Haringey Borough 1-2 Mildenhall Town – Saturday 11th January 2025 – Isthmian League North Division
Haringey Borough suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Mildenhall Town at Coles Park despite some promising
performances from some of their new arrivals.
Due to a combination of suspension and player turnover, four changes were made to the lineup from last
weekend’s draw at Heybridge Swifts. Ebenezer Addo Kufuor replaced Caleb Dennis at right back, Jorge
Djassi-Sambu and Tommy Boxer formed the centre-back partnership, with Cem Poyraz at left back and West
Astuti between the sticks. Alkeo Bani partnered Olu Durojaiye in midfield, with Matty Young in his usual
more advanced role. In attack, two new arrivals were given an opportunity to impress. Kaylen Hinds played
on the left wing whilst Sydney Ibie, wearing the number 9 shirt, started up front. Mekhi Mcleod retained his
place on the right flank.
With the sun shining and blue skies overhead for the first time in a while at Coles Park, Saturday’s contest
against mid-table opposition seemed like a perfect opportunity to breathe some life into Boro’s league
campaign. Unfortunately the boys in yellow and blue couldn’t have had a worse start. Three minutes in
Mildenhall, in their all-white strip worked the ball down their right-hand side to Jordan Chipps. He spotted
the infield run of winger Tommy Robinson and clipped the ball through to him. Robinson took a touch on
the turn to get himself into the box and looked to have worked his way past Jorge Djassi-Sambu and into a
shooting position. In a moment of panic, Djassi-Sambu chose to wrestle Robinson to the ground instead of
letting him get the shot away which gave Mildenhall a golden opportunity to take the lead from the penalty
spot. Mildehall Town’s number nine Ryan Swift stepped up and sent Astuti the wrong way, rolling the ball
into the bottom right corner to get his first of two goals in the match.
Despite the slow start, Boro responded excellently. Matty Young arced a great ball over the top with his left
foot to Kaylen Hinds who had made a dangerous run through the centre of the pitch. Hinds took a touch
on his chest before his shot was blocked away for a corner. But from the resulting corner, Boro found the
equaliser only two minutes after they had conceded. The initial inswinger from Matty Young was cleared but
only to the edge of the penalty area where captain Durojaiye picked it up and recycled it back out to Young
on the right flank. Young sent in a looping cross which found Sydney Ibie unmarked from around six yards
out. Ibie smoothly guided his header into the bottom right corner to bring Boro level on his debut and ran
off to celebrate with his new teammates by the corner flag.
Despite getting the equaliser, Tom Loizou’s men struggled to take the initiative in the contest and it was
Mildenhall who began to take control of proceedings. Jake Chambers-Shaw dragged a shot wide of the left
post after some smart footwork on the edge of the Boro penalty area and Jed Wigley sent a speculative effort
wide of the right-hand post having been allowed to carry the ball up the pitch from centre-back. Mildehnhall
Town did regain the lead in the 28th minute, however. Callum Anderson sent a deep cross from the right
wing into the box to Jonathan Kaye, whose cushioned header found Swift on the edge of the box. Swift
struck a low and powerful shot towards the Boro net from just outside the penalty area. The strike took an
unfortunate defelection off of Djassi-Sambu and sailed into the top right corner leaving West Astuti with
no chance. Boro tried to find a response before half-time but struggled to break through a well organised
Mildenhall defence. In the 34th minute, Cem Poyraz created some room for himself just inside the penalty
area and looked to curl an effort into the top right corner but the effort was well blocked by the head of a
Mildenhall defender. And it was the opposition who had the better chance to score and extend their lead
just before the break. Ryan Swift collected the ball in midfield and slipped a ball in behind for the run of Ollie
Hughes. Thankfully for Boro West Astuti closed the angle down quickly and blocked the effort with his legs
to put the ball behind for a corner and see the match through to half-time.
As the second half began, Boro looked like the more threatening side but were unable to convert their
pressure into goals. In the 65th minute, Durojaiye had a low curling shot from the left-hand side of the box
tipped away by the outstretched hand of the Mildenhall goalkeeper. Matty Young swivelled on the edge
of the box and struck a left-footed shot that went wide of the post. Despite their pressure Boro had West
Astuti to thank again for not falling further behind in the 76th minute after a mix-up in the back line saw
Jarid Robson have a clear run-through on goal. This time West Astuti stood tall and parried the central shot
away to keep Boro alive in the game. Boro tried all they could to find a goal. Ibie fired over a right-footed free
kick in the 85th minute after Young had been brought down on the edge of the area. In the 86th minute,
Durojaiye played a smart ball which found the incisive run of Hinds on the left-hand side. His low cross-cum
shot was blocked by the goalkeepers’ legs but came out to Matty Young on the edge of the penalty area.
Young controlled his effort well considering the ball had bounced awkwardly, and struck the ball down and
into the ground only for a Mildenhall defender to make a crucial headed block. In stoppage time, Tommy
Boxer was sent to play as a striker. Unfortunately, the tactical gamble didn’t turn the tide, and once Kaylen
Hinds sent a difficult half-volley over the bar there was no time left for the home team to rescue a point.
Ben Zucker
