Tough day at the seaside

We’ve had a good run of success in matches where we have travelled down to the seaside in the last season and a half and when Chaps put us 1 up after 20 minutes yesterday at Hastings I couldn’t see any other result than another three points and that run continuing.

Instead James Gray hit one flush past Sean at the worst possible moment, in first half injury time and then having conceded again we failed to equalise, despite Marvin hitting the bar and Monty firing a foot wide with almost the last kick of the match.

No disrespect to Hastings but for me that was three points dropped, we played some lovely football but without a cutting edge.  And with a run of games coming up against Tonbridge, Ashford and Sutton before we play Harrow the coming weeks will be tough.

I ended up taking James Gray back from the game as he needed to get to hospital where he found he has badly bruised his ribs.  James is the original hard man, who comes back from every knock he gets in next to no time – probably too quickly and the enforced rest over the next few weeks means he will hopefully come back much fresher.  He has had a tough week, with the red card and giving away the deciding penalty last week against Dover, his own goal and then doing his ribs in a collision with Sean.  But if anyone can come back from it then James will.

We also lose Marvin Sordell who has done really well for us in the brief time he has been with us.  Remember he is only 17 but the new manager at Watford has called all his players back so there is nothing we can do there.

So with a cup game against the Met Police on Tuesday you should expect a few changes, and a chance to see how some of the squad players perform.  Darren Locke has already proved that making the step up can be done so let’s hope some of those who get their chance on Tuesday night do the same.

Big surprise or not unexpected?

I heard someone on the radio saying Histon beating Leeds was as big a shock as Hereford famously beating Newcastle in 1972 (Ronnie Radford’s goal is always worth another look).

I guess there are two ways of looking at it, Leeds, a fallen ‘big club’ recently Premier League champions and Champions League semi finalists losing to Histon, a club not that many years ago in the Eastern Counties League.

Or you could say it was Histon, a club second in the Blue Square Premier beating Leeds, a club currently outside the play-off places in League One – not such a shock perhaps.

But with the evocative name of Leeds United this will of course be a big story, and you would think whatever success Histon go on to have for most of their players it will never get better than today.  Good luck to them.  We can all dream about it.

It is a day all non league clubs should take pride from.  No doubt there has been substantial investment in Histon FC, to rise up the leagues, to compete against the big boys in the Blue Square Prem, and to enjoy their run of success.  Remember though that investment is nothing without hard work, commitment and a clear plan.

It is not that many years since we at Wealdstone should have knocked Histon out of the FA Cup but an inspired Lance Key in goal, and a profligate Marvin Morgan meant we didn’t progress (the same Lance Key who was in goal for AFC Hornchurch against us earlier in the season – and kept another clean sheet – and the same Marvin Morgan now starring in League Two for Aldershot).

The Wealdstone connections don’t end there of course, though a hamstring injury meant no Jermaine for Leeds today.

Today’s result only shows us what is possible, and what we should be striving for.  If we believe that nothing is impossible, keep working hard and maybe get a little bit of luck along the way then perhaps we can aspire to this sort of pinnacle in the future.  Well done Histon from all in non league football.