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LEAGUE SEASON 2000 - 01

FAC = F.A. Cup, FAT = F.A.Trophy, MPC = Manchester Premier Cup, CSC = Cheshire Senior Cup, ULC = Unibond League Cup, UPC = Unibond Presidents Cup, UNI =Unibond League, qr = Qualifying Round, gs = Group Stage, qf =Quarter Final sf =Semi Final

05-05-01 BLYTH 0 HYDE UNITED 0 UNIBOND
Well, it took 85 minutes against ten men and, in the end two goalkeepers on the pitch but Hyde finally kept only their third clean sheet of the season on the final day at Blyth. In what was a meaningless game for both teams there was drama inside the first five minutes when Blyth's Ian Dixon was sent off for wildly kicking Peter Band who was a little fortunate to only receive a yellow himself as he got up to fight back. If I'm honest, nothing really happened in the first forty-five minutes except for the odd moment of hope for both sides. Gavin Salmon got through after a Steve Rimmer throughball but his touch let him down as he raced towards goal. Blyth's Glen Robson went close with a shot that never really troubled Richard Acton and just before the break a right wing cross was met by Gary Innes steaming into the area but the finish was again poor. After the break Robson went close again when he turned Paul Taylor on the edge of the area but shot straight at Richard Acton. On 55 minutes Robson had the chance of the game when he rose to head a left wing cross into the corner but Acton thrust out an arm at the last moment to make a spectacular save. As the game went on Hyde got more involved with some good passing but only looked threatening with the introduction of Lloyd Richardson and, because of injuries, Graham Bennett as a makeshift centre forward. With three minutes left Paul Robertson cut inside from the right and shot straight at Blyth goalkeeper Paul Gilmore and in injury time it looked as though our season would be summed up when livewire Robson again got in but somehow managed to shoot over. So, thats it. Its finally over. 16th place, 79 goals against and only 3 clean sheets in the league (Even Spennymoor kept more than that!). Not quite what we expected after last year. Add to that the disapointment of Stalybridge winning the league, although if I'm honest they were the best team we have played this year - even if I don't like saying so, and it adds up to a pretty poor season. Never mind - its over & next year surely can't be as bad!!!!

Hyde: Richard Acton 8, John Foster 7, Paul Robertson 7, Steve Rimmer 7, Paul
Taylor 7, Peter Band 7, Matty Taylor 6, Neil Hall 6, Neil Critchley 7, John
Grant 6, Gavin Salmon 6. Subs: Lloyd Richardson 8 for M. Taylor, Colin Hall,
Graham Bennett 9 for Grant.

Blyth: Paul Gilmore, Gary Innes, Andy Martin, Ian Dixon, Richard Forster,
Justin Keegan, Neil Radigan, Carl Pepper, Glen Robson, Craig Perry, Stevie
Stewart. Subs: Mark Dunkerley, Gareth Williams, Andy Hay.

REPORT BY STEVE BOWKER

03-05-01 HYDE UNITED 1 LANCASTER 1 UNIBOND
The final home game of the season, another poor game in front of another sparse crowd. Hyde had a chance on five minutes when a Neil Critchley free kick was met by John Grant but the strikers header went over when he should have done much better. On 29 minutes a Matty Taylor cross found Colin Hall in the area but Lancaster goalkeeper Mark Thornley got out well to block his effort. Lancaster's only real effort of the half arrived when Jimmy Love met a right wing cross but Richard Acton managed to tip over. The second half saw Gavin Salmon strike the crossbar with a cross and Matty Taylor force Thornley into another save. Hyde took the lead on 86 minutes when Peter Band's cross was headed across goal by Gavin Salmon but the ball struck unfortunate Lancaster defender Tom Nicholls and rolled past the stranded Mark Thornley and over the line. Thornley made an excellent save a minute later to deny John Grant but just to prove that we can't keep a clean sheet, Phil Brown equalised in the final minute with a great header. A big thank you to Mark Thornley in the Lancaster goal for keeping our fans entertained when the game faded (most of it!!)

Hyde: Richard Acton 7, John Foster 6 Mark Beston 6, Steve Rimmer 6, Paul
Taylor 6, Peter Band 6, Matty Taylor 7, Neil Critchley 6, Colin Hall 6, John
Grant 7, Gavin Salmon 6. Subs: Lloyd Richardson 6 for C Hall, Paul
Robertson, Graham Bennett.

Lancaster: Mark Thornley, Phil Brown, Jimmy Graham, Paul Haddow, Paul Rigby,
Tom Nicholls, Dean Martin, Stewart Clitheroe, Jimmy Love, Mark Cheal, Colin
Potts. Subs: Craig Bamber, Gary McConnell, Cyril Sharrock

REPORT BY STEVE BOWKER

30-04-01 HYDE UNITED 1 V BURSCOUGH 1 UNIBOND Att. 262
Hyde secured the final point needed for promotion amongst jubilant scenes at a packed Ewen Fields......oh wait, I'm dreaming again! Hyde stumbled to their first point in five games in a boring game against a Burscough side below them in the table. It started off so well and Linnets keeper Paul
Blasbery saved well at the feet of John Grant after the striker reacted to a through ball but his touch let him down. He made up for that on 8 minutes though when he pounced on a defensive mistake before easily slotting past the stranded Blasbery. Burscough hit back and were unlucky when Andy Howard saw his shot from the edge of the area trickle past the post. Hyde should have gone two up when a Neil Hall pass into the area was controlled by Gavin Salmon who turned and forced Blasbery to make a good save low down. A Neil Hall freekick was met by Grant shortly after but the ball came back off the post as Hyde's luck seemed to be out. It certainly was in injury time when a defensive blunder let in John Lawless who skipped round Richard Acton before passing the ball into the empty net, Steve Rimmer being the guilty defender. The second half didn't do much to lift the 262 hardy souls in attendance but both teams had one good chance each, Hyde's arrived when Matty Taylor found
Gavin Salmon twelve yards from goal but the front man blazed over the crossbar. Burscough were even closer when Lee McEvilly jumped for a right wing cross but the ball looped up and when it finally came down he struck the post from close range although the angle was poor. Roll on 4:45 on
Saturday!!!!!!!

Hyde: Richard Acton 7, John Foster 6, Paul Robertson 6, Steve Rimmer 6, Paul
Taylor 6, Colin Hall 6, Matty Taylor 6, Neil Hall 7, Martin McDonald 6, John
Grant 6, Gavin Salmon 6. Subs: Neil Critchley 6 for C Hall, Lloyd
Richardson, Mark Beeston.

Burscough: Paul Blasbery, Neil Hanson, Chris Stanton, Steve Leahy, Ged
Nolan, Andy McMullen, Andy Howard, Marvin Molyneux, Lee McEvilly, John
Lawless, Tommy Molloy. Subs: Paul Thorpe, Michael Clandon, Dave Dugdale

REPORT BY STEVE BOWKER

28-04-01 ALTRINCHAM 2 HYDE UNITED 0 UNIBOND Att. 662
Hyde yet again failed to pick up any points, this time against, compared to their teams of a the past, a poor Altrincham side. Very little happened in the first twenty minutes although the Robins threatened going forward but couldn't break the Hyde offside trap. When they finally did on 24 minutes Danny Murphy raced away only to be faced by Richard Acton who sped off his line to smother. Two minutes later Murphy broke free again and this time as Acton raced out of his area he managed to beat the goalkeeper to it and have the simply task of side footing home the opener. The 28th minute saw Rod Thornley have an effort which was blocked only for Murphy to fire across the face of goal from the rebound. Just after half-time Hyde had two goals dissallowed inside a minute, first of all Martin McDonald netted from an offside position and then Gavin Salmon did the same, both were fairly clear cut though and there were no complaints. As Hyde tried to get into the game they were caught at the other end when a Jason Gallagher cross/shot hit the crossbar with Acton frantically backpedalling. On 61 minutes it was all over when a mistake from Paul Taylor and good skill from Rod Thornley led to the ex-Congleton man firing in from the edge of the area. The introduction of Colin Hall led to better things for Hyde, he raced away on 80 minutes but his shot was going wide before it was cleared for a corner. Three minutes passed when the substitute latched onto Grant's flick before making Coburn save a stinging shot.

Hyde: Richard Acton 7, John Foster 6, Paul Robertson 6, Mark Beeston 6, Paul
Taylor 6, Peter Band 6, Matty Taylor 6, Neil Hall 6, Martin McDonald 6, John
Grant 5, Gavin Salmon 5. Subs: Neil Critchley 5 for Band, Lloyd Richardson,
Colin Hall 7 for M. Taylor.

Altrincham: Coburn, Gallagher, Porter, Bowker, Maddox, Hawes, Murphy,
Craney, Farley, Thornley, Edwards. Subs: Finney, Landon, Mairs

REPORT BY STEVE BOWKER

26-04-01 GATESHEAD 3 HYDE UNITED 0 UNIBOND Att. 131
Hyde welcomed back skipper John Foster after his long term injury and also gave a debut to goalkeeper Richard Acton who signed from Runcorn. It took just three minutes for our new goalkeeper to be beaten although it certainly wasn't his fault. Hyde failed to clear an attack and Gateshead's Paul Thompson angled in a shot from the corner of the penalty area and in off the post with Acton beaten at full stretch. Hyde went very close to equalising on ten minutes when a Matty taylor cross from the right was headed goalwards by Neil Critchley but Adrian Swan managed to tip the ball onto the crossbar before the ball was scrambled to safety. On 25 minutes it could have been two when Alderson battled well to keep the ball in play before cutting back for Wayne Edgcumbe who shot wide. Hyde were really up against it on 26 minutes when Paul Taylor was shown a second yellow card and was sent off. His first booking was deserved for a lunge in the centre of the pitch that was frankly, nowhere near the ball. His second was a little on the harsh side though as it was for elbowing, fair enough to say that when he jumped he used his arms for leverage but he certainly didn't swing out maliciously at the player he was jumping with. From the resulting free kick Talbot forced a save from Acton as the ball sped towards the top corner. A minute later Swan saved at the other end after a swift turn and shot from Gavin Salmon. On 32 minutes Preen combined well with Edgcumbe but Acton did well to save at close range from the Gateshead skipper. A minute later when Edgcumbe broke the offside trap it was Acton again the hero as he saved one attempt before leaping back to his goal-line where Steve Preen had just sent the ball to make a second save. Five minutes after half time all Hyde hope was gone when Steve Preen rose to head home from a right wing cross, Acton managed to get fingers to his effort but the header had enough power to trickle over the line. Around the hour mark Hyde's slick passing was on show and whilst it was the bright spark in the game, nothing came from it in terms of chances. On 81` minutes Gateshead made the scoreline look much more emphatic than it was when Gareth McAlindon took advantage of poor defending by Foster and ball watching by Laurie to stroke home the final goal of the game.

Hyde: Richard Acton 8, John Foster 7, Paul Robertson 6, Martin McDonald 6,
Paul Taylor 5, Peter Band 7, Matty Taylor 6, Neil Hall 6, Neil Critchley 6,
John Grant 5, Gavin Salmon 5. Subs: Carl Laurie 6 for M Taylor, Lloyd
Richardson 6 for Critchley, Colin Hall 6 for Grant.

Gateshead: Swan, Watson, Talbot, Fitzgerald, Bates, Bowman, Thompson,
McAlindon, Preen, Edgecumbe, Alderson. Subs: Proudlock, Wright, Sunley

REPORT BY STEVE BOWKER

21-04-01 HYDE UNITED 1 BAMBER BRIDGE 4 UNIBOND Att. 311
Hyde's poor season reached new depths today as they were easily brushed aside at home against a Bamber Bridge side that were very workmanlike but nothing special. The visitors were the first team to register an attempt when John Turner got round the back and crossed but Karl Robinson couldn't quite stretch enough to turn the ball home. Robinson also had the next chance when Ryan played him in but the ball got tangled up in his feet allowing Hyde goalkeeper Graham Bennett to save. The home side, missing their leading scorer Simon Yeo through injury, took time to get going and their first effort arrived when John Grant got to the byline before pulling the ball back for Gavin Salmon whose shot was blocked on the goal-line. Bridge keeper Billy Stewart made an excellent save to deny Peter Band, scooping the ball away from the top corner after the midfielder's header. Hyde took the lead right on half-time when Gavin Salmon raced onto Grant's flick before clinically firing past Stewart and into the corner. Twelve minutes after the break, the visitors were back on level terms when Andy Whittaker headed home from Paul Crompton's cross. A minute later Hyde could have retaken the lead when Paul Robertson passed to Band who promptly chipped the ball over Stewart but also over the crossbar. On 67 minutes Bamber Bridge stormed into the lead, Turner played in Paul Ryan who made no mistake in slotting past Bennett from close range. On 77 minutes the game was over as a contest when another Crompton cross was controlled by Andy Whittaker before he calmly fired in his second. HisHat-trick was completed three minutes later when he rose to head home acorner and confirm Bamber Bridge's first ever "double" over Hyde.

Hyde: Graham Bennett 7, Paul Taylor 6, Paul Robertson 6, Mark Beeston 6,
Steve Rimmer 6, Peter Band 6, Martin McDonald 6, Neil Hall 6, Carl Laurie 7,
John Grant 6, Gavin Salmon 7. Subs: Neil Critchley, Lloyd Richardson, Colin
Hall 7 for Laurie.

Bamber Bridge: Stewart, Westwood, Farley, P Robinson, McCann, Aspinall,
Turner, Ryan, K Robinson, Whittaker, Crompton. Subs: Burton, Pates, Woodward

REPORT BY STEVE BOWKER

18-04-01 BISHOP AUCKLAND 3 HYDE UNITED 1 UNIBOND Att. 130
On a freezing cold night in the North East, the Tigers put up a good performance against a strong Bishop Auckland side, who many believe are the best team in the league. But as in so many other games this season, soft goals contributed to their downfall and ultimate defeat.

The side showed 3 changes from the one that beat Droylsden on Monday. Mark Beeston and Carl Laurie were unavailable and Matthew Taylor failed a late fitness test. Lloyd Richardson and Ian Hutchinson came into the defence whilst Martin Mc.Donald returned in midfield. The Tigers suffered a further blow when Simon Yeo suffered a knee injury and did not appear for the second half.

And so to the goals....Martin Salmon headed Bishop's into the lead on 16 minutes - completely unmarked at a corner. How many set piece goals in recent games? David Gallacher was allowed to run half the length of the field and pick his spot on 54 minutes. No tackles to be seen. After this the Tigers had a very good spell and pulled a goal back on 76 minutes through Gavin Salmon. There could have been more as chances went begging but right on full time Steven Bell was allowed too much time in the box to give the scoreline a flattering look.

Man of the match for Hyde was undoubtedly Mc.Donald whose first touch was exquisite all evening and central to everything the Tigers did. Richardson, Mc.Donald and Colin Hall were all booked for reckless challenges but it was never a dirty game although the three officials contrived to make a series of errors with the referee constantly failing to notice offside flags and when he did, play was brought back - sometimes from as far as 40 yards away. No advantages were ever played and the 130 hardy souls in the crowd ( 6 from Hyde!) probably wished they had stayed in the club and watched the big screen.

It is hoped Paul Taylor will make a welcome return on Saturday. We desperately need him to stiffen up the defence and perhaps we may ultimately keep a clean sheet - remember those? If we don't we shall always be chasing games. When you are playing against teams( especially top of the league), you can't afford to give them a two goal start and expect a result, although we did come close...

Bennett 6, Richardson 6, Robertson 7, Hutchinson 5, Rimmer 6, Band 7, N. Hall 7, Mc.Donald 9, Yeo 5 ( C. Hall 7), Grant 5 ( Critchley 6), Salmon 7

Sub not used - Smith

REPORT BY TONY BEARD

16-04-01 HYDE UNITED 3 DROYLSDEN 2 UNIBOND Att. 402
As Derbys go it was a good game. Fast, end to end, even showing passion at times. And although the football wasn't top draw, there were certainly defensive mistakes. They started in the 3rd minute when the Bloods Ian Brunskill & Stuart Lindsay left a long ball to each other and Gavin Salmon raced in to chip the keeper from the edge of the area. Four minutes later it was all square when Bloods skipper Carl Holmes came from nowhere to volley home. The visitors went ahead on 22 minutes when a blunder fom Mark Beeston let in Danny Warner who couldn't miss an open goal after seizing onto a poor back header. Droyslden were having the better of the half and Hyde were lucky to equalize before the break, Carl Laurie crossed for Peter Band but Lindsay saved the midfielders shot before Gavin Salmon pounced onto the loose ball and rifled home. Hyde won the game on 56 minutes when Laurie's cross looking suspiciously out of play curled back in for Peter Band to volley home from close range.

Hyde: Graham Bennett 7, Carl Laurie 8, Paul Robertson 7, Mark Beeston 7,
Steve Rimmer 8, Peter Band 8, Matty Taylor 8, Neil Hall 7, Simon Yeo 7, John
Grant 7, Gavin Salmon 8. Subs: Neil Critchley, Lloyd Richardson, Ian
Hutchinson (all not used)

Droylsden: Lindsay, Ashton, Lattie, Brunskill, Nolan, Holmes, Cunnigham,
Morley, Young, Warner, Prior. Subs: Johnston, Crowe, Shield

REPORT BY STEVE BOWKER

14-04-01 WORKSOP TOWN 4 HYDE UNITED 1 UNIBOND Att. 393
A fine victory for the Tigers, unfortunately not the team from Manchester though. An unfamiliar look to the Hyde line up today, mainly due to the fact that we had to play the game in Worksop's away kit as for some strange reason we took our yellow strip when Worksop play in yellow as well! The first half belonged completely to the home side and I'm afraid that at times Hyde were given a footballing lesson. The onslaught began on 5 minutes when Gavin Smith went close with a swerving shot that just cleared the crossbar. On 16 minutes Peter Band connected well with a corner, on the down side it was Chris Waddle who had swung it in and our midfielder was lucky not to score an own goal. Worksop scored their opener on 21 minutes, The home side had a throw on the edge of their own area when Waddle played the ball down the line for Adam Muller. Shouts of, and I quote, "leave it, he's going nowhere!" from our midfield were soon dispelled as he swung in a cross for Gary Townsend to bury into the net. Four minutes later it was two. Smith & Muller combined in a lovely move which saw the latter cross for Phil Stafford to head through Graham Bennett's hands from close range. On 37 minutes the home side were again unlucky, this time when Darren Brookes headed over from a Waddle corner. Two minutes later and the game was all but over, a long throw into the box was headed in by Ian Hutchinson, just in case you were wondering he does play for us, so we could count that as a shot on target!!! Hyde actually registered a shot at goal a minute later when Lloyd Richardson connected with a Critchley corner and home goalkeeper Jamie Holmshaw did very well to tip his looping header over the top. On the stroke of half-time Muller went on a jinking run for Worksop but his shot was well handled by Bennett. The second half was slightly different, Hyde came out playing for pride whereas Worksop didn't really bother as they'd already won it. Three minutes in a Yeo cross was acrobatically hit towards goal by substitute Gavin Salmon, one of the few players to come out of this game with any credit at all, but Holmshaw got down easily to save. On 49 minutes Worksop's Kris Kotoylo went agonisingly close to scoring with a delicate chip that landed on top of the goal. On 50 minutes Hyde gave the fans a false dawn by scoring what turned out to be a consolation goal. Lloyd Richardson fired the ball in from the left and it eluded everyone before
creeping inside the far post, Simon Yeo was given the goal but everyone knew it went straight in from Richardson. A chance on 66 minutes could have brought Hyde back into it but Yeo blazed over from ten yards after good work
by John Grant. Worksop came back into it more near the end and Ryan Davies was unlucky to see his long shot drift over the top. Worksop sealed the win on 82 minutes when Bennett failed to deal with a cross from the left and
Adam Muller steered the ball home at the back post.

Hyde: Graham Bennett 4, Lloyd Richardson 5, Steve Smith 4, Mark Beeston 6,
Ian Hutchinson 5, Peter Band 6, Matty Taylor 5, Neil Hall 5, Simon Yeo 5,
John Grant 5, Neil Critchley 4. Subs: Gavin Salmon 7 for Critchley, Colin
Hall, Carl Laurie 5 for Smith.

Worksop: Jamie Holmshaw, Kristof Kotylo, Richard Mason, Ryan Davies, Darren
Brookes, Steve Johnson, Gavin Smith, Chris Waddle, Phil Stafford, Gary
Townsend, Adam Muller. Subs: Carl Smith, Shaun Varley, Chris Bettney

REPORT BY STEVE BOWKER

12-04-01 HYDE UNITED 1 RUNCORN 1 UNIBOND Att. 177
The two teams combined to produce this "bore draw" and a cold night at Ewen Fields in front of less than 300 fans. Runcorn had the better of the early exchanges and had all the chances in the first few minutes. Gary Lunt went close with a chip from the edge of the box but Graham Bennett saved easily. Hyde's first attempt came courtesy of a Colin Hall shot from 25 yards but in truth Rucorn keeper Winstanley wasn't troubled. A quick Runcorn breakaway down the right presented Lunt with a great chance but amazingly he shot straight at Bennett with the whole goal to aim at. Matty Taylor burst down the left for Hyde before his cross found Peter Band in the centre, the midfielder took too long on the ball though and Runcorn cleared. Again Taylor crossed from the left this time Band connected but his glancing header went over. Hyde went ahead on 33 minutes when Hutchinson's long ball found Simon Yeo who calmly knocked the ball over Winstanley from the edge of the area. The visitors were level within a minute though when they broke down the right and crossed for Alan Cowley to head home well. The second half was a real non-event with only one chance for each side and poor finishing ensured no more goals.

Hyde: Bennett 6, Hutchinson 6, Robertson 6, Beeston 6, Rimmer 6, Band 6, M
Taylor 6, C hall 6, Yeo 7, Grant 6, Critchley 6. Salmon, Laurie, Richardson

REPORT BY STEVE BOWKER

30-03-01 HYDE UNITED 1 EMLEY 2 UNIBOND Att. 623
Some may say that this is all sour grapes. Well, it isn't!!! Hyde deserved better from this game, and to say that the match officials will have better days, would be an understatement.

This game was a cracker, with the two teams providing great entertainment throughout. It was Emley that started the brighter of the two and there was only 5 minutes on the clock when Graham Bennett was brought into actionsaving superbly down to his left after Simeon Bambrook had beaten the offside trap. Minutes later, it was again Bennett to the rescue when Emley captain, Steve Nicholson, looked certain to break the deadlock. From the resulting corner Paul David rattled the crossbar with a bullet header.

After the early onslaught, Hyde started to get into the game. On the quarter hour mark, superb dribbling, by Robertson, was followed by a teasing cross that Yeo just couldn't connect with. Peter Band came close two minutes later, heading wide after great passing between Colin Hall and John Grant. The Tigers were starting to dominate and a last ditch tackle by Miles Thorpe in the six yard box stopped Colin Hall giving Hyde the lead.

The deadlock was broken in the last minute of the half when Robertson set off on a jinking run, passed to John Grant, who turned on a sixpence and planted the ball past Paul Cuss into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Emley were the better side in the second half, whether the effects of playing 4 games in 7 days, or the perplexing decisions by the officials, that took their toll on Hyde , we will never know, perhaps it was a combination of the two. Bambrook looked dangerous throughout and signalled his intentions with a rasping drive that had Bennett scrambling across his goal. Darren Day had two great chances, one sailed just over the bar and Bennett saved the second.

In the 84th minute, Emley hit the woodwork for the second time. Bambrook broke clear and drove the ball against the post with the keeper well beaten. Just as we began to think the we may have some luck or a change, disaster struck! In the space of a minute Neil Critchley missed a golden opportunity to make the points safe, scuffing his shot from 12 yards and Simeon Bambrook seizing on Hyde's inability to clear the ball and hammering the ball past Bennett. Worse was to come in the final minute, when Bambrook got his second, and Emley's winner. He picked up the ball midway inside Hyde's half, carried it 15 yards and unleashed a stunning drive that was past Bennett
before he moved. It was a goal worthy to win any game.

Hyde United: Graham Bennett 8; Colin Hall 7; Paul Robertson 7; Mark Beeston
7; Ian Hutchinson 7; Peter Band 8; Matty Taylor 7; Neil Hall 8; Simon Yeo 6;
John Grant 8; Neil Critchley 6; Subs: Gavin Salmon 6; Carl Laurie 5; Lloyd
Richardson (Not Used)

Emley: Cuss; Nicholson; Jones; Wilson (A); Hatto; David; Day; Thorpe;
Bambrook; Wilson (M); Wood. Subs: Tonks; Nazah; Crossley

REPORT BY DON GOODWIN

28-03-01 RUNCORN 1 HYDE UNITED 1 UNIBOND Att. 177
Hyde brought back John Grant and Paul Robertson, whilst Neil Hall could only make the sub's bench for this encounter at the soon to be vacated Canal Street. It is somewhat ironic that the pitch was in much better condition than previous years' and contained a lot more grass than we have seen recently on our travels.

The Tigers started sluggishly which was probably to be expected after the exertions of last Sunday's tremendous performance. However approaching half-time a free-flowing move ended with Peter Band side-footing just wide when he should perhaps have scored and right on the whistle Grant rattled the crossbar.

Colin Hall and Robertson picked up injuries in the first half and were replaced by Neil Hall and Ian Hutchinson after the break. Hopefully both will be fit for Friday.

Hyde took the lead on 50 minutes when John Grant headed in an excellent cross from Hutchinson. The Tigers should have had a second when Grant was put through. He rounded the 'keeper and from an acute angle he squared the ball to a completely free Simon Yeo who had the simple task of side-footing home from 5 yards. His shot hit the tea-bar! Simon will bounce back. Let's hope its Friday.

Runcorn put the Tigers under severe pressure in the last quarter and Paul McNally side-footed home after Graham Bennett had failed to hold a cross-shot. The last ten minutes was like the Alamo but the defence stood firm and earned the tired Tigers a point, which should really have been three.

Men of the match for Hyde were Matthew Taylor ( who started on the right side of midfield and finished at left back) and Steve Rimmer who also had a tremendous game at the back.

Bring on Emley!

Bennett 6, Laurie 6, Robertson 6 ( Hutchinson 7 ), Beeston 7, Rimmer 8, Band 6, Taylor 9, Colin Hall 8 ( Neil Hall 7), Yeo 6 ( Salmon 6 ), Grant 7, Critchley 7.

REPORT BY TONY BEARD

25-03-01 WHITBY TOWN 1 HYDE UNITED 3 UNIBOND Att. 257
For a while now, many of Hyde's fans have said "give the fringe players a chance". Today they got that chance and they didn't let themselves down. Steve Tobin, Neil Hall, Paul Robertson, Lloyd Richardson & Ian Hutchinson couldn't make the trip for various reasons but their replacements were ready to give the commitment necessary to bring home the three points. On 5 minutes a Colin Hall through ball put Gavin Salmon through and he raced away from the chasing defender before slipping the ball past David Campbell in the Whitby goal only to see his shot hit the post and bounce out. Hyde were soon on top and deservedly went ahead when Campbell made a mess of a Critchley corner and Mark Beeston was on hand to fire home from close range. On the half hour Peter Band and Simon Yeo combined before our leading marksman had Campbell diving to his left to stop his crisp shot. Hyde were unlucky not to be two ahead before the break as on 36 minutes Campbell punched Carl Laurie's corner to the edge of the box where Neil Critchley rifled home only for the assistant referee to intervene indicating that a Hyde player was stood in an offside position and impeding the goalkeeper's view. Whitby started the second period well and within three minutes Matthew Pitts tested Graham Bennett with a shot from 25 yards. On 51 minutes the home side were level, David Goodchild out-jumped Bennett at a corner and scored with the simplest of headers. On 61 minutes Hyde were back in front, another corner was swung in by Critchley, Gavin Salmon made some contact before Colin Hall swept the ball home from close range and he seemed delighted to have registered his first goal for the club. A minute later it could have been all square again, good work by Craig Skelton provided an opportunity for Lee Ludlow but the striker shot over the top. On 71 minutes it was Skelton who had the chance, forcing Bennett to save well after a snapshot from the edge of the area. 15 minutes from time Hyde went close again, Peter Band connecting with Laurie's free kick but Campbell saved well backpeddling. Injury time saw Whitby almost grab an equaliser when a long punt found Dean MacAuley in the area but he blazed over the bar when he had a clear sight of goal. There was still time for Hyde to sew it up when Matty Taylor's long ball was knocked on by Simon Yeo and Gavin Salmon scored the goal he had deserved all day. We've waited since the 24th of February for a win then we get two in two days!!!!!

Hyde: Graham Bennett 6, Carl Laurie 8, Steve Smith 7, Mark Beeston 7, Steve
Rimmer 8, Peter Band 7, Matty Taylor 7, Colin Hall 8, Simon Yeo 7, Gavin
Salmon 8, Neil Critchley 8. Subs: Desmond Rooms 6 for Hall.

Whitby: David Campbell, Matthew Pitts, James Ferguson, David Goodchild,
Kevin Graham, Dean MacAuley, Danny Key, Mark Eccles, Lee Ludlow, Craig
Skelton, Kenny Cramman. Subs: Ben Dixon, Graham Robinson, Steve Johnson

REPORT BY STEVE BOWKER