By Sam Houston
Stock image via Wikimedia Commons
At the time of writing, it has now been over two months since the Beavers played 90 minutes of football, due to the effects the Coronavirus pandemic has had on the sport. The sudden stop to football has led to a large number of bored and miserable sports fans around the world, and the loyal supporters of Hampton and Richmond Borough are no different, so today we are looking back upon better times in the hopes of bringing some cheer!
Whilst it may feel like many years ago by this point, Hampton and Richmond picked up their last home win on the 1st of February, picking up all three points in a game against lowly Hungerford that will stick in the minds of both sets of fans for a long time (for very different reasons).
Hungerford FC entered this game bottom of the league, and desperate for any result that may have helped them wrestle free from the jaws of the relegation zone whilst up the other end of the table, Hampton and Richmond Borough came into this fixture with their eyes on keeping themselves in the playoff picture.
Despite the differing circumstances at both clubs, and the sizeable gap in the league table between them, the form table surprisingly favoured Hungerford. Hungerford had managed to pick up two successive victories, including a win over playoff-hopefuls Chelmsford whereas Hampton and Richmond had only managed a single victory in their last four outings, a run which included a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of former Sky Bet Championship side Yeovil Town in the cup.
This fixture was a notable one for the Beavers’ top scorer, Danilo Orsi-Dadomo, who made his first appearance against former club Hungerford since he departed for south-west London on a free transfer back in July, and the 24-year-old didn’t delay in showing his previous employers what they were missing as the striker put Hampton and Richmond 1-0 up after only three minutes of play.
The lead didn’t last for very long, however, as Hungerford pulled the score back to 1-1 only two minutes later through former Reading and Hearts youth player Zidan Akers, who made debutant goalkeeper Dion-Curtis Henry pay for a misplaced throw.
The free-scoring nature of the game continued with a third goal in the ninth minute, with a penalty awarded after loanee Jake Gray was taken down in the box, and Ryan Hill did not make any mistake with his spot kick.
After that early burst of scoring, the game was stalled at 2-1 for 24 minutes before the Beavers were awarded a second penalty on the 33rd minute when Jake Gray was fouled, for a second time, in the box. Danilo Orsi-Dadomo failed to score for Hungerford when they swept aside Hampton and Richmond 3-0 last season, but he calmly placed his penalty low, to the keepers right, for his brace.
The first half came to a stop with the score still at 3-1 to Hampton and Richmond Borough, with Hungerford appearing to improve defensively as the half progressed.
The Hungerford defence stayed resolute throughout the opening 20 minutes of the second half but, following centre-half Dean Inman’s first goal of the calendar year, the proverbial floodgates began to open.
Only five minutes after Inman made it 4-1, the Beavers managed to put the ball in the back of the Hungerford net for a fifth time, this time through substitute striker Niko Muir; a particularly impressive feat when the goal came from Muir’s first ever touch as a Hampton and Richmond player, as this fixture marked his debut after arriving on loan from National League side Hartlepool.
The man of the match eventually went to midfielder Ryan Hill, and that may have been influenced by the delightful free-kick that Hill scored with ten minutes of regulation time left to play.
449 people were in attendance for the fixture, but if any of those 449 were Hungerford fans it is unlikely they would have stuck around long enough to see winger Sam Deadfield score his sixth of the season, and the Beavers’ seventh of the game, following a scramble that resulted from a coming together between Jake Gray and the Hungerford goalkeeper.
The 7-1 battering kept Hampton and Richmond in 9th spot in the National League South, and pushed the Beavers goal difference into positive figures for the first time this season whilst the catastrophic ending of Hungerford’s patch of good form saw them stay pinned to the bottom of the table, where they have stayed since.
Whilst there are no official highlights of the fixture available, the goals can be seen in this Hampton and Richmond supporter’s superb YouTube video blog of the game. Thanks Josh!
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