FA Vase Match Report - Hullbridge Sports 5-0 Stansted

The weekend’s foray was a welcome return to the FA Vase for this First Qualifying Round match between Essex Senior side Hullbridge Sports and now-Step 6 side Stansted. ‘Bridge have had an indifferent start to the League and therefore the ‘Blue Brazil’ may have thought they were in with a shot here.

The start of proceedings saw John Watters’ side start well and five minutes in, Airportmen captain Nathan Scarborough was played in on goal with only home stopper Dominic Alexandru to beat and his finish was skied over the woodwork. Hullbridge responded to that on the quarter-hour as forward Tobias Braney made a fine run into the penalty area but was prevented from getting a shot in by a great sliding interception by visiting defender Reece Barnett.

Steve Roberts’ side was not to be denied though as Braney broke past the stuttering defensive line and a calm low finish found the net past Stansted goalkeeper Sam Butler.

‘Bridge was gathering pace & momentum at this point and winger Taylor Jacobi was posing problems on the left flank with pace and movement. On the other flank, new recruit George Briton-Watkins was also providing good pace and passes and one of those found the well-timed run of Braney and he showed good composure to double the hosts’ lead on 29 minutes. The visitors were holding on a bit at this point and visiting defender Harry Pittuck did well to deny another Braney strike after being well found again by Briton-Watkins’ pass. ‘Bridge did get their third goal soon afterwards though as after another fine run, Jacobi’s looped pass was superb for Jack Hauser to fire home past Butler when left unmarked from about eight yards out. Stansted just could not deal with the quick thinking & incisive passing of their hosts as a team and their midfield was being outworked.

Half-Time: Hullbridge 3 – 0 Stansted

The second half was a rather less co-ordinated battle as the visitors were finding their focus hard to maintain. Mignot was sin-binned early in the half, but the frustrations got worse for them as forward Nathan Scarborough was dismissed for ongoing dissent with 34 minutes remaining. With the opposition a man down, Hullbridge could have showed their ruthlessness just before the red card as Braney unselfishly played in Jacobi but the fast winger could only fire off-target. Substitutions understandably altered the tempo of the game from about the hour mark though Stansted did fairly well to restrict clear-cut chances at their goal.

Substitute Jacob Wiggins’s cross-shot was gratefully gathered by Stansted stopper Sam Butler on 73 minutes. With eight minutes of the ninety left, Mignot was pushed forward and drew a good save out of ‘Bridge custodian Dom Alexandru. In the same attack, substitute Hugo Colombus hit the side-netting.

Hullbridge did add further gloss to the scoreline through two well-taken close-range strikes by replacement Nikolay Zalatev in injury-time. That crowned off a fine day for Steve Roberts’ side but Stansted’s focus is now on a tough league season as they aim to be in the reckoning for a return to the Essex Senior at the first time of asking.

Full-Time: Hullbridge Sports 5 – 0 Stansted

To summarise this match, it was all about chances. The visitors could not take the key early chance they had and the hosts gave them a seminar in how to wrestle momentum in a match in short order not long afterwards, to the point where it was almost done at the interval. Stansted’s frustrations got the better of them early in the second half and although they kept their Step 5 hosts at bay with 10 men until injury-time, they had few chances themselves. Deserved win for ‘Bridge overall and it will be interesting this season how they will fare if they can keep this squad together.

For Hullbridge, their forward line takes the majority of the plaudits for being the difference here. Centre forward Tobias Braney has started the season strongly and got another two good goals here and utilising his physical presence to good effect against a rugged Stansted backline. Winger Taylor Jacobi put in another fine performance on the left side, showing his pace, movement and crossing ability and another season at this level will set him in good stead I feel. Lastly, a word for combative midfielder Sam Carter who really put in a fine shift to break up the play in the middle of the park and was also a threat from set-pieces and was unlucky not to score.

For Stansted, their mentions start with centre-back Reece Barnett who put in a number of good interceptions and kept his team in it with his good positioning and aerial presence. Full-back Harry Pittuck also had a good game, showing a commendable attitude when dealling with heavy pressure on his side from Jacobi and Braney at times. Finally, a mention for Michael Mignot who did a lot of defensive duty in this game and still showed his pace and presence in attack despite not having many glimmers at goal.

Teams

Hullbridge Sports | Manager: Steve Roberts | Assistants: Tom Ranger & Marcus Spremulli

Starting XI (Subs): 1 Dominic Alexandru (GK), 2 Billy Willis, 3 Jack Nolde (12 Danny Hurford 69’), 5 John Sonuga, 6 Callum Knowlden, 4 Connor Hart (Capt) (20 Oscar Jones 84’), 8 Sam Carter (14 Jacob Wiggins 69’), 7 George Briton-Watkins (16 Jack Unwin 60’), 9 Tobias Braney (17 Nikolay Zalatev 80’), 10 Jack Hauser, 11 Taylor Jacobi

Goal-scorers: Tobias Braney [21’ & 29’], Jack Hauser [36’], Nikolay Zalatev [90’ & 90’+3]

Booked: Braney, Knowlden | Subs Unused: None

Stansted | Manager: John Watters | Assistants: Neil Tillotson & Alex Fairley

Starting XI (Subs): 1 Sam Butler (GK), 2 Harry Pittuck, 3 Zac Argent, 4 Reece Barnett, 18 Freddie O’Brien, 6 Joe Thomas (14 Ollie Collier 46’), 5 Jaden Marzell (17 Hugo Columbus 69’), 8 Danny Wickenden (12 Harry Carter 46’), 9 Tommy Lawrence (19 Tony Da Silva 69’), 10 Nathan Scarborough (Capt), 7 Michael Mignot (16 Jack Standing 88’)

Booked: Columbus | Sin-bin: Mignot [47’] | Sent Off: Scarborough [56’] |Subs Not Used: None