The Weekly Loan Report: Kerbey’s Hendon can’t stop drawing and Taylor’s Hillians fail to break a six-year record

Keeping U’s fans up to date with our loan players in action over the weekend

Late drama against Bracknell and Dulwich means Matt Kerbey’s Hendon can’t stop drawing, while a 3-0 thumping away in the Isle of Sheppey denies Taylor’s Hillians the chance to progress to the 3^rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup.

Following on from his Man of the Match performance in the 1-1 draw against AFC Totton last weekend, Matt Kerbey’s Hendon signed off before an eleven-day break from league action with yet another draw against an in-form Bracknell side on a rather bleak Tuesday evening in the Southern League Premier South Division. It was a solid performance by the Dons, with Kerbey having very little to do until the dying embers of the game. Hendon thought they’d won it with a 90th-minute goal; however, a late penalty in added time denied the home side all three points. Despite going the right way for the penalty, Kerbey had committed himself too far to the right and marginally missed the ball. The draw moves Hendon up to 12^th in the Southern Premier.

The boys in green were also in action on Saturday in a friendly against Dulwich, where, rather unsurprisingly, there was nothing to separate the two teams and the score finished 1-1 at the Silver Jubilee Park. By contrast to the Bracknell game, it was a beautifully sunny day, and given that the 21-year-old goalkeeper was one of the four starters from the previous week who had kept their place in the starting eleven, I’d say the weather was pretty fitting for how the young man must have been feeling. A powerful header off a cross from close range and a penalty meant Kerbey could do very little about either of the goals, and Hendon concluded the game in usual fashion with a draw. Despite the result marking Hendon’s sixth draw of the season, five of these could have quite easily been wins and indicate how Lee Allinson has built a much-improved Don’s side and that Kerbey has become an extremely important component.

U’s on-loan central-defender Jack Taylor was knocked out of the 2^nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup with Hendon after a 3-0 loss to Sheppey United FC at the weekend, denying them the opportunity to reach the 3^rd Qualifying Round for the first time since 2017. The Hillians were uncharacteristically poor at the back, and Sheppey were 2-0 up within 26 minutes, following a plethora of chances. For the first 25 minutes of the second half, the game opened up, and it was very end to end, but ultimately Sheppey’s attack proved too strong and quick for Taylor as well as the rest of the backline, and United scored once again to make it 3-0 in the 83^rd minute. Despite not having his best game in green and black, the 18-year-old played the full 90 minutes, and he continues to start every game since arriving at the club, including the match prior versus Three Bridges, where the Hillians exited the Velocity Trophy as a result of an unlucky 3-2 loss. Taylor was one of two players that remained from the side that featured in the previous game against Hythe.

Similarly to the victory against Hanworth last weekend, Oliver Khinda played 45 minutes in a 3-2 loss away at Raynes Park Vale in the Isthmian League, South Central Division. The full-back replaced Wayne Ridgley at half-time with Raynes Park 1-0 up, and despite a spirited performance by the Curfews that saw them score two goals in the second half, they were narrowly beaten 3-2 by the league’s top side. Khinda made his fifth appearance in blue and white in a loss that sees the club remain seventh, with the 18-year-old seemingly building a case to be a starter in Mark Harper’s Chertsey side.

To conclude, Tobi Ogundega made his second consecutive start for Bognor at the weekend in a disappointing 3-1 loss to Cheshunt in the Isthmian Premier Division. The defender played 55 minutes before being substituted off for Danny Howick, with the Rocks losing 3-0. The Cheshunt number 9 Nwakuchu wreaked havoc, causing Ogundega and the Bognor back line lots of problems. Also, Manager Robbie Blake was understandably incredibly frustrated with the result and alluded to the “shambolic” defending. However, on a more positive note Ogundega has started 2/3 games since making the loan move to the Rocks.