TT INTERVIEW

Louie and Shane talk about the Tudors

ABOUT ME

LD – My name is Louie I never really ever saw myself following a non league team and did not have much knowledge of non league, but starting to follow Hemel is the best thing I have ever done and has helped me a lot. I am definitely not the longest serving fan, I started following Hemel towards the end of the 19/20 season properly home and away. Before that I would go to games now and again but nowhere near as much as I am doing now. It’s rare I miss a game, it’s what gets me through the week, the buzz of live football.

SC – My name is Shane, I’m 23 and I love most types of sports and have been following Hemel for about 10 years now.

FORM

LD – The start of the season has been very decent. I maybe expected a little more as we have a very good team now, and if we are looking at the games we have lost or dropped points we could have easily won. We started off the season getting 6/6 points beating Yeovil which was amazing and then beating Welling away after going down to 10 men, and after that my expectations were very high. We have dropped points after that, but now we are starting to pick our form back up after beating Chelmsford 2-1 and then a great point at Worthing, which could have easily been more without a sending off. Overall I’m fairly happy, maybe my expectations were just a little too high because of the quick start.

SC – Our form is good, we are unbeaten in our last 6 games in all comps.

HIGHLIGHTS

LD – My highlight so far are already hard to choose from! Starting the season off with a wonderful performance beating Yeovil with a fairly late winner, the scenes were unreal at a great game or recently beating Chelmsford 2-1 with two late penalties. Another great performance and travelling there on a Tuesday night, that made it all worthwhile. Nights like those are the reason I love this club.

SC – Highlight so far is beating Yeovil on the opening day.

KEY PLAYERS

LD – We have made so many signings this year and have so many great players to choose key players form, but I will pick out a few, starting with in my opinion the rock of the midfield, the main man George Williams. He joined on loan in the second half of last season and everyone was hoping he would sign on a perm this year and he did just that signing from Borehamwood where he didn’t find his feet and very surprisingly did not get enough game-time. Before that he’s an ex-Fulham and Forest Green player, where he scored the best every hat-trick in the FA Cup. Definitely a player to watch out for. Next up a player who has been with us since his teen years, a brick wall in the defence Kyle Ajayi. When I first started following Hemel home and away he was struggling a lot with injuries and really struggling to get game-time and perform consistently. But his recent improvement and commitment has been unreal and he’s been immense for us so far this season. Goalkeeper Craig King (ex-Luton & Dartford) is in my opinion the best goalkeeper in the league by far. He’s had approaches from League 1 teams at the start of the season but had unfinished business here. When he was announced for another year the fans were very pleased indeed. Other players to keep an eye on are Joe Iaciofano who’s scored 4 goals so far this season, he has a lot more to prove still I think but you just need to give him time. He joined from Oxford City and fans were so excited, so hopefully there’s still a lot more to come from him.

SC – I’ll say our key players are Craig King – goalkeeper, Kyle Ajayi – centre back and Joe Iaciofano our main striker.

THE MANAGER

LD – After Mark Jones was moved on last December Bradley Quinton came in. He’s now had his chance to get his own players in and it’s definitely starting to show in our performances. His commitment is unreal and he wants the best for the club, putting the players through their paces in pre-season camp showed that. We are a very attacking team with fast full backs who will get up high and get it into the box. When needed our midfield is the main point of the game, all experienced passers and all are capable of chipping in with goals.

SC – Our manager won the play-offs with BraIntree a few years ago and I’d say the style he likes to play is passing/pressing as well as the players playing/working as a team.

POSSIBLE LINE-UP

SC – The likely line up will probably be Gk – King, in defence will be Josh Williams, Kyle Ajayi, Josh Hill, Montel McKenzie, in midfield will be George Williams, Joe Re, Alfie Mathews, Myles Judd, and up top will be Joe Iaciofano and Tyrell Newton.

PRE-MATCH REFRESHMENTS

LD – If you want a local pub for food and drink the Crabtree is definitely the best place to go, if not just come to the club, friendly bar staff who will sort you out.

SC – Best option nearby is the Crabtree which is just around corner from the ground.

BEST OPPOSITION

LD – It’s hard to pick out the most difficult game as I don’t think we have been out-played too much. I would probably have to go with Worthing who are definitely going to be up there this year. After we went down to 10 they dominated possession, so therefore would be the most difficult as it was very tough to hold on.

SC – I’ll say the best teams we have played are the likes of Yeovil and Chelmsford and one of the best players we have faced is Alfie Pavey from Farnborough.

PREDICTION

LD – Ooh my prediction for the game?! It’s going to be a tough tough game, we know a lot about your attackers mainly Jarvis who is talked about a lot and sounds like a great player. So I can see it being a high scoring game. I’m going to back us and go for a 3-2 home win.

SC – I’ll say a 2-2 draw.