6th April - Hadley 0 AFC Dunstable 2

Two cracking BJ Christie goals 3 minutes apart, saw AFC pick up the 3 points on offer with a disciplined performance against a potentially dangerous team in Hadley.

With the news that Brandon Carney's knee injury from Saturday would see him sit out the rest of the season, it was a chance for Danny Jones to step up to the plate. He did not disappoint, as he turned in a superb performance and all his patients throughout the season was paid off.

With that being the only change from Saturday, AFC knew they would be in for a tough night, as on their day, Hadley are a match for anyone and pushing up to 6th in the league, they have their eye on a top 4 finish.

As usual with the hosts, they do like to play the ball out from the back, to the extent keeper Charlie Mann only kicked the ball on a handful of occasions. Some might say it was their downfall, as they could not really penetrate the AFC defence hardly at all, as OD's Ricky Perks was mainly a spectator. 

With the AFC midfield working hard to deny Hadley's talented counter parts, all they had to show was a couple of long range efforts. The defining moment came for Christie on 35 minutes. A ball was swung out to him on the edge of the Hadley box. As the ball came over his shoulder, he unleashed a right footed volley which flew into the top corner of the net.

He was now on fire and when he skipped round Harry Sedley 3 minutes later, he bore down on goal and slipped the ball under the advancing Mann to make it 2-0.

Half Time: Hadley 0 AFC Dunstable 2

With Hadley carrying on in the same vein after the break, AFC still looked dangerous when they broke up their play. It was nearly the perfect night for Jones, as on 65 minutes a 30 yard strike was aiming for the back of the net but it crashed off the crossbar.

With the game drawing to a close, it was once again a chance for AFC boss Steve Heath to give 17 year old Jake Kissiedu more senior game time. He nearly capped what would have been a good night for him, when he was one on one with Mann but he saved Kissiedu's shot with his legs.

AFC forced a few late corners and free kicks of which one should have been a penalty. A handball was awarded to AFC but everyone in attendance apart from the referee thought it was inside the box. He looked for guidance from his fellow assitants but none was forthcoming.

So another 3 points and Heath was happy with his teams application saying " on such a poor pitch, I thought we deserved the win, as here is not one of our more successful hunting grounds. Hadley's manager Micky Hazard does like to set his team up to play the ball out form the back and play through midfield to get to their forwards. Tonight we worked so hard not to give them the opportunity. They have some very talented players and if you give them any type of room they can hurt you"

AFC Team: Perks. Massay. N.Carney. Morgan. Cashman. Jones. Gorman. Olaleye. Christie. Humbert. Hall. Subs used. Byron. Kissiedu. Subs not used. Griffiths. Frater. Silvestri.

Goalscorer: Christie (35,38)

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