Sydenhams Wessex Premier League (Saturday 28-03-09)
 
The Hammers started this match very lively, with an early free kick from Skipper Cherrett, finding Max Crow at the far post. His first time volley went back across goal and found in-form striker Warren Byerley, but his spectacular attempt of an overhead kick was well wide.
 Although conditions were dry, there was a strong wind blowing straight down the pitch, into the newly erected, and now in use ‘Irvin Brown Memorial Stand’.
 Hamworthy dominated much of the early play, but were caught on the break which resulted in Cowes having a 1-on-1 with home keeper, Martin Peters, however, he was rescued by some fine defending from the very lively Max Crow, and the danger was averted.
 On 11 minutes, fans in the new stand were shouting ‘goal’, after a thundering shot from McCabe looked goal bound, as it skimmed just over the visitor’s goal frame. It clearly was a warning that the Hammers were goal hungry, as a couple of minutes later, Byerley received the ball in from the right, and thumped the ball past the keeper, who was beaten by the pace of the shot. Warren Byerley celebrated his 5th goal in the last three games (including a hat-trick away at Hayling United last week). 1 - 0 Hammers.
 The Hammers struck again almost straight away. Fine work from Mark Kenway found Crow in an attacking position down the right. His fine run into the box was brought to an abrupt end as he was taken down from behind, and the Hammers were awarded a penalty. Byerley calmly stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way. 2 - 0 Hammers.
 Although the Hammers seemed to have control over the match, and were playing some good possession football, Cowes still found the opportunity to catch the home team on the break, resulting in a fine shot just over from outside the box.
 Ryan Dovell, lively in midfield, broke from the halfway line on a counter attack. He drew the central defender before releasing Mark Dancer on goal. Unfortunately, his pass was over hit, forcing Dancer wide, and the chance was gone.
 Just before the break, Cowes came back into the game, and forced  a couple of free kicks. From one of these, Sam  Lockyer put the ball out for a corner. From the resulting corner, the Hammers went to sleep, as Alex Harvey had a chance of a clear header at the Hammer’s goal from inside the 6 yard box, but he completely missed the ball. This was a let off for the home team.
 
Half - Time : Hammers 2 - 0 Cowes Sports
 
The Hammers came out for the second half in determined mood. Early pressure down the left side saw Byerley miss a sitter in front of goal. He probably thought he was offside, but the flag stayed down. Shortly after a long ball over the Cowes Sports defence saw Byerley run past the last defender with only the keeper to beat for his hat-trick. As Byerley attempted to go round the keeper, the goal minder went to ground and saved at Byerley’s feet.
 A third goal soon came though, as Cowes were pinned back more and more into their own half. Ollie Cherrett set Max Crow up for a shot at goal, which he smashed from outside the box. As soon as it left his boot, shouts of ‘Goal’ were heard from the Stand. The fans were not disappointed, as the ball found the top corner of the net, with the keeper rooted to the spot. 3 - 0 to the Hammers.
 Stuart Cannie, on as a substitute, broke down the right hand side, and delivered a wonderful cross to the far post for Jackson to head home from 6 yards, but somehow, he put the header wide !
 Warren Byerley went on to complete his second consecutive league Hat-trick, and his 7th goal in the last three games. Cowes Sports backed off him, and his shot took a slight deflection, to make it a 4 - 0 home win for the Hammers.
This is just the tonic they need going into Tuesday’s Wessex League Cup Semi-Final Second Leg tie at Poole Town, where they will attempt to build on their 1 - 0 lead from the 1st Leg..
 
Hammers : Peters, Yelland (Merritt), Lockyer, Kenway, Cherrett (C) (Crossin), Dovell, McCabe, Crow, Dancer (Cannie), Byerley, Jackson. Unused Subs : Mutch

Sydenhams Wessex League Cup Semi Final 1st Leg ( Tuesday 24-03-09)

This was the third meeting between the two Clubs so far this season, with two more games yet to come. Poole Town had won both the previous encounters, but for the first time faced a Hamworthy squad at almost at full strength. The undefeated League leaders were without a couple of their first choice players themselves including top goal scorer Charlie Austin, due to injury. He was replaced by recent signing Floyd Hamodun who has played for Totton, and for Bognor Regis prior joining Poole.
Hamworthy began the game with the strong wind in their backs, playing away from the school end, and on a very firm pitch. Both teams probed the opposing defences for the first few minutes without really creating anything. Gradually the Hammers got a bigger share of the play, and began to run at the Town back line. The usually very capable Lamin Dibba began to look not quite so confident when Warren Byerley and Mark Dancer took him on with the ball at their feet. This resulted in a couple of early free kicks in dangerous positions. Poole were using the long ball tactics both from throw-ins, and clearances in an attempt to find their big front men. These were ably dealt with by Ollie Cherrett, and Greg Horlock at the heart of the United defence. Byerley and Dancer both went close before Hamworthy took the lead in the fourteenth minute with a beautifully executed move. Max Crowe cleverly slotted the ball through the centre, and found Warren Byerley on the edge of the penalty box. The United top goal scorer playing his first game this season against Poole shimmied past three players before striking a hard shot past Jason Harvall low into the net. The Hammers went close on a couple of more occasions, and could easily have gone in three up at half time with the Dolphins having little to show for their 45 minutes work.
United had to replace the injured Greg Horlock in the second period with Mark Kenway. He continued Greg’s good work at the centre of defence, and nothing changed. Poole came more into the game in the second half, but were unable to really test Martin Peters the Hamworthy Keeper. Their main threat came from ex Hammer Mike Hubbard’s cleverly flighted dead ball kicks. Nobody was able to get on the end of them, and get a clear strike on goal. Peters did have to make one top class save late in the game diving to his left to hold onto one goal bound effort. He also had to be quick to push another effort over the bar, before Hamworthy comfortably played out time. This is only really half time and another stalwart effort will be required by the Hammers in the second leg, if they are to reach the final.
Team: M.Peters, K. Yelland, S. Lockyer, O. Cherrett ( J. Prieur-Merritt), G. Horlock ( M. Kenway), R. Jackson, R. McCabe, M. Crow, M. Dancer (S. Cannie), W. Byerley, R. Dovell.  Unused Subs: J. Crossin, C. Mutch

Sydenhams Wessex Premier League (Saturday21-03=09)
After establishing a 3-0 lead, the Hammers found themselves pulled back to 3-2 with just over twenty minutes to go. To their credit they kept their heads, and with the help of some fresh legs scored twice more to give them the convincing win that their earlier play had merited.
In the first few minutes playing some confident football Hamworthy twice rattled the Islander’s bar. Warren Byerley neatly headed the ball back to Richard McCabe whose shot hit the woodwork, before Byerley himself shot against the bar after cleverly turning his man. The Hammers were soon to be rewarded however. In the 7th minute a Max Crow’s shot was pushed out into the path of Tim Constable who put the ball firmly into the back of the net to make it 1-0. In less than two minutes the lead had doubled. Warren Byerley scored the first of his three goals when he cleverly clipped the ball over the advancing keeper, and into the net. The playing surface was very hard which caused an uneven bounce at times which led to mistakes on both sides. Hayling should have done better when a poor clearance was blasted over by the advancing striker, and the ball was hit straight at Martin Peters shortly afterwards when they again should have scored. Hamworthy went even further ahead just before the break when Mark Dancer scored from a tight angle after the keeper had pushed out a Richard Jackson shot.
Michael White came on for the injured Ollie Cherrett after the break. The visitors could have gone even further ahead, but Greg Horlock headed a Max Crow cross just over. Things Changed in the 61st minute however when Martin Peters spilled a Hayling free kick taken from twenty five yard out, and into the path of Lee Paul who stabbed the ball home to reduce the arrears. Following more Hamworthy defensive errors, a long bouncing through ball allowed Lee Paul in one on one with Martin Peters to score his second goal of the game, and make it 3-2. A tense twenty minutes looked on the cards for the Hammers as the Islanders were now back in the game. Fresh legs in the shape of Stuart Cannie were brought on by Phil Simkin, and this seemed to lift Hamworthy. Warren Byerley headed a Jackson cross just over the bar before heading another one from the same source powerfully home in the 81st minute to make it 4-2. Good work by Max Crow saw him slide a perfect pass into the stride of Warren Byerley, and put him one on one with the Keeper. Top striker Byerley kept his head to slide the ball past him and make it 5-2, and complete a good day’s work.                                           Team: M. Peters, K. Yelland,  R. Jackson, O. Cherrett (M. White), G. Horlock, M. Kenway, R. Mccabe, M. Crow, M. Dancer (S. Cannie), W. Byerley, S. Lockyer J. (Prieur Merritt).  Unused Sub J. Crossin

Sydenhams Wessex Premier League (Tuesday17-03-08)
 
Romsey Town did the double over the Hammers after the Visitors let slip a 1-0 lead twenty minutes into the second half, Romsey scored twice in two minutes including a debatable penalty to go on and win this closely fought game. Hamworthty were without Richard McCabe,Mark Kenway and Steve Gilbert, but Michael White returned to the side.
Play was fairly even for the first quarter with the Town looking dangerous on the break with their quick forwards, and the Hammers playing some good passing football. Ryan Dovell made a jinxing run into the box, but delayed a split second too long, and his shot was blocked. United were now getting more of the possession, and they took the lead after twenty three minutes. A well placed through ball picked out Warren Byerley running through the middle. He ran past one man shrugged off a second, drew the Keeper off his line, and coolly slotted the ball into the corner of the net. Hamworthy could well have had a second goal soon after. The Referee allowed play to go on after a Romsey player went down with a head injury. This caused some confusion in the Town defence as Byerley once again closed in on goal. He was clumsily brought down in the box, but play was allowed to continue. The ball broke to Karl Yelland with the goal at his mercy, but the midfielder hit it high over the bar. The score remained 1-0 at the interval a fair reflection of play to that point.
As to be expected Romsey came out determined to take the game to the Hammers in the second half. Just as it looked as if Hamworthy had weathered the spell of pressure Town equalized after sixty three minutes. A long ball down the middle found the United defence stretched, and struggling to regain position. The Romsey striker drew Martin Peters off his line and slid the ball past him to score just before Richard Jackson got to him. Within two minutes Romsey were in front this time from a controversial penalty when Ollie Cherrett was adjudged to have brought down his man. Many thought that Ollie had got to the ball first, and the Town man fell over his trailing leg. The Referee however clearly thought it a foul  and, pointed to the spot. Both sides had chances to add to the scoring in the remaining minutes, but it was the Hammers who were on top in the closing stages.. Byerley shot just over from close range but Romsey held on to capture all three points and the double.
Team: M. Peters, R. Jackson, S. Lockyer, O. Cherrett (J. Crossin), G. Horlock, M. White, M. Crow, R. Dovell, K. Yelland, W. Byerley, M. Dancer
Unused SubsJ. Merritt, G. Clarke

Sydenhams Wessex Premier League ( Saturday 14-03-09)
This was the third meeting between the two Clubs in a short space of time. Both the previous encounters were close run things with the Hammers winning the Cup game 1-0, and the League match finished 1-1. Both the games were played at Alresford. It came as no surprise then that this match was to end in the same way, although United should have had the game won by half time.
Hamworthy began the game well with a strong wind blowing in their backs, and soon had Alresford in trouble. A hasty bouncing back pass had Keeper Dan Chapman in trouble. He did well to chest the ball down under pressure before clearing it to safety. The opening few minutes was dominated by the Hammers who went close on several occasions, but they were unable to finish off their good approach work with a goal. In fact it was Alresford who were to take the lead much against the run of play in the 16th minute from their first real attack. A long clearance found the United defence pushed up, and square. The Town striker took the ball on before drawing Martin Peters off his line. He then cleverly lobbed the ball over him, and dipped it just under the bar from fully twenty five yards out. Within a minute of taking the lead Alresford could have doubled it when they were again through one on one, but this time delayed their shot too long, and the chance was lost. Hamworthy were not behind for long however, and equalized through Max Crow after twenty two minutes. Warren Byerley flicked on a header to Karl Yelland who picked out Crow to score in the corner from six yards out. The Hammers took the lead soon after following the first of two goalkeeping errors in the game. Chapman must have taken his eye off the ball when attempting a straight forward take, and dropped the ball for Warren Byerley to score. The Hammers further increased their advantage when from a corner a Greg Horlock’s header was pushed out by the Keeper. The ball fell to Ollie Cherrett who lashed it back past Chapman to make it 3-1 at the break.
With the wind now in their favor Alresford came much more into the game, and for the first time had United on the back foot, and defending deep in their own half. Despite this, United looked quite capable of defending their lead. That is until Martin Peters made the second goalkeeping error of the afternoon. He looked to have had a low long shot well covered, but the ball squirmed through his legs and over the line to make it 3-2. Hamworthy now looked a lot less confident especially when the Town struck the bar, and could well have had to settle for a draw in time added on. Martin Peters more than made up for his earlier faux pas when he dived bravely to smother a close range shot right on the goal line to ensure his side the victory.
Team: M. Peters, K. Yelland, R. Jackson, O. Cherrett, G. Horlock, M. Kenway, S. Lockyer, M. Crow, M. Dancer (R. McCabe), W. Byerley, R. Dovell (J. Crossin)
Unused Sub: M. White

Sydenhams Wessex Premier League (Saturday 07-03-09)
The Hammers started very lively in this league encounter, with Kenway and Byerley linking up early on to cause problems for the home defence. One of these surges from Kenway forced a corner, from which the first goal came. The corner was sent over, only for the goalkeeper to palm it out to Greg Horlock, who smashed a half volley into the top corner on 5 minutes. Another Kenway run down the right hand side found Max Crow in space just outside the opposition penalty box. With the home keeper out on the 6 yard line, Crow looked up, and cheekily chipped him to make it 2 - 0 in the ninth minute. Things were looking good for the Hammers at this time, and they were playing a lot of good passing football. It seemed that Alton had no answer to it, and even when they did force a corner, the Hammers broke so quickly on the counter with Crow. Unfortunately his pass found Byerley in an offside position. It was all Hamworthy, and another great Kenway run, and cross from the right hand side found Dancer unmarked in the box. His attempted first time effort however missed the target. As the half came to a close, the Alton midfield started to grab a bit more of the game, and forced a couple of corners. A long range shot from 30 yards went over. However with 5 minutes left before the break, a corner was not cleared out. This resulted in a  shot being fired across the goal from 12 yards out that found the far corner of the net.  Alton were now back in it, but did not really deserve it.
 The late goal seemed to inspire the home team after the break. The Hammers were now made to hurry on the ball, and seemed unable to play the passing game they had shown in the first half.  An early corner from Jackson almost turned to their advantage, when the home keeper dropped the cross, and the ball was kicked off the line. The Hammers were able to play some good counter-attacking football, and were awarded two free-kicks in central positions. The first, a shot from Cherrett went over, but the second from Byerley, just missed the upright. A fit again Max Crow picked up the ball in his own half, and ran deep into the Alton half. A wonderful one-two with Dancer just failed to deliver, and resulted in Alton being able to clear. Alton started to get frustrated with the amount of possession that the Hammers were having, and the Referee decided to employ the yellow card to calm things down a bit. The Referee only had to make one major decision in the game, and that fell in favour of the home tea. After a corner, Byerley was clearly upended in the box, but the Referee didn’t have a clear view of it through a crowd of players, and waved it away. The Hammers still had plenty of possession as the match reached its climax, but there was no clear cut chance to finish the game off. With time running out and the Hammers looking to hold on, an Alton Player was not closed down. This allowed him time to rasp an 18 yard shot into the top corner past Peters giving him no chance. The last couple of minutes couldn’t come quickly enough for the few Hammers fans, as Alton seemed determined that they could steal a third and win the game, but it remained 2-2
 Manager Phil Simkin will look back on this as points lost, especially as they started so brightly. but if the lads want to progress into the Wessex League Cup semi-finals next Tuesday, they will have to close teams down better, and stop the run of goals being conceded.
 Hamworthy Team : Peters, Kenway, Jackson, Cherrett, Horlock, White, Crow, Lockyer, Dancer, Byerley, Dovell 

Dorset Premier League (Saturday 07-03-09)

The Reserves were 2-0 down in just over ten minutes from two set pieces. To their credit they pulled one back before half time which led to an entertaining second half against a much bigger and more experienced side.
Hamworthy were put under pressure right from the kick off, and found themselves 1-0 down after only five minutes. From a corner a Wincanton striker rose unchallenged to head the ball home giving Keeper Luke Wines no chance to save.
The Hammers had clearly not learned their lesson when the visitors again scored from a corner this time an own goal. This was again helped by some poor marking by United. Things looked even blacker for United when the Town were awarded a somewhat fortuitous penalty as the ball bounced awkwardly, and hit a Hammer‘s hand. The taker found the back of the net, but was made to retake the kick again by the Referee due to an infringement. This time the ball went out of play after hitting the post to keep the score at two nil. This bit of good luck appeared to give United a lift, and they raised their game and began to show a bit of fight. They began to get forward a lot more, and began to create a few chances of their own. In fact they scored the best goal of the game, and the only one from open play. A clever through pass by Mark Jamison found Darren Orchard who rolled the ball into the path of Mike Glavin. He coolly passed it into the net to make it 2-1, and give the Reserves hope that they might yet get something out of the game.
The second half was a lot more even than the first, but still Wincanton looked the more dangerous team in front of goal especially from set pieces where their taller and stronger players gave them a distinct advantage. The young Hamworthy defenders Mark Seal, Mark Jamison and Luke Wadley were now playing particularly well. It looked as if the Hammers must equalize when Michael Wynne ran through the Town defence. His shot hit the top of the crossbar however and went behind for a goal kick to relieve the danger for the visitors. Just when it looked as though a draw was possible for the Hammers they were once again undone by a corner. The initial cross was not dealt with, and the ball might well have gone over the line following a melee on the goal line. The ball was not cleared before another Town player took a shot from close range. This took a deflection off a United player before finding the back of the net to make it 3-1, and kill off any hopes of a Hamworthy revival.
Team: L. Wines, M. Seal, L. Wadley, S. Griffiths, M. Jamison, M. Wynne K. Pooley, D. Orchard, M. Glavin, E. Clement (G. Williams) C. Miles, L. Williams (L. Reynolds) Unused Subs: G. Clark, T. Rees.

Sydenhams Wessex Premier League ( Wednesday 18-02-09)
Report taken from Sydehams Wessex Website
With the teams locked together in sixth and seventh positions in the league, a close game was expected at the County Ground and during the 90 minutes both teams had periods of ascendancy.
The Islanders were given two early scares in the first 5 minutes as Hamworthy worked clear chances to take the lead. First a Richard Jackson cross was flicked on by Carl Mutch for Ryan Dovell to head over. Then Stuart Cannie was the provider as Mutch headed over.Hamworthy continued to press and Warren Byerley took the ball round the keeper but his shot was cleared on the line by Graham Stay.It took Newport 20 minutes to fashion their first chance as Sam Hart’s shot was deflected wide. Shortly afterwards it was Hart again whose shot was pushed over by Steve Shergold in the Hammers goal.Back came Hammers as Mark Dancer crossed for Carl Mutch to have a header well saved by Sam Webb.Just when it looked as though the first half would end goalless, Newport struck on 43 minutes. Sam Hart’s pace had given the Hamworthy defence trouble and he broke free on the left side of the penalty area. He might have shot but unselfishly he squared the ball for an unmarked RICHARD SPROOLES to finish well from 10 yards.
Half time: Hamworthy United 0 Newport IOW 1
During the early part of the second half both sides found it difficult to work any clear cut chances. The best came to Ollie Cherrett but his header was comfortably saved by Webb.Just when it looked as though it wasn’t going to be Hamworthy’s night they got back into the game. On 67 minutes the Newport defence failed to clear a corner and GREG HORLOCK was given space to score from close range.A minute later Hamworthy had a stroke of luck as Shergold struggled to collect a high ball which was prodded home by Jamie White. However the referee had penalised Newport for a foul on the keeper. This together with the goal should have given Hamworthy the impetus to go on and press for the winner but it was Newport who dominated the latter stages of the game.With 85 minutes gone Charlie Smeeton blasted over when well placed then Darren Powell was high after a good run. However the best chance fell to Tom McInnes who was through on goal but screwed his shot wide.It looked as though Newport’s chance had gone but two minutes into stoppage time Sam Dye found CHARLIE SMEETON who scored with a cross shot giving Shergold no chance.
Final score: Hamworthy United 1 Newport IOW 2
Team: Steve Shergold, Ryan Dovell, Richard Jackson, Ollie Cherrett, Michael White, Greg Horlock, Rich McCabe, Mark Dancer, Carl Mutch, Warren Byerley, Stuart Cannie. Subs: Gary Clarke, Tom Vavrecka, L. Williams,

Sydenhams Wessex Premier League (Saturday 28-02-09)
The Hammers have made a habit recently of scoring late goals, but to score two goals in the last minute of time added on must take the biscuit. Phil Simkin was once again forced into making several changes due to injury, and suspension. James Crossin started a Wessex game for the first time and Karl Yelland made his first start following a long lay off.
Hamworthy took the game to the Islanders in the opening quarter. They played some good passing football that kept Cowes on the back foot for most of that time. The Yachtsmen gradually worked their way into the game, and Martin Peters had to be quick off his line to smother the ball when he was left exposed for the first time. United took the lead on the half hour when Warren Byerley was fouled in the box as he tried to get his shot away. The Hamworthy leading goal scorer got up to send Dave Thurman the wrong way, and dispatch his shot low into the opposite corner of the net. Play was fairly even for the rest of the half with neither Team able to add to the score.
Cowes came out with a lot more purpose in the second half, but Hamworthy appeared to be in control, that is until a defensive error led to them conceding the equalizer. Michael White was bringing the ball out of defence when he was robbed of the ball ten yards inside his own half. Aleks Przespolewski ran on unchallenged to the edge of the box and rifled the ball past Martin Peters giving him no chance. The goal lifted the Islanders, and rattled the Hammers who lost a lot of their composure as Cowes took over the initiative, and soon made United pay the price. A cross from the left was headed back across the goal and found a striker unmarked at the far post. He bundled the ball home to give Sports the lead.
They had their chances to go further ahead, but poor finishing kept the Hammers in the game. Phil Simkin put on fresh legs using all his substitutes, and went four up front in the closing stages to try and get something from the game. This move was to pay rich dividends as play went into five minutes of time added on much of which was down to time wasting by the Cowes  keeper. With just one minute to go Sam Lockyer delivered a corner to the far post where Michael White made up for his earlier error, and headed the ball home to bring the scores level. No one in the ground could have expected what was to happen next. From the restart Hamworthy broke quickly up the right. and worked the ball into the middle where substitute James Pinder saw his powerful shot saved by Keeper Thurman. Unfortunately for the Cowes man he could not hold on to the ball. Super Sub Carl Much (or Mooch as the address system pronounced it) was on hand to stab the loose ball home and give Hamworthy victory, rescued from the jaws of defeat.
Team: M. Peters, M. Kenway, R. Jackson, M. White (Capt), G. Horlock, S. Lockyear, R. McCabe (C. Much), K. Yelland, M. Dancer (M. Crow), W. Byerley, J. Crossin (J. Pinder)