Hemel Hempstead Town 0 Dartford 2 Vanarama National League South
28th August 2022 Match report by Allan Mitchell Ex Tudor Samir Carruthers came back to haunt the Tudors as he scored a superb second-half brace against his former employers at Vauxhall Road. On an overcast and breezy afternoon, there was absolutely nothing to separate the two sides, as they cancelled each other out for the opening forty-five minutes. With both sides coming into the game on a poor run of form neither team looked like they wanted to push forward and there was little goalmouth action to report.
If anything Hemel just shaded the first period and had the best chance when Josh Castiglione set up Ogo Obi, but the forward blasted the ball over Joe Young’s crossbar (32), summing up the state of play for both teams throughout the first-half.
After such a tight forty-five minutes, the game exploded into life just two minutes after the restart. Hemel fans are getting used to their side conceding goals straight after the restart and it happened again when Carruthers, who had barely been in the game put the Darts in front. Dartford drove the left and there looked little danger but a couple of poor clearances saw the ball end up at the feet of Carruthers. He drove into the box before firing it past Craig King, and into the top corner.
The Tudors tried to respond via the lively Obi, but his first effort flew across the face of Joe Young’s goal (49), before he forced a routine save out of the Dartford goalkeeper a minute later. Hemel pressed forward in an effort to get back into the game but barely troubled the Dartford goal and were punished again when the Darts were awarded a free-kick for a foul on Adam Lovatt on the edge of the box. It was a poor challenge and most Tudor’s fans could have predicted what was going to happen next and sure enough up stepped Carruthers to send the ball straight over the defensive wall and into the back of the net (64).
The Tudors brought on Craig Fasanmade for Alfie Williams (60), Charlee Hughes for Bayley Brown (68), and Jordan Greenidge for Ogo Obi (73) in an attempt to get something out of the game but it was to no avail as Hemel huffed and puffed, creating little and they could have gone further behind when Luke Coulson almost added a third for the Darts, just missing the far post from a tight angle.
Another frustrating afternoon for the Hemel faithful and manager Mark Jones suggested after the game that changes in personnel were needed before the game down at struggling Weymouth on Saturday.
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD: Craig King, Josh Castiglione, Bradley Webb, Godfrey Poku (c), Jack Westbrook, Kory Roberts, Dara Dada, Ryan Hope, Ogo Obi, Alfie Williams, Bayley Brown. SUBSTITUTES: Cole Dasilva, Craig Fasanmade, Jordan Greenidge, Charlee Hughes, David Saunders.
The Score really didn't reflect how hard our boys worked, The first Half was outstanding.
Come on ya Tudors!!!
Photography by Stephen Fletcher.
