Stevenage V 2 Potters Bar III 2
Saturday 26th September 2009

It was perhaps suitable that on yet another warm and sunny late September day Bar 3s found themselves on one of the sandiest pitches they are likely to play on all season. Your match reporter however was denied permission to put up a deck chair in front of the goal!

Skipper Steve predicted a high scoring game given that only two genuine defenders were available due to Pete Simmons being forced into umpiring duties. As a result Dave Blakey was an emergency left back with Tom Standen stationed in front of the back 3. Up front George Wickham was making his first start having been recruited from Pete’s coaching at Dame Alice Owens. Your match reporter simply predicted that the side would not repeat their opening 8-0 defeat suffered last season.

The early skirmishes favoured Bar, although Stevenage always looked dangerous on the break. Dave Ensor was marshalling things down the left hand side and Michael Levy was looking dangerous down the right. James Pearson was doing his best to completely ignore the skipper’s early advice to try to avoid reverse stick passes by seeming to avoid any other type of pass.

The deadlock was broken after 13 minutes when the Stevenage defence made a hash of a clearance and Alex Seeney was on hand to find the back of the net – or at least he would have done had a net been in place! The lead was short lived however as Stevenage soon won a short corner and a well worked effort pegged things back to 1 apiece.

Bar maintained their forward momentum and one move in particular, which Bradley Sayers was unable to finish off, might have been worthy of the goal of the season as Dave Blakemore’s interception out of defence and then good work from Michael and John Hobbs put Bradley clear. The lead was restored however after 26 minutes as good work from Dave Ensor down the left found Alex free on the edge of the D to give the keeper no chance.

Half time was reached and it was good to see Steve was well stocked with oranges. After plenty of words of wisdom the team went back out to continue the pattern of the first half – plenty of good moves going forward that tended to either lack the final ball or clinical finish, whilst in defence there were plenty of scares with Geoff Smith pulling off a number of fine saves.

Another short corner from Stevenage with 14 minutes remaining brought their second equaliser. The first effort was repelled but a good pass across the D found an unmarked player who rifled home.

The final 14 minutes were very open and there were plenty of chances for both sides. For Bar Alex came close to a hat trick when firing wide from a Dave Ensor pass at a short corner; Dave himself came close to settling things in the final minute, when he took advantage of the new self pass rule and pretty well unchallenged ran into the D but put his effort just past the post.

Overall a good start to the season against a team relegated last season – although there is clearly work needed in making sure possession isn’t given away as easy it was this week and also some practice required on the self pass rule, as Stevenage definitely used this tactic to more effect than Bar.

Team: S Walters (Capt), G Smith (GK), D Blakemore, T Standen, D Blakey, D Ensor, J Hobbs, A Seeney, M Levy, G Wickham, J Pearson, B Sayers

Scorers: A Seeney (2)
Umpire: P Simmons

by Anthony Levy