Reserve Team Match Reports by Paul Murphy

Hamworthy Recreation Reserves book their place in the Dorset County FA Senior Trophy Semi Final at the BJM Stadium in what can only be described as a game of 2 halves.

The first half started slowly with both sides seemingly waiting for the other to move first, there was very little for either GK to do in the first 15 mins with most of the game being played in the midfield. On 31 min Ham Rec started to press and commit players forward, BEN MOSS picked up a through pass on the left-hand side of Holts penalty area, he picked out the run of ARCHIE WHITFIELD who took a touch and shot, only for his shot to go just wide of the far post. This pressure continued in the 34th minute when again BEN MOSS received a forward pass from SIAM ALDRIDGE, he crossed the ball first time only for the header from BRYCE BANFIELD to go over the bar. 2 minutes later it was the turn of Holt to apply some pressure but this time it resulted in a goal, Holt pushed numbers forward, they played quick short passes in the box until BEN LEBOW spotted his opportunity, opened his body and drilled a cross goal shot high into the far corner narrowly beating HENRY BIRTWISLTE, 0 -1 HT 0-1 Ham Rec started the second half more aggressively, on the front foot taking the game to Holt Utd from the whistle to get themselves back into the game and on 57 mins it paid off, ARCHIE WHITFIELD, making his Ham Rec Res debut, played on the shoulder of the Holt left back, NOAH BURGESS spotted his run, clipped the ball in behind the defender, the GK came out but Archie knocked the ball past him, grounded a defender before slotting home to draw the scores level 1-1. This spurred Rec on, and they maintained the tempo, in the 60th min Rec were awarded a penalty for handball, Holt then saw their captain (DANNY MAY) red carded for the handball, up stepped BRYCE BANFIELD to make it 2-1 from the spot. Ham Rec continued to push for a 3rd, Holt maintained their fighting spirit trying to draw a leveller but in the 90th min, NOAH BURGESS added to his assist count, spotting CURTIS LANE making a run on the right wing, he played a great ball into Curtis’s path, Curtis had time to take a touch, compose himself then unleash a rocket into the far corner giving the GK no chance and sealing the win for HAM REC 3-1. FT 3-1

Wednesday 20th November 2024 - Hamworthy Recreation Reserves v Holt FC

Hamworthy Recreation Reserves made our way into the Dorset Premier League Cup Semi Final with a win over Holt Utd FC under the floodlights at the BJM Stadium. The game started with both sides working each other out, both probing but not really putting either goalkeeper under much pressure, Ham Rec started to turn the screw on 20 mins and started to ask some questions of the Holt back line. on 23 mins the game opened with the first real chance, Ham Rec had the ball in the middle of the pitch, played it out to Brad Hill on the left wing who went 1v1 with the full back, unleashed a low shot but was well saved by REECE MITCHELL in the Holt goal. This spurred Rec on, and their efforts paid off on 33 mins, again the ball down the left-hand side, played out to the edge of the 18-yard box where ELLIOT BIRTWISTLE was waiting to calmly place the ball home into the far bottom corner, 1-0. The game opened up now with Holt on the looking for the equaliser, but Ham Rec held on to maintain the lead at half time. HT 1-0

The second half started with a forced substation, BRAD HILL who had been brilliant on the left wing suffered an injury and couldn't start the 2nd half, he was replaced by MATT KERSE. Rec started the half on the front foot, maintaining possession and looking to exploit any space we could find, this paid off on 56 mins when Rec scored their 2nd goal with a fantastic team goal, HENRY BIRTWISTLE throw the ball out to GAVIN HAYNES on the edge of the Rec penalty area, Gavin drove into the space in front of him and saw the run of WILL LIPPIATT into space behind the Holt back line, a splitting ground pass had Will running at the Holt penalty area, Will picked out he run of HENRY BARHAM on the right wing, another drilled pass along the ground into Henrys path where he took a touch, passed it into DAN REEKS who calmly laid it back into Henrys path who had continued his run, with the ball just in front of him, Henry slid, clipped the ball over the out rushing REECE MITCHELL to double Rec's lead, 2-0.

Holt were no means done, they continued to push and were rewarded with a goal on 70 mins, Holt were awarded a free kick on the edge of the Rec penalty area, the ball was floated in and dropped in between a crowd of players, it was eventually bundled home by a Holt player to make the score 2-1. The next 20 mins saw both side pushing for another goal until Holt were reduced to 10 men in the closing minutes, from them Rec controlled procession and tempo and saw the game out to a 2-1 win and move into the Semi Final!!

FT 2-1

Hamworthy Recreation Reserves welcomed Cobham Sports, not much between the 2 sides, separated by 2 first half set pieces.

Rec started off brightly, plenty of possession but no clear chances on goal, both sides were probing but without much action in front of goal. The first real action came in the 25th minute, the visitors won a free kick out wide on our left-hand side, they set themselves up to crowd our penalty box and it worked, the kick was delivered towards the far post, Callum was unable to get out to clear it and the ball sailed into the goal at the far post, 0-1. Rec then started to try and impose themselves on the visitors, but unforced errors caused the ball to keep coming straight back. On 39 mins Cobham won a corner on their left-hand side, the ball was floated into the near post, the defender was court in 2 minds, stay on the post or track the runner, he was court in-between leaving the attacker a free header at the front post, 0-2. HT 0-2

The second half started with Rec pushing to get back into the game, the half time team talk must have worked as they started to ask questions of the Cobham defenders and even had some shots on target but nothing to worry their goalkeeper. The introduction of BRYCE BANFIELD in the 53rd minute gave Rec a different dimension, with CHARLIE HARRIES going out into the wide area the pair linked up well to start getting in behind Cobham, but again causing very little danger to the Cobham GK. The 2nd half fizzled out with both sides huffing and puffing but with very little end product, both benches utilised their subs to inject some energy, but the game drifted to a close with very little to report in the 2nd half, a game won by 2 well worked set-pieces and very little goal mouth action. FT 0-2

Hamworthy Recreation Reserves 4 - Poole Borough 3 - 26th October 2024

Hamworthy Recreation Reserves started brightly holding the ball but with no chances towards goal. Poole Borough then came into the game more and their efforts paid off on 20 minutes with a goal from Shane Barney who shot low into the corner of our goal. Borough’s second goal came soon after when they were given a free kick 20 yards out for Zac Seal to find the top corner. 2-0 to Poole Borough. Hamworthy Recreation responded just before half time when a pass from Bryce Banfield found Curts Lane who put the ball into Poole Borough’s net over the top of their keeper. 2-1 to Poole Borough at the half time break.

On sixty minutes Hamworthy Recreation found themselves 3-1 down when Christian Bond got Poole Borough’s third. Now facing a difficult task Hamworthy Recreation found extra strength with Bryce Banfield getting the Rec’s second goal on 70 minutes with a scrappy goal in the box. The equaliser came on 83 minutes with a second goal from Curtis Lane to make the score even. Poole Borough tried to slow the game down but Hamworthy Recreation’s winner came in the 94th minute with Ash Boyt firing a distance shot to beat Poole Borough’s keeper.

Final score 4-3 to Hamworthy Recreation Reserves from the fightback of the season.

Hamworth Recreation Reserves v Bridport Reserves - 19 October 2024

A brace from the captain Bryce Banfield against Bridport gave the home side a 2-0 win they need after their previous outing.

The home side started brightly retaining possession well and looking to play their way into the game, in the 4th minute they got their chance, Ham Rec right back Henry Barham picked the ball up on the wing, played a well weighted pass in to Curtis Lane who beat the defensive line to go 1v1 with the Bridport GK, Curtis attempted to place his shot around the GK but he spread himself well to block the shot and deny Rec an early opener. Rec continued to probe down both flanks, looking for an opening and it came in the 13th minute, this time Rec left back Liam Crutchley drove forward, spotted the run of Curtis Lane who cut into the Bridport box at an angle and unleashed his shot, the again out rushing GK denied Curtis but this time the ball fell to Bryce Banfield who was waiting on the edge of the box, the ball dropped to Bryce who took a touch and placed the ball from the edge of the box into an unguarded net, 1-0. This now opened the game up, Rec looked to attack at every opportunity and Bridport did the same, on 33 mins Bridport pressure forced the home side to concede a corner, the home side defended the set piece and went straight into counter attack, flooding players forward to catch Bridport out, Lawrie Hogan retained the ball on the edge of the Ham Rec penalty area, looked forward and played the ball straight into Bryce Banfield to hold up, he saw the run of Curtis Lane and slipped him in for Curtis to again go 1v1 with the Bridport GK, who again made a great save to concede a corner but nothing came of the corner.

HT 1-0

The second half started off brightly, both sides wanting to dominate possession but for different reasons, Bridport wanting an early goal and Ham Rec happy to maintain possession and build up their attacks, this paid off in the 54th minute, Bridport conceded a free kick half way into their half on their right hand side, Henry Barham delivered the free kick into the penalty area where it was flicked up by Lawrie Hogan to the front post, this fell into Bryce Banfield’s path who with his back to goal had spotted the Bridport GK coming off his line, redirected the ball with a faint header over the GK and into the net, Rec 2nd of the day and the brace for Bryce. The game now started to fizzle out so both benches started to introduce new players to liven the game up, on 73 minutes after numerous chances with the GK Ham Rec switched Curtis Lane for Recs leading goal scorer Charlie Harries, and it didn’t take long for him to impose himself on the Bridport GK, well just 3 mins, 76 min Bryce held the ball up and timed his pass perfectly for the on rushing Charlie, he ghosted his way into the box and unleashed his shot, this time Charlie was denied by the GK, the deflected shot fell into the path of another Ham Rec sub, Igor Da Costa who couldn’t keep his shot down and put it over the cross bar. With the game now at 2-0 and 80 mins passed Ham Rec rested young CB Noah Burgess and gave Miguel Soares his league debut, looking to see the game out and prepare for our next midweek game, however the Ham Rec fresh legs had other ideas, the subs all linked up well to give Rec a last counter attack on 88th minute, Ivaylo Dinev ran from deep to beat the Bridport offside trap, he squared the ball to Bryce on the edge of the 18 yard box who’s shot was saved by the GK, the ball dropped to Igor Da Costa who’s shot was blocked by a number of defenders throwing himself in front of the shot, Bridport were putting bodies on the line to keep the score down to 2-0.

FT 2-0

Rec Reserves v Wimborne Town Reserves - 5 October 2024

The game started with both sides trying to pick each other apart with intricate passing and patterns of play before on 24 mins the visitors capitalised on the home side switching off, the ball played from a central player out to their left winger who tapped the ball out of his feet and curled a delightful shot into the far top corner 0-1. This then spurred the home side on who started to dominate the ball and in the 35th minute utilised the ball in the wide area, Harvey Laidlaw got forward from the right back position, 1v1 with Wimborne’s left back, got to the goal line and delivered a cross come shot the GK could only tap onto the bar, using his experience Bryce Banfield was following up and tapped home the rebound to draw the sides level, 1-1. As is custom recently this spurred Ham Rec on and within 2 mins it was 2-1, Rec pressed the visitors from the restart and won the ball back, Charlie Harries broke into the Wimborne penalty area, shot driven at the GK who made a great save only for the ball to drop to Dan Reeks who tucked the ball away and give the home side the lead.

HT 2-1

Ham Rec started the 2nd half brighter and within 2 mins HT sub Henry Barham broke down the right hand side, delivered a cross into the visitors penalty area, the ball was knocked down by Bryce Banfield into Charlie Harries path who slotted the ball home to increase the lead 3-1. Rec maintained the pressure and on 50 mins the ball was played forward into Elliot Birtwistle’s path who calmly took the ball into the penalty area and placed the ball into the bottom corner to increase the home side lead 4-1. The away side never gave up, both sides started to make chances and this worked in Wimborne’s favour, a miscommunication between the Ham Rec defence and the GK allowed a shot back pace to be picked up by the energetic on rushing Wimborne player to pick the ball up and finish to get one back for the away side 4-2.

FT 4-2

Hamworthy Recreation FC Reserves took an early lead only to get pegged back by 9 men Dorchester Sports FC to clinch a very impressive tactical away win in the Dorset Premier League.

The home started the brighter, on the front foot from the start, forcing the first corner within the first 2 mins, they continued to probe and this paid off in the 7th minute, Henry Barham played a defence splitting pass to Charlie Harries who ran between the full back and centre back to pick the ball up in the box, sit the goalkeeper down before rifling the ball home from 6 yards. This spurred Sports into life and the game become very end to end with both midfields seeing a lot of the ball. On 18 mins a ball was played forward to Charlie Harries who ran at the Sports back line, the centre back (No.18) was deemed to have elbowed the Ham Rec player in the face and was shown a straight Red Card. This seemed to spur the Sports players on and on 27th min Alex Godfrey beat the offside trap, 1v1 with the Ham Rec GK but narrowly placed his shot wide, he did however get his goal on 35 mins, a shot was hit from the edge of the Ham Rec box, came off the crossbar for Godfrey to pick up and slot home for the equaliser. On 38 mins the home side worked the ball down the left-hand side, lifted the ball into the penalty area only for Ollie Wilson to miss a free header to put the home side ahead at the break. Sports then mounted a counterattack, went up the other end, Godfrey ran across the penalty area and shot to the opposite side of the goal to score his and Sports 2nd. Then came a moment of madness, Matt Kerse was played through, and the Sports GK came rushing out to block him, miss timed his challenge and fouled Kerse on the edge of the penalty area, referee showed Nick Hutchings a straight Red Card. In the commotion that followed Ollie Wilson was also shown a Red Card for “telling the GK what he thought of him”, Ham Rec down to 10, Sports down to 9. HT 1-2

The second half started with Ham Rec Res trying to get back on the front foot and take the game to 9 men Sports, however Sports had other ideas and broke up play and stifled Rec at every opportunity to control the tempo and frustrate the Ham Rec players. This worked in Sports favour who on 65 mins managed a good counterattack, catching Ham Rec players out of position, they countered down their left, fired a low cross into the Ham Rec penalty area for it to collide with Gavin Haynes and ricochet into the goal, 1-3. Ham Rec again tried to get back into the game throwing everything at Sports but the dug in, frustrated Rec and were happy to sit the game out and play at their tempo, however in 84th min they found themselves again on a counter attack down their right, the ball was clipped in from the right wing, picked up by Josh Leake who pinned his defender, pivoted and rifled his shot into the far top corner to seal the victory for the visitors showing their experience and game management in the DPL. FT 1-4

Holt Utd 0 Hamworthy Recreation Res 1 - 20 August 2024

Photo courtesy of Matt & Cameron Gale – [Behind The Fence Photography]

Holt United hosted this match at Gaunts Common, playing against Hamworthy Recreation Reserves in the Dorset Premier Football League looking to continue their fine start to the season with Rec fresh from their 1st win at the weekend looking to cause an upset

The game started well with both teams passing the ball well and communicating with each other on both sides. Possession throughout this half remained fairly consistent from both sides. Both teams had a few chances to score a goal. A mistake from Holt United’s defence and a speculative cross not being dealt with, led to a goal headed in from Hamworthy Recreation’s OLLIE WOOLIE in the 40th minute.

HT 0-1.

Going into the second half, Holt United seemed to be struggling to keep possession and find openings. The game became seemingly lethargic and needing more tempo from the Holt side. At around the 65 minute mark, Holt began to pick up the pace and get back into the game, allowing Ali Garard a shot on target. Another shot on target from Holt United’s Jamie Power results in a save from the Hamworthy Recreation goalkeeper. Possession continued to be fairly even for both teams throughout the second half. Unfortunately, Holt United couldn’t find the back of the net in the game and the score ended 0-1 to Hamworthy Recreation Reserves