MATCH REPORT & GALLERY | Hemel Town 3 - 0 Weston-Super-Mare

Photos by Jemma Sear & Nicola C Creative ☝️

Words by Will Beesley ⬇️

Going into this game it was a difficult one to call, as both sides had only conceded nine goals all season in their respective league campaigns. Weston-Super-Mare were second in the table heading into this fixture, with the Tudors being perched in fifth place. Hemel are still thinking about their FA Cup heartbreak in Wigan on Saturday, and they were hoping to put that behind them and get back to winning ways. Weston-Super-Mare were victorious in FA Cup action against Aldershot, so they were hoping to follow it up with a priceless three points against a formidable opponent.

Hemel came out of the traps with a couple of headed chances from Millar Matthews-Lewis and George Williams respectively, whose shots were both caught comfortably by Harris in goal. Weston-Super-Mare’s Louis Britton had the biggest chance of the half thus far for either side, as his effort was superbly saved by Micheal Johnson in goal, deflecting the ball onto the upright. 

Right on the stroke of half-time the deadlock was broken, as a loose ball bounces inside the Seagulls penalty area all the way through to Samuel Adenola, who lashes the Tudors into a 1-0 lead from a simple set-piece.

In the 55th minute the Tudors had extended their lead from a well worked corner routine, as Darion Dowrich delivered an inch-perfect ball onto the head of captain Kyle Ajayi, whose header looped over Harris and into the far corner.

Hemel thought that they were in again straight after through Ade Azeez, but an excellent piece of defending by Callum Wood for the visitors kept the scoreline at two goals to nil for the time being. In the 65th minute tempers had begun to flare, as Ade Azeez was shown a red card for an off the ball incident. Shortly after, Weston-Super-Mare’s Jason Pope also saw red, making the remaining stages of the game ten men against ten. 

A chance brewed for the visitors to try and find a route back into the game, as a ball from Luke Coulson was whipped towards the back post to Louis Britton, who nodded it back across goal into the path of Will Dawes, whose goal bound effort was brilliantly blocked by Kyle Ajayi. In the 83rd minute a bit of gloss was added to the score line for the Tudors, as a free-kick was delivered into the visitors penalty area, which found the feet of Isiah Noel-Williams, who proceeded to calmly slot the ball past Harris into the back of the net.

All was said and done in a wet and windy Focus, as Hemel ran out convincing victors. Based on the balance of play, Hemel were much more in control of the game especially in the second half, with Weston-Super-Mare struggling to cope with the high intensity that the Tudors brought into the game. The Tudors move up to 3rd in the National League South, as Weston-Super-Mare stay 2nd place despite defeat, six points behind the current league leaders Hornchurch. Both Hemel and Weston-Super-Mare have a game in hand on the leaders, so all is still very much to play for in the race for promotion.