Wealdstone 1 – 0 Hitchin Town
Wealdstone
2R1 - 0
Hitchin TownUnchanged Wealdstone took to the field against their Premier Division opponents this afternoon, but in the early exchanges there was little to chose between the sides, Hitchin slightly the stronger pressuring the Stones back-line, but the home defence held them at bay with Andy Carter untroubled in goal.
As the half wore on Stones took command of the game and forced the visitors back, but again the defence held strong, Wilmot seeing shots from Morgan, Ryan and Williams go wide before Stones took the lead on 29 minutes.
A corner was cleared to Martin Carter and his interplay with Ryan created space for a cross met superbly by Jolly who outjumped his 6’3″ opponent to head home from the edge of the six yard box.
Stones continued to press and could have extended their lead on 38 minutes when Ryan’s header was just wide and Williams again saw a shot blocked.
The second half saw Stones defend a little deeper than many would have liked, no doubt protecting the injured Andy Carter who had pulled a quad in the first period, which gave Hitchin more of the ball, but again they failed to create any more than a half chance as Stones defence battled well to defend their slender lead.
At the other end, Wilmot kept the tie alive as both Jolly and Morgan, and then later Alexander saw 1 on 1 chances saved, Stones running out deserved 1 – 0 winners.
Harrow Times
Wealdstone 1 – 0 Hitchin Town
Stones make progress in the Trophy…..
WEALDSTONE advanced in the FA Trophy with this tense but largely uneventful win at the White Lion Ground on Saturday.
The opening 25 minutes was particularly tame with nothing of any note happening until James Duncan’s pass put Marvin Morgan in with a sight of goal.
A superb piece of skill saw Marvin escape his immediate captors but a last-ditch tackle from Ayres halted the opportunity at the expense of a corner.
Only moments after the corner, a cross came in from the left and Richard Jolly, straining his neck muscles to the ultimate to get sufficient height, nodded the ball in at the far post.
The fractional superiority of the visitors in class meant that Wealdstone could not get their attacking game working, although the defence was as sound as it has been all season.
The visitors were limited to long range efforts from Frater and Childs which were only inches wide and Dillon hooked another chance past the post.
Wealdstone comfortably soaked up the pressure for most of a tense second half but in the final stages should have made the game safe when three superb chances went astray, Jolly fired over when well placed and both Morgan and Ben Alexander failed to score when faced with one-on-ones with Hitchin keeper Wilmot.
On both occasions the keeper got enough of his frame on the ball to keep it out.
In another incident, Jolly had a shot deflected wide after Wilmot came out of his box but made a hash of the clearance, leading to a frantic scramble on the edge of the area.
Stones now hope for one of non-league’s “conference big boys” in Monday’s third round draw.
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