ON THE WHISTLE MATCH REPORT | Hemel Hempstead Town 3-1 Eastbourne Borough

Goals from Remaye Campbell, Kyle Ajayi and Isiah Noel-Williams saw the Tudors secure a vital three points to cement their place in the playoffs with a 3-1 victory at home to Eastbourne Borough.

With both Hemel goals coming from set-pieces, the hosts were able to create many chances as Ajayi’s header was able to quickly cancel out Quevin Castro before Isiah Noel-Williams used his composure in injury time to secure the victory.

The opening stages of the same saw some promising moments from the Tudors as the threat of George Williams looked to be utilised with some dangerous balls into the area. However, the first big chance of the game came after Isiah Noel-Williams was played over the top of the defence before squaring his pass into the path of Campbell. The striker could only guide his effort over the bar after his off-balanced effort.

Chances continued to follow for the hosts as Mauro Vilhete received a switched pass before playing through Jack Lorentzen-Jones. The Luton loanee drove his effort towards the back post but failed to find the final touch to poke the ball home. In the 34th minute, the midfielder was at the heart of the action once again as he reacted quickly to find Williams for a short corner. Williams then delivered a fantastic cross which found the head of Campbell, who guided his header into the bottom left hand corner.

This opener looked to have sparked a reaction from Eastbourne as Charlie Rowan was forced into two blocks in quick succession to divert the ball away from goal before Michael Johnson was able to parry the ball away from Adam May’s curled effort just before the break. However, it was the Tudors who led with a one goal advantage heading into the second half.

Half-Time Score: 1-0

Similar to the first half, Hemel started the second half brightly as a fantastic combination between Vilhete and Campbell saw Lorentzen-Jones have a great opportunity. Unfortunately, his effort was dragged wide before Noel-Williams had his shot go off-target, which looked to trouble Hobden in the Eastbourne goal.

The hosts were made to pay for their missed opportunities in the 55th minute as Harvey Lintott was able to table on Darion Dowrich before crossing into the box. Lee Angol was found in the area, flicking the ball to Quevin Castro, who tapped into an empty net to level the scoring.

Despite the setback, Hemel immediately responded with another chance as Vilhete received the ball inside the area before shooting on the turn. However, Eastbourne continued to get bodies behind the ball to divert the goalbound effort away from danger. The pressure paid off in the 62nd minute as Lorentzen-Jones found Ajayi at the back post to head the Tudors back in the lead.

Momentum was completely in favour of the hosts as Hobden was forced into a double-save, palming Dowrich and Vilhete’s close-range shots away from extending the lead further. In the 76th minute, Michael Johnson was able to find Vilhete with a fantastic ball as the winger had his effort go narrowly past the post.

With a single goal separating the two teams, Eastbourne looked to use the right-hand side as Lintott sent a threatening ball into the box, with no one latching onto the cross. However, their big chance came when Zack Tarrant fired his one-on-one onto the crossbar before Dowrich poked the rebound over the crossbar to clear the danger.

The home side were able to control the closing stages following that scare as Eastbourne attempted to throw bodies in hope of a late draw. Despite this, Lee Allinson’s men were able to muster an attack of their own, as Isiah Noel-Williams was able to finish his one-on-one to round off a well-deserved victory for the Tudors.