BUCKHURST HILL PROGRESS TO THE NEXT ROUND OF THE CUP
BUCKHURST HILL WIN ON PENALTIES VS WADHAM LODGE
Buckhurst Hill were the better side in the first half and it was a matter of time before they took the lead, within 5 minutes of the second half Jack Hare was pulled down after turning the defender inside out , Sam Cooper converted the penalty kick. Wadham Lodge then had a good ten minutes and found themselves 2-1 up with 20 minutes left on the clock, the home side were forced into two substitutions and player manager Ben Cooper came on with 15 minutes to go and was instrumental in winning the ball in the area and playing it in the path of the on-rushing Brown who levelled with two minutes to go. The game then went to extra time and the visitors were happy with the draw , the goalkeeper continued to waste time even though bhfc were playing with 10 men, its something I have never seen in all the years I have watched the game. Justice was done when BHFC converted 4 penalties to Wadham Lodge 3 leaving the away goalkeeper having to explain his actions. BHFC fully deserved the result and in the end were to much for the division 1 outfit. Back four of Richbell, Dennis, Tarbard and Carter all had good games followed by strong performances from Pope and Hines in midfield, Hare frustrated them all game and Richards and Cooper strength was not something the opposition could deal with.
BUCKHURST HILL FC 1 – 2 FRENFORD
BUCKHURST HILL GO TOP OF THE LEAGUE
BUCKHURST HILL 5- 1 GALLEYWOOD
Buckhurst Hill had a slow start but controlled the game from the early stages, after soaking up the early pressure the visitors earned themselves a corner in which they took quickly and the resulting cross was met with a powerful header to make it 1-0 to Galleywood. Within five minutes the home side were level when a fierce drive from CARTER was pushed out by the goalkeeper to the on rushing RICHARDS who headed home to make it 1-1. Minutes later BHFC made it 2-1 when COOPER’s corner was met by DENNIS who headed from a few yards out. The home side really got into their stride and some of the football at times was great to watch, it was a fantastic display and soon the goals followed, RICHARDS grabbed his second when he lobbed the visitors goalkeeper from the edge of the box and then he completed his hat-rick just before the break with a finish into the bottom right hand corner. The visitors came out the second half a different side, they were well organised and made it a lot difficult for BHFC to play with the freedom they had in the 1st half. The final blow came in the 60th minute when a wonder strike from RICHBELL wrapped up the points, the ball coming from some height was met by RICHBELL who volleyed home into the top corner. The home side controlled the latter stages of the game and the win was well deserved when the final whistle went. Cooper’s new look side has gone to the top of the league but the manager is not getting carried away just yet, Cooper said ” we had a good win today at we needed that going into next weeks game against Frenford. We are certainly not getting carried away as we are only 3 games in but nevertheless we have had a good start, next week will be a tough game and that will be a true test for us as we got beat twice last year by Frenford and I think they will be the team to beat. The effort and the attitude from the players has been great, we have a good atmosphere in the changing room and its reflecting with good performances on the pitch.
TEAM : LEALAND,RICHBELL,HONEYBALL,DENNIS,CARTER,HARE,PACE,HINES,COOPER, WOODWARD,RICHARDS . SUBS : TARBARD,FIFIELD,OLAITAN,POPE,SLATER
HAROLD WOOD ATHLETIC 0-2 BUCKHURST HILL
Buckhurst Hill travelled to the league champions and came away with a well deserved 3 points. BHFC were quick out of the blocks and caused the home side problems from the opening whistle, HARE and BROWN frustrated the full backs all game whilst RICHARDS was key in holding the ball upfront and bringing in the impressive midfield of COOPER, HINES and WOODWARD. After controlling much of the 1st half , BHFC took the lead in the 20th minute when COOPER played a defence splitting past to RICHARDS who had his first effort well saved but then followed up with a great lob over the keeper. Harold Wood then had a good ten minutes and were unlucky not to score when the on rushing midfielder failed to convert from 5 yards out. The back four of BHFC were superb, DENNIS,RICHBELL,HONEYBALL and CARTER kept the home side quiet and their distribution into the midfield and forwards was very impressive. The second half began with the home side applying the pressure but not much troubled the rock solid back four of BHFC, LEALAND was called upon in the second half and he saved well from a tight angle, the BHFC keeper dominated his area and distributed well when called upon. With 10 minutes to go BHFC finally got the goal they deserved after COOPER broke through the heart of the defence to square to RICHARDS who finished well to make it 2-0. It was well deserved as it felt as if BHFC were playing against 12 players most of the game as the referee failed to give the away team any decisions including a clear penalty kick. Manager Ben Cooper was delighted with the performance and said ” It was a great performance, all the team played extremely well, we matched them physically but we just had too much for them today across the park, our wide men caused them a lot of problems and I feel at the end we could have made it 3-0. Its a good win for us but we have only played 2 games and have a long way to go, Harold Wood will be up there at the end of the year but we need to make sure we are pushing them all the way.
TEAM : LEALAND,RICHBELL,DENNIS,HONEYBALL,CARTER,BROWN,HINES,COOPER,WOODWARD (PACE),HARE,RICHARDS. SUBS : POPE,PACE,OLETAIN.
BUCKHURST HILL GO TOP ON OPENING DAY.
BUCKHURST HILL 3 -1 CANNING TOWN
Team : LEALAND, HANCOCK,RICHBELL, HONEYBALL, JOHNSON,COOPER,HARE,DANIELS,CARTER,BROWN,BOLAJI ,CURTIS.
Buckhurst Hill 1 -4 Harringay and Waltham Fc
Buckhurst Hill had a wake up call for the first time in their pre-season, they lost to a very fit and organised outfit from the Essex Senior Division. Within 15 minutes the visitors took the lead after a defensive mix up leading to the ball dropping to the forward who finished well. The visitors controlled the game in the first period and their fitness paid dividends as they were first to every second ball. A few changes in the second half saw Buckhurst Hill come back into the game and they were very unlucky not to draw level firstly from a header that shaved the cross bar and then from a low drive that was saved well by the goalkeeper. The visitors managed to weather the storm and broke away only for David Richbell to foul the forward in the penalty area, the visitors converted from the spot and it was 2-0, a third quickly followed and it was 3-0 with 15 minutes to go when Ellis Slater pulled one back for the home side, he accelerated past the full back to unleash a fantastic strike from the corner of the box , Slater found the top corner as the goalkeeper admired the shot. Just before the end Harringay and Waltham Fc added another to make it 4-1. The game was a good test for BHFC who up until now had been un-beaten in there pre-season friendlies.
Team : LEALAND,TABBARD,RICHBELL,MCGIVEN,FYFIELD,BROWN,SLATER,POPE,S COOPER,B COOPER,BOLAJI,DANIELS,EINZ
Buckhurst Hill 2-1 Waltham Abbey U18′S
Buckhurst Hill played their second pre-season game last night against a very bright and exciting Waltham Abbey U18 side. Buckhurst Hill ran out winners with a 2-1 victory, the vistors were one down within 3 minutes when Luke Pope executed a superb free-kick from just outside the box, after the goal Waltham abbey controlled much of the first third and were growing in confidence up until the break. Changes included both Cooper brothers coming on to replace Pope and Bolaji, within 15 minutes of the second half Jack Hare got on the end of a pass from manager Ben Cooper only to be brought down by the on rushing defender, Ben Cooper dispatched the penalty with a low drive into the corner making it 2-0. BHFC were then in there stride and with Sammy Cooper setting many of the plays they looked a different side, they controlled the 2nd period and were unlucky not to make it 3-0 when Jamie Tabbard and Ellis Slater linked up well for Slater to deliver a pin-point cross for striker Bolaji who converted the chance but the goal was ruled out for offside. In the last third Waltham abbey grabbed a goal back as Gareth Lealand misjudged a cross which was finished by the Waltham Abbey striker. The visitors were unlucky not to equalise just before the final whistle as the midfielder cut in from the right only to have his low drive saved by Lealand. All in all a good result for Buckhurst but manager Ben Cooper was very impressesd with the Waltham Abbey U18 side and proved more than a test for his Essex Olympian Premier league side.
Team : Lealand , Tabbard, Mcgiven, Smith, Eyefield, Pope, Hare, Daniels, Slater, Brown, Bolaji, B Cooper, S Cooper,
BUCKHURST HILL get off to a winning start under Ben Cooper
Buckhurst Hill FC 4-0 Harlow XI (REPORT TO FOLLOW).
Buckhurst Hill got off to a good start in there first pre season game at home with a 4-0 win against HARLOW TOWN XI. The home side looked comfortable and controlled the game from start to finish, the only scare was fifteen minutes in Harlow hit the post with a low drive just outside the box. On 35 mins the home side finally broke the deadlock when the defender failed to deal with a cross from Luke Pope to be finished well by new signing Carl Brown. Their was a change of personnel in the second half and within minutes Sam Cooper split the defence with a great pass for new signing Chris Johnson to race past the full back and finish with a superb chip to make it 2-0. Buckhurst Hill young forward Belaji was a handful all night for the Harlow back four and after coming close on three occasions he finally got his reward after player/manager Ben Cooper weaved his way past two defenders to square to Belaji who finished well. Five minutes later Cooper and Belaji linked up well again when a searching ball from Reg Smith was controlled and passed all in one movement by Cooper to and on-rushing Belaji to score his second. The defence looked solid with new signings, Danny Honeyball, Gareth Lealand and Reg Smith all playing well along side David Richbell, Jamie Tabbard and Mark McGiven. The other new signing was Daniel Pace who linked up well with Slater, Cooper, Woodward and Pope.
19th July (h) vs HARLOW TOWN XI (kick off 6.45pm) WON 4-0
26th July (h) vs WALTHAM ABBEY XI (kick off 6.45pm) WON 2-1
30th July (h) vs HARRINGAY WALTHAM FC (Kick off 1.00pm) LOST 4-1
6th August (h) vs NEWBURY FOREST LOST 2-1
9th August (h) vs BARKINGSIDE X1 WON 3-0
13th Aug (h) vs LAKESIDE
MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED.
1st Team Manager – Ben Cooper
After spending two seasons at the football club as 1st team assistant, Ben Cooper has been named manager of the 1st team. He brings with him a coaching team with a wealth of experience in Danny Honeyball and Andy Tweed. We caught up with the new manager this week to see what he had to say, ” I’m really looking forward to the season ahead, we have a great bunch of boys here and i’m sure with the addition of a few more players we will have a successful season “. Cooper’s playing days include spells at Leyton Pennant (Waltham Forest), Enfield Town, Barking and Waltham Abbey, with his experience in non league football he aims to take Buckhurst Hill to the next level. This week the club announced the new reserve team manager in LEE BEETLES, he is well respected and has a great relationship with all the boys, Lee has spent 19 years at the BHFC.
Pre-Season training
We are starting pre-season training for the Senior teams. Anyone is welcome to come along, we will be meeting in the nursery next to the home ground at 10am sharp on 9th July.
Buckhurst Hill next Pre-season is Tuesday 26th July at home against Waltham Abbey XI
The home side got off to a good start and went 1-0 within 2 minutes when the visitors failed to deal with a run from Bolaji and the ball broke free to Steven Johnson who finished well. The home side welcomed back Danny Honeyball to the team and he added the strength and depth that has been missing the last few weeks,Lealand, Richbell Fyfield,Tarbard and Daniels made up the defence and were well worthy of their clean sheet. The midfield consisted of Pope, Cooper, Hines, Carter, Woodward,Brown ,Slater and Johnson, all had good games and their movement, passing and technical ability was to much for a young Barkingside team. In the second half BHFC made it 2-0 with Bolaji getting on the end of a cooper cross. With 10 minutes to go Cooper, Woodward and Hines all linked up superbly to find Carter in the penalty area who was brought down only for S Cooper to convert the penalty and make it 3-0. In the last five minutes Slater had a great chance that hit the bar and then a minute after Carl Brown also had a fantastic drive come back of the cross bar only for the on-rushing forward to be brought down for another penalty. Unfortunately S Cooper put the ball wide of the post. A good day at the office for manager Ben Cooper who was pleased with the teams performance.
