford Match Report

Hornchurch 2-0 Bishop’s Stortford Match Report 8/1/22

 

Bishop’s Stortford suffered a first league defeat since 9 October away to Hornchurch on Saturday, ending a 14 match unbeaten run in the Pitching In Isthmian League Premier Division with a 2-0 defeat against the Urchins. One of only four matches going ahead in the division, conditions at the Bridge were cold, wet and windy, making for a scrappy affair under relentless rain. Ola Ogunwamide netted in the first half with Hornchurch captain and ex-Blue Lewwis Spence scoring after the break.

 

Darren Foxley had the first shot of the match, bringing down a Jack Giddens free kick and firing low with his weak foot on the half-volley, but ex-Blue Joe Wright got down well to save. Charlie Ruff could only toe-poke wide from Tobi Joseph’s low cross, when the Blues failed to clear a free kick from the right. Jonny Giles’ left wing free kick was headed wide by Ryan Charles, and Mark Haines brilliantly blocked a low cross from Ogunwamide on the right. But the midfielder made no mistake from the next attack, curling into the bottom left corner after the referee had played an advantage for a foul near the halfway line. But the Blues responded well to going behind, with Foxley finding space to receive the ball from Haines’ drilled pass, but Wright parried his low shot, and Robbins laid the ball off to Frankie Merrifield who shot from long range but it went high and wide of the goal.

 

HT 1-0

 

The Blues began the second half as they did the first, creating the first chance with Ryan Henshaw heading straight to Wright from Giles left wing free kick, before Chris Harris dragged a half-volley wide after Charles had nodded the ball down. But Giddens was also in action at the other end, punching away a powerful free kick from Tom Wraight that was goalbound, before tipping a low shot from long range around the left post. Wraight’s set pieces continued to test the Blues’ defence, with Jordan Clark heading onto the crossbar from a corner. The best chance for a Blues equaliser fell to Harris, when Charles had flicked the ball to the striker from Giles’ free kick, but Wright was able to nick the ball off his toe from close range, and the defenders managed to scramble clear. To add insult to injury for the Blues, Hornchurch doubled their lead from the next attack, with Spence on hand for a tap-in after a free kick came all the way through the box to him at the back post. Merrifield’s glancing header from Giles’ free kick looked to make the final few minutes interesting, but it flashed wde of the post.

 

FT 2-0

 

The Blues return home to host Brightlingsea Regent on Saturday 15 January, and East Thurrock United are the visitors to the R & D Advisors UK Stadium on Saturday 22 January.

 

TEAMS

Hornchurch XI

1 Joe Wright

2 Mickey Parcell

3 Remi Sutton

4 Jordan Clark (Yellow card 39′)

5 Rickie Hayles

6 Tom Wraight

7 Joe Christou (Sub Brown 90’)

8 Ola Ogunwamide (Goal 30′) (Sub Muldoon 66’)

9 Tobi Joseph

16 Charlie Ruff (Sub Nash 66’)

18 Lewwis Spence © (Goal 63’)

Subs

12 Ollie Muldoon

10 Liam Nash

14 Chidubem Onokwai

15 Charlie Stimson

19 Ellis Brown

 

Blues XI

1 Jack Giddens

5 Sam Robbins

6 Ryan Henshaw (c)

7 Jonny Giles

8 Ben Marlow (Yellow card 62’)

9 Chris Harris

10 Frankie Merrifield

11 Johnville Renee (Sub Cracknell 78’)

14 Darren Foxley (Sub Church 64’)

15 Ryan Charles

17 Mark Haines (Yellow card 86’)

Subs

2 Jimmy Wallace

4 Anthony Church (Yellow card 67’)

12 Jack Thomas

16 Archie Jones

19 Billy Cracknell

 

Attendance 432