Skipper Chris Smith and experienced centre half Ed Newbery were both unavailable which meant that there was a certain amount of disorganisation before the start! Nevertheless the team looked to be well equipped as it welcomed back Tom Quick from injury to the heart of the defence while Chris Boyle provided the required experience to an attacking line up that also included Rishi Choudhury as an additional attacking option.

From the outset it was one way traffic as Bar took control at the back and their speedy forwards looked for the opening goal. Sam Penn and James Allmand-Smith were both denied from close range by the keeper after only 2 minutes but the resulting short corner simply delayed the timing of the opening goal by a further 60 seconds as Ajay Patel was on hand to touch home James Allmand-Smith’s strike from close range.

Bar continued to dominate territory and possession but too often the link up play failed to bring about a clear cut chance as either there was a failure to pass the ball to an open man or else the key pass went astray – something that was to prove a common theme for most of the afternoon. Surprisingly it was Bar’s keeper Mo Umney who was next to be called into vital action as he made an excellent save from a short corner conceded after 18 minutes.

When Bar got their passing right they were always dangerous and they worked 3 good chances during the remainder of the half that ought to have seen them extend their lead – on 22 minutes Nick Umney and Sam Penn linked up well, resulting in a short corner that saw Arfan Akhtar’s strike turned away by the ever busy Rickmansworth keeper, who was then required to make two separate saves from David Allmand-Smith from a short corner after 28 minutes. A deserved second goal almost came just before half time as the Allmand-Smith brothers linked up splendidly through the middle of the visitor’s defence before the cross from James just evaded Sam Penn’s outstretched stick where just a slight touch was needed.

To this point the only real threat from Rickmansworth appeared to be to try to find their loan striker who was stationed very close to the Bar goal – the tactic was to prove effective however as this turned into the source of both of their goals, the first coming completely against the run of play on the stroke of half time as the striker ran into the D largely unopposed before placing the ball low past keeper Umney.

The goal rather took the gloss off of the half time team talk but Arfan Akhtar stressed that the score was 1-1 and that with a bit more composure Bar should be able to easily take control in the second half.

As if to prove the club coach right Bar went out for the start of the second half and bombarded the Rickmansworth goal in a period of 10 minutes when they could have easily scored 3 or 4 goals. The Rickmansworth keeper was the only thing stopping Bar running riot as he made key saves to deny Sam Penn after 37 minutes, following a splendid move started by Rich Laverick-Brown down the right hand side, and then Nick Umney 2 minutes later from a short corner. James Allmand-Smith had an effort blocked on 42 minutes after he was set up from the back by Arfan Akhtar, while soon afterward Ajay Patel’s flick of Nick Umney’s short from a corner was also saved.

In the middle of all of this action Bar did manage to get their noses in front – a Rickmansworth defender made a mess of a clearance on 40 minutes and James Allmand-Smith managed to find Nick Umney on the left hand side of the D and his reverse stick effort finally caught the keeper wrong footed to give Bar a 2-1 lead.

Remarkably Bar allowed Rickmansworth back in the game on 46 minutes as with players striving forward to hunt a 3rd goal they were left expsosed at the back as a Rickmansowrth forward was left completely alone and despite Mo Umney’s best efforts, a second equaliser resulted.

The setback made Bar rather more ragged, returning to the profligate passing ways of the second half and for a while it looked increasingly like more points were going to be lost, with the only meaningful chance during this passage of play coming on 56 minutes when James Allmand-Smith flashed a fine shot just wide from the edge of the D. However, with time running out and frustration growing, Bar took the lead for good on 64 minutes with James Allmand-Smith’s excellent strike this time finding the bottom corner of the goal following good work from Rich Laverick-Brown.

Sam Penn should probably have put the game beyond doubt with 3 minutes remaining. George McCormick, having an excellent game at left back, started the move by beating his marker and then setting Sam free down the left. Sam then cut inside and was denied at short range by the keeper when a pass to an unmarked forward might have been the better option. Nevertheless Bar were able to see out the last couple of minutes of the match without too much bother to ensure a return of 16 points from 18 from the opening 6 matches to keep themselves firmly in the promotion places.

Potters Bar 2s 3 Rickmansworth 2 (HT: 1-1)

Team: M Umney (GK), T Quick, A Akhtar, G McCormick, J McCormick, C Boyle, R Laverick-Brown, A Patel, S Penn, R Choudhury, J Allmand-Smith, D Allmand-Smith, N Umney

Goals: Ajay Patel (3), Nick Umney (40), James Allmand-Smith (64)

Umpires: Alan Field and Jon Yates