Hayes & Yeading came away from Hemel Hempstead with a hard earned point after Pat Cox’s first half volley was cancelled out late in the game by a free-kick from Tudors skipper Jordan Parkes.
Both sides started evenly possession wise but it was the home side who were to twice be denied in the opening quarter hour by the impressive Calum Kitscha in the United goal. In the seventh minute James Simmonds found his skipper Parkes 20 yards from goal and he unleashed a fierce shot that Kitscha had to acrobatically tip over the crossbar.
Kitscha was again in the action on 15 minutes when James Potton laid the ball off inside the United box to Simmonds who connected well with his shot but Kitscha was well positioned to palm the shot away to safety.
Minutes later United’s first real look at the Tudors goal came when Louis-Rae Beadle and Matty Harriott combined on the right with the latter sending in a cross that Cox got his head to despite it nearly being taken off by a defenders boot, only for the ball to go wide and referee O’Donnell to see nothing wrong with the raised boot against the United man.
It was not long though before Cox did get the better of the home defence as he moved ahead of his marker to the near post to volley home a Beadle corner despite the best efforts of Ed Asafu-Adjaye to get the ball off the line.
The only other real scare of the half saw a Parkes corner from the left whizz across the United six yard box with no player from either side getting a touch on what was a dangerous yet tempting delivery for the home side.
Chances in the second half were to fall mainly to the home side with United playing somewhat on the break. Asafu-Adjaye and Potton combined with the striker moving into the box and firing a goalbound shot that Kitscha again to well to push out and luck was on United’s side as the ball struck a Hemel player and rolled harmlessly out for a goal-kick.
Asafu-Adjaye then collected a part cleared corner only for his shot to be blocked away en route to goal by a well placed Matt Ruby in the six yard box before a break for United just after the hour saw Harriott beat his man to the bye-line on the right and chip a perfect cross to the far post where substitute Dan Wishart took his eye off the ball and headed tamely into the ground.
Within a minute the home side should have levelled, Potton crossed deep from the right to an arriving Oliver Hawkins who got his head to the ball only to head wide from close range.
The deserved leveller for the home side did come though, with fifteen minutes remaining and again direct from a free-kick as Parkes struck his shot from 20+ yards past the wall and into the bottom corner past Kitscha’s dive.
The final stages of the game saw a chance apiece to snatch maximum points. The first saw all three United substitutes combine, Wishart collected on the right and fed the ball in to debutant Affy Obafemi. The former Dagger played the ball on further to Rhys Murrell-Williamson who with a good angle to shoot at failed to retain his composure and blasted over from inside the box.
Needless to say the chance for the Tudors fell to the impressive Parkes who collected the ball outside the United box on the left corner before unleashing a shot that grazed the roof of the United net, thankfully from the top and it was honours even at full-time.