Francis nets double on his AFC return

Boss Steve Heath welcomed back his two forwards Jermaine Hall and Chris Francis to the starting line-up but lost skipper Moses Olaleye at the 11th hour.

AFC came flying out of the blocks and Taishan Griffith should have given them the lead after 60 seconds thanks to great work by Francis, but he shot wide.

Francis also missed a decent chance, but made amends by opening the scoring on 11 minutes.

Hoddesdon drew level with a sublime overhead from Shaquille Barclay five minutes later.

With the pitch cutting up badly in the second period, conditions were tough for both sides.

On the hour mark, a through ball caught out Hoddesdon’s centre half and Francis latched on to the mistake to make it 2-1.

He could have completed his hat-trick minutes later but had his thunderbolt tipped over the bar.

AFC stay three points behind Kings Langley, who won 2-0 at Holmer Green, but have played two games more than the leaders.

Tonight, AFC host Barton Rovers in the Beds FA Senior Cup quarter-final.

To read AFC boss Heath’s thoughts on the game, see the News/Gazette on sale now.