Hayes & Yeading came away from the opening day empty handed points wise but with many positives, losing by the odd goal in seven to one of the title favourites, Whitehawk.

Things couldn't have started better for United though as the first goal of the season came after just 4 minutes. Jim Fenlon fired a free-kick from halfway deep towards the back of the box, Ben Gerring headed the ball back towards the centre to where his defensive partner Devante McKain flicked on with Elliot Benyon getting his head in front of his marker to head home from close range.

Early possession slid from end to end at a rate of knots. Scott Neilson went close for the visitors from 20 yards before at the other end Ben Gerring and Ismael Ehui combined to set up a similar chance for Evans Kouassi which ended with the same result. Back down the other end consecutive penalty area defensive blocks denied both Danny Mills and Sam Deering from troubling Magnus Norman in the United goal. Minutes later another well timed block from Jim Fenlon denied Deering again.

Kouassi was too high when set up by Harry Grant and Max Worsfold’s approach play and then in the 24th minute Benyon burst into the area on to an excellent Lewis Ferrell pass only to be tripped by Arnaud Mendy, the centre half having already been cautioned ten minutes earlier saw a second yellow and was dismissed by referee Mr Hair. Ismael Ehui stepped up to the penalty mark and drilled the ball past Ross to give United a two goal lead with an extra man.

Sadly the extra man lasted all of two minutes as Kouassi got in a tangle on the ground with Robinson who appeared to catch the United man in the chest with his boot before Kouassi kicked out in retaliation right in front of Mr Hair who produced an immediate red card for the United debutant and it was ten men apiece.

This seemed to lift the visitors as you would expect and ten minutes later they were back in the game. Deering collected in his own half from David Ijaha, the wide-man playing the ball down the line to an offside looking Robinson who “played to the whistle”, advanced into the United box and fired across Norman’s dive into the far corner.

Robinson soon after tried a 20 yard curler that Ferrell did well to dive and deflected wide with his head before bothe sides found the net in first half stoppage time.

Benyon was again the catalyst for United, the striker latching on to a poor Ijaha pass inside his own area before cutting the ball back to the advancing Luke Williams who fired past Ross from just inside the box to move United once again into a two goal lead. This lasted only a couple of minutes as Nick Arnold played the ball into the United area, Torres collected it, turned and fired past Norman to leave a single goal deficit for the visitors at the break.

Manager Tristan Lewis brought Aiden Hawtin into the action at the break in place of Ismael Ehui and after Williams has fired inches over after collecting a weak clearance, the visitors hit United with a two minute double that saw the Hawks take the lead for the first time in the game.

On 52 minutes Arnold played a long cross-field pass to Robinson who had time to collect on the right before firing in a cross that was met superbly on the volley by Danny Mills who had got himself in front of Devante McKain in the six yard box, giving Norman no chance. Two minutes later Mills had a second and the Hawks had the lead through the same combination, Robinson worked his way into the box on the right and crossed into the middle, Norman didn’t get a strong enough connection and Mills nipped in behind him to tap home.

Arnold then nearly got on the scoresheet from his full-back position, his first effort being well blocked by McKain and when the ball came back to him he blasted it over the crossbar. Arnold then set up Robinson but Norman was equal to his effort as the visitors continued to be in the ascendancy.

With United not eally creating any clear cut chances of their own as the game neared its conclusion, Fenlon slid in to block Neilson’s shot and then in the last minute Mills worked space in the box only to be denied a hat-trick by the upright as his shot cannoned back to safety off the post.

Report by Kevin Watts.

Photos by Ray Peploe.

Veetec United Man of the Match: Elliot Benyon.

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David Ijaha