Potters Bar II 2 Harpenden IV 1 (HT: 1-0)
Saturday 20th February 2010

Team: S Randon (Capt), J Page (GK), T Bye, R Hughes, E Ogbourne, V Patel, P Brady, M Levy, F Waite, D Fennell, D Ensor, A Jones, A Stokes, J Latham, A Latham
Goalscorers: F Waite (27), D Fennell (56)
Umpire: Pete Simmons

Before a season high attendance (12) the side played out probably their most important game of the season so far against fellow promotion contenders Harpenden. With both Harpenden and Cheshunt having surprisingly dropped points last week promotion was now very much back into the hands of Bar for whom maintaining the winning run was essential.

The side was amazingly strong given a full 14 players in the 1st team’s equally important fixture. 15 players were available and on another week 1 or 2 of them would have had to have made their first appearance for the 3s. As it was, the skipper had the headache of how to rotate the players and decided to split the team between attackers, midfield, wingers and defenders to make sure it all worked well.

Early on things were pretty even, with Bar having an edge in possession but with Harpenden always dangerous on the break, which was emphasised when they hit the post from a tight angle after 8 minutes. It looked like the sides were likely to cancel each other out with each defence finding a way to deny much in the way of clear cut chances, with Ed Ogbourne and Vishal Patel in particular showing sufficient pace to match the breaking forwards. James Latham was once again looking particularly dangerous but too often his final pass failed to match his approach play.

Just when it was looking like a goalless first half Bar won a short corner on 27 minutes. After Andy Latham’s initial shot was blocked there was then a bit of goalmouth scramble before Freddie Waite tucked home the loose ball.

Despite reaching the interval 1-0 ahead the skipper was once again unhappy with how things were going, using no fewer than 9 expletives (disappointingly a lack of variety used!) to describe his views of the first half display. Although he felt that the side had great width, the general view was that he didn’t mean what Shag suggested he might mean!

Whatever the meaning, Bar came out in the second half to play some of their best hockey of the season. The opening 20 minutes saw the side virtually encamped inside the Harpenden half and but for an inspired display from the Harpenden keeper as well as Bar finding ways not to score, the game could easily have been out of sight. On 39 minutes Andy Latham looked to have an open goal until son James took the ball away from him. When he did get the ball Latham Senior twice saw good efforts just go past the post on 47 and 52 minutes. Just 2 minutes later Latham Junior made a fine run to see his shot blocked by the keeper.

Finally the pressure told on 56 minutes. Michael Levy fed Dave Fennell down the right and just when it looked like he ought to be playing the ball across the D, he shot home from a tight angle.

Bar’s pressure continued – on 57 minutes a fabulous move down the left involving both the Lathams saw the ball come across in front of goal to the ever willing Andy Stokes whose effort was somehow kept out. Just a minute later another James Latham surge was denied by the keeper.

It was in fact a major surprise when, with 3 minutes remaining, Harpenden made it out of the Bar half to manufacture a well taken goal to bring the score back to 2-1. There were a few nerves on the sideline but Bar maintained their control of the game and another goal nearly came when Dave Fennell made a great run down the left and his angled pass into the D just evaded the outstretched stick of Andy Stokes.

The final whistle went with the ball as usual in the Harpenden half and a fully deserved victory that could easily have been by many more than the final 2-1 score line. The win (the 9th in succession) takes the side up into the top 3 for the first time this season, making next week’s game against Hertford even more important than this one! With the 1s and 3s also playing at Owens next week there must be a chance of the attendance record being broken once more.

by Anthony Levy