Non-League and Academy football writer

Wembley FC faced Hilltop FC in a Combined Counties Football League Premier Division North fixture at Vale Farm, on Tuesday night. Wembley started this game in 16th place in the league, with the away side (Hilltop) starting the match in 18th place in the league. This step 5 match of non-League football was won 1-0 by the home side, Wembley, in what was a close and very competitive game of football. Early on in the match Wembley player Calvin McKenzie would hit an effort wide of the Hilltop goal from the edge of their penalty area, following a corner kick for Wembley. A couple of minutes later Hilltop player Jordy Mumbiny found Sharmake Ali on the left-hand side of the Wembley penalty area, from a good pass. However, Sharmake Ali was closed down well by Wembley goalkeeper Victor Cristea, who made a good save to keep out his effort on goal. Shortly after that good chance for the away team, Wembley managed to take the lead in the game. The goal arrived in the 15th minute of the game, after Dan Sefton’s floated cross into the Hilltop penalty area was met by Jonathan Iley, and despite initially not connecting with the ball as he would have liked, Iley would then find the back of the net from close range, with the Hilltop goalkeeper having already dived, to try and get to the ball, 1-0.

After a good Hilltop move, Tyrone Shiham would curl an effort wide of the Wembley goal from the edge of their penalty area, before the away side (Hilltop) who had finished the first half of the game better than the hosts, would go very close to drawing level, just before half-time. However, Hussein Mahdi’s fine whipped free-kick effort from the edge of the Wembley box ended up clipping the crossbar of Victor Cristea’s goal on its way over. During the early stages of the second half, Qusey Yislam would head a free-kick delivery into the Wembley box, wide of their goal, before Wembley captain Yasmine Fehmi-Gil hit an effort over the Hilltop goal from the edge of their penalty area, shortly after Donte Thompson-Prempeh had been through on goal with the ball, inside the Hilltop penalty area. Wembley had been defending their goal really well, as Hilltop tried to draw level in the game. Following a low cross into the Wembley penalty area which was parried by Victor Cristea, the ball came to Bruno Dos Santos, in space inside the box, however, his effort went over the goal from around eight yards out.

This was a game of not very many chances. Following a routine save from Victor Cristea, following a corner kick into the Wembley penalty area, a good and well worked passing move from the away side would end with Rumsfield Asante putting an effort over the Wembley goal, from the edge of their penalty area. And then in the final moments of the game the impressive Sol Alidor-Hamilton curled an effort wide of the Wembley goal from the left-hand side of their penalty area. This was a close game of football, and on another day Hilltop could easily have managed to get a point from the game. However, Wembley’s well organised and impressive defence made it difficult for Hilltop to get that all important equalising goal, in what was a game of hardly any real goalscoring chances. Hilltop defender Sol Alidor-Hamilton put in an impressive defensive performance in my opinion on Tuesday, but for me I thought that the player of the match was Wembley’s Dan Sefton, because as well as him getting the assist for Jonathan Iley’s goal, he did some really good and tireless work in both halves of the pitch, on the left flank.