| Date | Report |
| 15th November |
ERHA Div 2S: Opposition:
West Herts 2s; Result: Won 8-0; Scorer(s): H. Trusler(3), C.
Knight(2), G. Noller, S. Wright, G. Bull An 8-0 thrashing of West Herts lifted Upminster back to the top of the table this weekend with just 3 games to go until the break. The break through didn't come until about 20 minutes into the game as Upminster struggled to find their feet. Harry Trusler bagged the first and Glen Noller added the second shortly after which calmed the nerves and really opened the flood gates. From this point, Upminster were never in doubt they were going to win the game as the back four held firm against any West Herts advances. Defender of the match Jack Coleman leading by example. Steve Wright was at hand to latch onto Harry Trusler's creation and took the side to 3-0 up at the break. The second half was extremely one sided with 5 more goals coming for Upminster. Chris Knight got involved in the action and excellently converted a short corner shortly before adding his second from open play. It was Knight who was also the instigator of the next goal with a lengthy aerial finding Wright at the opposite end of the pitch who calmly slid the ball to Trusler in front of goal to grab his second of the game. Geoff Bull served up the Upminster 7th, with a reverse volley into the open net bringing out the tennis player in him. A goal that Andy Murray would be proud of. 17 year old Harry Trusler deserved his hat trick with a well taken goal shortly before the death, taking his season tally to 17 from 11 games (11 in the league) and rightfully ensuring he would take another man of the match award!! A big game next week see Upminster travel to Southend to try and put some light between themselves and one of the other competing teams for the two promotion spots. MOM: H. Trusler, DOM: Coleman |
| 8th November |
ERHA Div 2S: Opposition:
Ramgharia; Result: Drew 4-4; Scorer(s): G. Noller, H. Trusler, M. Joffe,
M. Malby, S. Wright On the back of a tremendous win against Ford last week, Upminster will be very disappointed to have dropped 2 points against 4th place Ramgharia on Saturday. Although Upminster started brightly, it was Ramgharia who drew first blood when Upminster were caught carrying the ball out of defence, only for the skilful Rangharia forward to accurately slide the ball past Danny Noller in goal. It was time for Upminster to step up to the plate and they responded excellently with a a spell of 15 minutes which saw them take a commanding 4-1 lead. Glen Noller levelled the scoring for the home side before a cracking team goal put Upminster 2-1 ahead. The ball was worked cleverly down the left and when it finally made its way into the D, the prolific Harry Trusler (8 goals in 7 games) was ready to deflect the ball into the open net. Matt Malby made the most of a brief spell up front showing he still has the strikers instinct (after spending the season at centre back), to give the home side a 2 goal cushion. Steve Wright joined in to make it 4-1, lifting the ball over the diving keeper. Upminster will be disappointed to have conceded just before the break when the ball was given away cheaply and Ramgharia capitalised on the mistake. The second half saw Upminster dominate in possession, but without creating too many clear cut chances and failing to score from a number of short corners, they couldn't increase the lead. Ramgharia however took their chances well and pulled back the 2 goals through a short corner and a skilful bit of individual play. Upminster had one last chance to win it at the death, but another short corner broke down and the final whistle blew seeing a vital 2 points escape from the U's. MOM: Hadsley, DOM: Coleman |
| 18th October |
ERHA Div 2S: Opposition:
Bishop Stortford 2s; Result: Won 6-2; Scorer(s): H. Trusler(2), M. Joffe,
S. Wright, R. Murphy, R. Fordham The game started at quite a fast pace with Upminster dominating possession. This possession was rewarded about 10 minutes in when Harry Trusler latched on to a free ball in the D and slotted it home. Upminster’s second goal came from a fast break from defence which ended with a reverse stick shot by Chris Knight and a clever bit of goal poaching by eagle eyed three in three Dr Joffe. Some extremely interesting umpiring decisions frustrated Upminster and halted the goal serge. Towards the end of the first half Bishop Stortford put up a bit of a fight, winning a few short corners from which they scored with a strike to make it 2-1 at half time. The second half started the complete opposite of the first, Bishop Stortford were quicker out of the blocks and were rewarded with another goal again from a short corner making it 2-2. Shortly after levelling the scoring a crashed ball from the back found bishop Stortford having two attackers free on goal, they passed the ball around Andy Macey (goalkeeper) and it seemed a certain goal, then Mathew Malby tracking back pulled off a flying slide tackle save that Fabien Barthez himself would have been proud of. The umpire had no choice but to award a flick, which would have put Upminster behind, luckily a poor flick straight down the middle was easily saved. This seemed to spur Upminster on with Dr Joffe and Geoff Bull taking control in the middle of the park and freeing up space for the wingbacks Harry Jenkins and Jack Coleman to move forward. Some lovely passing moves involving Glen Noller and Dave Hadsley led to goals from Russell Murphy and Steve Wright. Rob Fordham finally managed to end Upminsters short corner woes and swept one in from the top of the D. Harry Trusler finished the game off in the final minute with a reverse stick strike to make it 6. Some more clinical finishing could have seen a double figure score line. Again Upminster not quite at their best, but a welcome three points away from fortress Coopers. MOM: Russell Murphy ; DOM: Mathew Malby |
| 11th October |
Div 2S: Opposition:
Harpenden 2s; Result: Won 4-1; Scorer(s): R. Murphy, M.Joffe, G. Bull Upminster were back with a good display after obtaining 0 points away at Blueharts last week. The match didn't quite go according to plan early on, when Upminster failed to defend against the away side's Wimbledon FC's route 1 plan. The ball was crashed the length of the pitch to the Harpdenden forward who comfortably slotted home to take the lead. This minor glimpse in concentration was soon eradicated after the centre back duo of Malby and Fordham tightened up all Harpenden's attacking options and Russell Murphy was on hand at the other end to level the scores. Now back on equal terms, Upminster continued to press on and it wasn't long before Dr Joffe grabbed his second in as many weeks to put the home side in the lead. Geoff Bull added Upminster's third with a clever push on the turn to slot home just before the break. With a 2 goal cushion and the defence not looking like conceding again, the second half was comfortable for Upminster, playing some great hockey to create chance after chance. Build up play was excellent, stemming from right back Harry Jenkins who had another fantastic game. Glen Noller at the top end of the pitch was also excellent getting into the D and winning attacking short corners even though Upminster again failed to convert from a number of attempts. Something that may prove costly in tougher games. The game was wrapped up by the man who started for Upminster, Russell Murphy, finding himself in space to convert his second of the match. 3 points sees U's climb up to 3rd in the table travelling away to Bishops Stortford next week where they will be on the hunt for their fist away points of the season. MOM: Glen Noller; DOM: Harry Jenkins |
| 4th October |
Div 2S: Opposition:
Blueharts 2's; Result: Lost 3-1; Scorer(s): M.Joffe |
| 27th September |
Div 2S: Opposition:
Braintree 1s; Result: Won 7-1; Scorer(s): D.Hadsley, M.Scrivener(2),
H.Trusler(2), M.Malby, D.Shore |