Some Hayes are Better than Others

Better start to the season

Another league game now, this time at home to Ebbsfleet. We wanted to keep momentum going with another win, forcing our way up the table.

The game started well, with striker Saul Williams bagging a goal after 12 minutes. The rest of the first half was pretty poor, but we were looking good for the win.

The second half started badly, conceding a soft goal at 51 minutes, bring both teams to a draw. A change of tactics and personnel, bringing on Nat Jarvis and playing a much more attacking game. The game kicked up a gear and soon, we were on the right end of a 3-1 scoreline. The final whistle came and we'd grabbed another convincing win. Easily a better season than last, even after just 6 games.

Nearing the top of the table, we traveled to Havant & Waterlooville to grab another 3 points.

The game started out very badly, with Havant seizing the lead after just 44 seconds, and scoring again on the stroke of half time. 2-0 down at the break, and we really needed to turn the game around in the next 45 minutes.

A new midfielder and striker at the break, and we took to the field, keen to see that we're no pushovers!! Turns out, we just weren't the better team on the day. A second half draw of 2-2 resulted in a full time loss of 4-2. The team is good, it just needs a little depth now.

Our next game was at home to Wealdstone. On the way to the stadium, we were heckled by none other than this guy!



After composing ourselves, we took to the field. Our 2 previous meetings with Wealdstone had resulted in draws, and we wanted to change that today.

After an intensive first half, we were 3-0 up. The game was looking good and we were outplaying our opponents in every aspect. We just needed to stayed composed and get the win. Throwing away this lead was out of the question.

The second half was a lot closer, and was made difficult when one of our lads was sent off. Still, we managed to hold on for a 3-1 victory. We were on a great patch of form this season and were looking like this could be our promotion season. However, only 8 games in so we mustn't get too excited.

The FA Cup Second Qualifying Round draw happened and pitted us against Horsham YMCA, a team quite far below us, giving us the opportunity to progress to the next round.

So, back to league action with an away game at Dorchester. After turning down their interview request during pre season, I felt I had something to prove, showing them that they would have won with me as manager.

After a slow and incident free first half, the score was 1-0 to Hayes and Yeading, grabbing a goal moments before the whistle went to end the half. An unconvincing performance to say the least and one that needed to be improved in the second half.

However, things were not to go that way. 3 goals conceded in just over 15 minutes put as on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline and in danger of being humiliated. We managed to claw a goal back, but it served only as a consolation as the final whistle went and we had suffered a 3-2 defeat.

Good to see you're starting to pick up wins

As Johno said, its good to see some wins coming in

After the narrow loss away to Dorchester, we played host to Maidenhead for our next league fixture. The team wanted to bounce back with a win to keep the good start to the season going strong.

After a relatively even first half stat wise, we seemed to find ourselves 3-1 down. This was not the way to continue demonstrating a strong presence towards the top of the table, and the team were asked to sort it out in the second 45 minutes.

Things seemed to just go from bad to worse though, as we found ourselves 4-1 down after 55 minutes. This game was out of reach now, and it was all about damage limitation. Losing by three goals would have been unacceptable, so I was happy when we managed to grab another, reducing the deficit to two. The game ended with the score at 4-2 to our opponents, who were just far more clinical on the day!

Apologies for the delay. An assignment due for work meant a brief break from the game. However, I'm back........

After two poor losses, we turned our attention to the FA Cup, with the 2nd Qualifying Round in full swing. We hosted Horsham YMCA and were looking forward to the 3rd Qualifying Round, with no legitimate reason as to why we wouldn't be able to make it.

After a great start, we took the lead. Just two minutes in and already looking good for the win. After 21 minutes, our lead was doubled and things were staying positive. However, just six minutes before half time, we conceded to reduce our advantage to just one goal. Half time arrived with a 2-1 lead in our favour.

After making two substitutions just to keep the team fresh, we took to the field again in pursuit of progress to the next round of the cup. With two more goals arriving from Jon Nouble, giving him his hattrick, and a goal from Nat Jarvis, we emerged victors with a score of 5-1. A great win and a massive boost in team confidence and morale which hopefully we can take onto the league!