Kingstonian 1-1 Hayes
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR COLIN

A few seasons ago, a home match against Hayes in the league would have seemed a bit of a dull fixture. But then, Hayes got promoted due, not in part, to the sale of quite a good striker, and have established themselves permanently in the Conference. This time last year, Hayes at home might have seemed relatively exciting, but with K's semi-meteoric rise recently, it just couldn't compare to the likes of Woking away. And so it was that K's entertained their Middlesex neighbours in an atmosphere as electric as a stone wheel.

The K's starting line up was near ideal, with Leworthy only on the bunch as Boylan was allowed to keep his run going. The crowd was still trickling in a while after the game had kicked off, and these late comers would have missed an early turn and shot from Boylan which tested the visiting keeper, but could only lead to a corner. At the other end, a Lee Charles shot gave Farrelly a spot of bother before the linesman came to his rescue and ruled the rebounded strike from Randall off-side.

After his heroics last week, Lee Boylan was playing with much more confidence. He often looked dangerous, on one occasion he got to the end of a Simon Stewart knock down, but was dispossessed by Alvin 'Kung Fu' Watts. Another Boylan shot was put in following a fine Akuamoah cross but the best K's were awarded was a series of corners.

But who needs to score goals when your opponents are perfectly willingly to give them to you? The openeing goal of the game came when birthday boy Colin Luckett took a corner from the right. The in swinger caused havoc, and one of the funniest own goals at Kingsmeadow this season. And the only one. The corner was headed out by Charles at the near post but his header only proceeded to hit Nick Roddis' head from where the ball nesteled in the back of the net. The two Hayes players were arguing about this for some time afterwards but K's were 1-0 up, and the goal was credited to Colin Luckett. What a great birthday present!

Despite a rare Farrelly blunder, when he didn't read that the ball would stick in the mud, and almost allowed Charles to get a shot in, K's were very much the better team in this half at least. There were slight worries that K's weren't going to get another and that it would end a draw again. As if... Patterson resisted his weekly booking despite the very best efforts from Barry Moore whose David Beckham-esque challenge whilst on the floor was a bit low. After a bit of handbags, Moore hit Patterson in the face, but the ref, Mr. M. North, decided to let the children continue playing in the sand pit that was the Kingsmeadow centre circle. As the half ended K's could have gone two up from another own goal when a cross from the right was sliced over the bar by Alvin Watts.

With the score 1-0 at half time, the crowd was treated to a cheer-leading display by the girls, curiously wearing Crystal Palace tops. But K's started the second half as they had finished the first. A fine piece of play linking Mustafa, Pitcher, Luckett and Lee Boylan saw the latter go close with a good header looping towards the back post. Pitcher had a fine game today and was running non stop in the mid-filed, not an easy task when you consider the awful state of the pitch. Matt Crossley was the next to go close, this time was from a Pitcher free-kick and his header again went over the bar.

But after this, Hayes suddenly began to join in the fun. Realising perhaps that K's like to draw as much as possible, there was a lot of play in the half containing the giant figure of Farrelly. Though he rarely had much to do, he dealt with all that was thrown at him ably, but it was worrying that thew ball should be spending so long at that end of the pitch. Hayes had no real chances of note, particularly not in a biased report of this nature, and again K's had real promising attacks, including a fine interchange between Paterson, Pitcher and Boylan. But it was no surprise when Hayes did draw level. With seven minutes to go a cross whipped in from the right was met at the back post by Lee Charles who couldn't miss with his header from a yard. Again K's fell foul to the headed from a yard at the back post, and again K's were drawing, and again it was only then that they began to play with any determination or drive.

With Corbett on for the presumed injured Rattray, the pressure was once again at the Kingston Road End. Corbett won a corner following Pitcher and Boylan's work. Akuamoah allowed Pitcher to cause trouble and later some good build up saw the ball placed perfecly for a Pitcher special. But it wasn't to be as the ball flew over the bar. A good chance fell to Patterson who was brilliantly fed in by the genius that is Eddie Akuamoah, but he could only pass the ball to the goalie.

And that was that, K's had drawn again, and the happier of the set of fans was the Hayes number, who brought a respectful following with them. Kingstonian will need to put away their chances with greater aplomb if they are to provide stern competition for in-form Kettering in the trophy next week.