Mens 1st XI Match Report
Welwyn Garden City 1st XI v Potters Bar Mens 1st XI
05 February 2011 | by Anthony Levy
With the University of Hertfordshire once again winning the award for the longest walk from parking your car until finally finding the pitch (and there really is no competition) it was hardly surprising that once again the skipper was seen anxiously looking around for his players – so worried was he that at one point he foolishly asked your match reporter if he had his kit! Surreally those turning up early enough were witness to the Harpenden Ladies coach shouting encouragement from on top of the dugout (in their losing effort against the Bar Ladies) and a lady on a horse skirting the pitch – presumably the only quick way to get here from the University building!
It was a welcome to Ray Li, making his debut after a move down South, ironically playing against the side that he had trained with only a few weeks ago. Ray started the game in the dreaded left back position but as the game wore on he showed his class in his more natural deep midfield role. Meanwhile the late arrival of Charlie Irish saw Michael Levy given the opportunity to start the game at right back, where he gave a measured display.
Within a minute of the start Bar were surely unlucky to see the umpire merely award a short corner when Mark Turpin was taken out after rounding the keeper with the goal at his mercy. In football a red card would have been automatic – here the keeper was still on the pitch to save the resulting short corner effort from Ed Whybrow. Just moments later another crude challenge in the D to deny Dave Fennell might on another day have also seen a greater sanction than another short corner that went begging. It was however a sign of things to come that the pace of the Bar forwards was in the end to prove too much for the Welwyn defence.
With 6 minutes gone Bar should have taken the lead when Mark Turpin again ran free to set up Miles Tomkins, but his effort was mishit and allowed the keeper to make a good save. However he didn’t waste the next effort on 19 minutes – Mark Turpin was again involved, this time robbing a defender of possession, and his ball to Miles was fired into the roof of the net.
Not that Bar were having their own way of things – Welwyn had plenty of possession and Owen Hughes and Ed Newbery had plenty to do in the centre of defence with Geoff Smith called into play quite often as sweeper! Nevertheless it was still something of a surprise when Welwyn equalised on 24 minutes. Bar were backed up following a mistake from the skipper when allowing a bobble from the notorious Welwyn pitch to get past him. The Welwyn forward went around the right side of the D before firing a shot home into the bottom left hand corner.
The skipper made up for this 5 minutes later when he claimed what in reality was an underserved assist! An attempted lofted ball from just his half was mishit, but the defender misjudged the bounce and Ed Whybrow needed no second invitation as he took the ball on, side stepped another defender and fired home from just inside the D to give the side a deserved half time lead.
The half time team talk stressed the need to keep up the good work in the second half and not to slacken in any way – everyone was reminded of what happened earlier in the season when the 2 sides met (Welwyn scoring 2 late goals to grab an undeserved draw) and there was also a cheeky reminder that a win today would help ensure that this fixture would not be required next season!
The players responded well to keep up the pressure with the Welwyn defence and keeper the busier of the 2 sides. A short corner on 42 minutes saw Ed Whybrow denied by another good save by the keeper, but just a minute later sheer weight of numbers in the D finally saw a two goal lead established. Once again it was Mark Turpin who raced away from the defence and his unselfish pass initially went unrewarded before Miles Tomkins picked up the pieces on the far post.
Bar kept up the pressure and had a number of chances to extend the lead. On 50 minutes it was Ed Whybrow who stretched past the defence but despite Mark Turpin racing up alongside, he decided to go it alone and put his effort wide of the post. Ed was soon to once again be denied by the keeper from a short corner effort and the keeper was to pull off his best save with 12 minutes remaining, denying Miles Tomkins with a full length save.
Eventually however this pressure told – this time it was Chris Chittleborough who put in an excellent pass from the right hand side. Initially the keeper was again to the rescue to deny Ed Whybrow, but this time Ed was able to tap home the rebound to make it 4-1 with just 11 minutes remaining.
This goal probably over relaxed the side who definitely took their foot off the gas for the remainder of the game, reminiscent of that home game earlier in the season. This time however, despite plenty of Welwyn attacks, there were enough last ditch tackles and wayward shots to keep Welwyn at bay, and when the last line of defence did get breached, Geoff Smith was on hand to make a fine save with 3 minutes remaining to maintain the 3 goal lead through to the final whistle.
A first win for many years over our local rivals was just what was needed to take into the final 7 games of the season.
Final Score: Potters Bar 4 - 1 WGC
Goal Scorers: M Tomkins (2), E Whybrow (2)
Team: E Newbery (Capt), G Smith (GK), O Hughes, R Li, M Levy, C Chittleborough, E Whybrow, C Irish, A Foster-Yeow, D Fennell, M Turpin, M Tomkins
« Back to Match Reports