Hemel Hempstead Town 3-4 Aveley

Hemel Hempstead Town 3-4 Aveley

National League South

Friday 29th March 2024

The sublime and the ridiculous!

For my Bank Holiday football, I decided to make a first ever trip to Hemel Hempstead’s Vauxhall Road in the National League South for a game which featured seven goals as the hosts chucked away a 2-0 lead to lose to Aveley outfit who are challenging for the Play-Offs and have been up in the higher part of the division all season.

The ground can probably best be described as a ‘posh’ or ‘upgraded’ version of Alfreton in the National League North with seating on three sides, a ‘Media Suite’ in the corner of the ground and lots of quaint offices and cabins dotted around elsewhere. The 4G pitch (a definite upgrade on Alfreton) isn’t bad and allows for it to be used during the week and overall, Hemel, is a typical National League South ground with a nod to history with Henry VIII featured on the club’s badge, plus the more important added bonus of it being only a couple of minutes drive from the M1.

Having seen that Aiden Elliott-Wheeler was recalled from Banbury on Thursday, it was a pleasant surprise to see him trotting out for the warm-up and he could be a really good player at NLS level. He’s looked sharp at Banbury (who’ll now certainly be relegated without him) both last season and this one, earned good reviews from various people I’ve spoken to in football, has talent which he showed in little glimpses in his debut in this game with his touch/technique and skill (shame he didn’t get much going his way from the referee), and he’s quite highly-rated on the whole. Banbury’s loss is most certainly Hemel’s gain and I’ve got little doubt that those seeing him for the first time will grow to appreciate what he’s all about as a player and enjoy watching him over the next few weeks.

Josh Williams also had a decent game for Hemel at left-back, scored a goal and has qualities/attributes which makes me think he can go higher (more on him towards the bottom of this piece), but the undoubted ‘Man Of The Match’ was Charlee Hughes who bagged a hat-trick for Aveley, got in the Vanarama ‘Team Of The Week’ with the added bonus for him being that Hemel Hempstead is one of his former clubs too. Typical when that happens!

Initially, it looked like it might be a very good Friday indeed for Hemel as they were 2-0 up and seemingly coasting towards three points inside the first 15 minutes.

The Tudors still probably need another win (maybe even two) to be confident of avoiding relegation to Step 3, and it took them just three minutes to score when Josh Williams looped a long-throw into the box, the danger wasn’t cleared, and Mike Fovili pounced to stick the ball into the back of the net from a few yards out. Then, things got even better when Chris Smith added a second on the quarter-hour mark with Aveley’s defence once again looking a bit static and slow to react to what was around them.

A third goal to make it 3-0 would have strengthened Hemel’s grip and possibly even made a comeback feel insurmountable for their opponents but, instead, as the midway point of the first half came to pass, the grey clouds that appeared overhead and subsequent rain signaled a turning point.

Instead, it was Aveley who started to get on top, build up some momentum and dominate and they pulled one back before half-time when Charlee Hughes’ shot took a wicked deflection that looped up and over Craig King and into the net. Not much the ‘keeper could do about it, ‘Game On’ again, and whilst there was a slice of bloody good fortune about the goal itself, it was deserved on the balance of play.

Then came the ridiculous as Aveley equalised with just 14 seconds of the re-start - and even more bizarrely it was from Hemel’s own kick-off. The ball was played back to Kyle Ajayi who was caught dawdling and eventually dispossessed by Charlee Hughes who suddenly burst into a one-on-one and although the finish wasn’t the most orthodox or composed you’ll ever see, the ball still ended up trickling over the line via his heel to leave Hemel spewing about what had just unfolded infront of everyone’s eyes.

At this point, there was a glib feeling around Vauxhall Road. Hemel had capitulated and the second goal (more so the shock of it) left lots to be desired, but the fact they’d thrown away a 2-0 lead and were struggling to get into Aveley’s half at all, let alone build up some momentum to do anything else, was the more pressing concern.

It seemed likely that Aveley would strike again and just past the hour mark, the turnaround was completed as Eduino Vaz (on trial at Barnsley this time last year), had the ball at his feet around 30 yards out, looked up and let fly with an effort that caught a little deflection yet looked goalbound from the moment it left his foot despite a valiant effort from a full-stretch Craig King to keep it out… and I very much doubt Eduino Vaz will score a better one this season either!

Seeing one left-back score in a game is rare and I can’t think of many occasions where I’ve seen both left-backs bag goals but that’s precisely what happened next as the game took another twist and Hemel hauled themselves back level at 3-3.

It was the impressive Josh Williams who was the scorer as he supplemented an attacking move really well to get into a shooting position on the edge of the box, received the ball, and unleashed his own powerful strike that caught a little deflection to carry it past the ‘keeper.

It was all getting breathless by this point and there was to be a seventh (and decisive) goal as Aveley restored their lead with Charlee Hughes completing his hat-trick infront of the 40 or so away fans who’d made the trip from Essex.

Hemel pushed, probed and gave it their best efforts in what remained as Aveley were forced to concentrate defensively but ultimately after five minutes of injury-time, they couldn’t get another equaliser, and they’ve only really got themselves to blame for losing. At 2-0 up and playing well early on, they looked in control and just capitulated to some extent thereafter. The Tudors should still stay up but that ‘probability’ will do nothing whatsoever to ease their frustrations about the fact they ought to have added some points to their tally from this game - even if it was just the one!

All credit to Aveley because they’re a decent team (hence why they’ve been near the top all season) and especially Charlee Hughes who for the very fact he bagged a hat-trick surely must be included in the Vanarama ‘Team Of The Week’ for the National League South? He was the star in this game albeit it was Josh Williams for Hemel Hempstead who really made a good impression upon me.

Having not seen him play previously, he looked reasonably solid at left-back and contributed at both ends of the pitch. Defensively, he looked sound - good in duels and in one-v-one situations, battled to win possession and not much got past him (in fact most of Aveley’s danger came down the other flank). He showed that bit of quality/composure with what he needed to do and in attacking scenarios, his looping long-throw made him an asset, whilst the goal he scored speaks for itself and it didn’t really surprise me that he popped up with a goal. Although it’s a defeat and it’ll feel a bit crap from a collective viewpoint, he deserved that bright moment individually as it was a good performance by him and the link-up on the left-hand side with Aidan Elliott-Wheeler is something which might blossom over the next few weeks.

Having watched 1,800-1,900 games and having seen several players to compare Josh Williams to, I know he’s a decent player who compares well to what’s out there at Step 2 level. I’ll always be confident in my own judgements and at 24, a decent background and ‘football upbringing’ on his CV with spells at Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Luton Town in the past, I really wouldn’t be surprised to see him play at a higher level in the next couple of years and do alright. He’s a good player.

Hopefully, Hemel can get the points they need to survive sooner rather than later (helps avoid the emotional rollercoaster) and not get sucked beneath the dotted line. I think they’ll survive and from the limited National League South games I’ve watched this year (living up north I don’t get to that many games compared to the NLN), I know there’s a lot worse teams in the division than themselves.