Howden AFC v Hessle Sporting Club

Humbled in Hessle
Hessle SC 3 - 1 Howden AFC
 

The undefeated MinsterMen suffered their first loss of the season away in Hessle on Saturday. A day to forget for Howden AFC, Holt's men have work to do following a poor display to the bottom of the league. Lowly placed Hessle deserved their victory, showing no game in the league is a given. Howden brought in Josh Oldridge, to add height to the back line, allowing Hutchinson to press onto wing back. Schofield made his first start alongside the leagues top marksman Craig Gorman. Hessle immediately showed they were no pushovers and started fast. Overlapping full back drew a free kick as Douthwaite lunged in. From the resulting free kick Hessle nodded home, unopposed, asking serious questions of the MinsterMen's inability to dominate aerially. The second soon flew in on 8 minutes, condemning a disastrous start, again Hessle attacked down Howden's left side. A pass across the box was approached by an attacker in an offside position, however he dummied the ball. Munday made a hash of his clearance, firing the ball into his own goal. Howden appealed, but the decision stood. 2-0 down, with it all to do. Howden's midfield three couldn't grasp the play and looked lost. Second to most things, Howden's day got worse. Tom Douthwaite limped off injured after 20 minutes to be replaced by a lively Peterson. It was the substitute who began to lift the MinsterMen as he provided an outlet for the visitors. With Munday switching to wing back, Howden inched into the game. The lack of quality showed though, in total Howden swung in 9 corners towards the end of the half, but couldn't conjure up even half a chance. Poor deliveries and poor movement frustrated Holt on the sidelines. Gorman should have grabbed a goal, as the striker rounded the keeper, staying on his feet, only to hit the bottom of the post. But the talismanic striker showed his instinct as he poached home from a Rob Peterson rebound. The striker fired under the keeper to bring life into the MinsterMen. With the score at 2-1 at half-time, it was up for grabs and Howden had been shown a passage back into the game. But again poor quality on the ball and in the final third was the downfall. Wagstaff should have levelled the game as he broke through, but could only fire over. The midfielder was then the victim of a nasty lunge, leaving the field injured. A Hairline fracture and ligament damage has put Wagstaff on the injury table for 6 weeks. Into the action came Liam Bell who looked lively and itching to make something happen. But Hessle defended well. They hustled Schofield, giving him no time on the ball. One last throw of the dice, Holt threw Luke Oldridge on up front. Good hold up play still couldn't help Howden. Poor creativity and a lack of ideas, Howden resorted to long ball, which infuriated Holt. Hessle had dominated the first and second ball in the air, carrying on doing so. Howden managed to kill off the game by themselves as Jackson was caught out on a goal kick, freeing up the striker to tap home in an empty net. Reality kicked in, a poor display by the standards previously set. "We had the opportunity to create something, but we failed to do so". said Holt. "Nothing seemed to work for us going forward and at the back we go 2-0 down in 8 minutes. It's never going to be easy from there and we are disappointed. The result was the right one though". Howden tackle Beverley town reserves on Saturday in the East Riding Senior Cup before they head to table toppers Driffield E.I. on 8th.