Next up – Northwood
Saturday, 1st November at The Skyline Roofing Stadium, Chestnut Avenue, Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 1HR
Pitching in Southern League, Divison One (Central); kick off 3pm.
Admission
Adults £11, Concessions £6, under 16 free.
Printed programme £2.
Our opponents
Northwood will celebrate their centenary next year but didn’t show up on our radar until the last full season of the twentieth century. By then they had progressed from local leagues through the Hellenic and Spartan leagues to reach the Isthmians and then Southern combinations. They did have a couple of years in the Southern premier division early this century. However, like us they’ve yo-yoed between the two Step 4 leagues, sometimes our paths have crossed, sometimes not. Last season they returned to the Southern and finished sixteenth out of twenty-one in our division, a late rally pulling them clear of relegation worries. Their Director of Football is Steve Ringrose, manager of Ware from 1996 to 2000.
Form guide
They’ve started to rally earlier this season after a slow start. A run of four defeats has been followed by three draws built around a defensive strategy with hopes of scoring on the break. That, at least is the story of their point at Hitchin (remember them?). Their best results have been away from home. They have garnered just one point from seven matches at the Skyline Roofing Stadium. They are currently second from bottom in the table. They have not won a league match since the 20th September at Hertford.
Ware are having a good run of away wins with five consecutive victories on the road. In that time we have scored sixteen goals and conceded six. Three of the six came when we were down to ten men at MK Irish. It all looks good but nothing lasts for ever and we have to guard against over confidence. Has the midweek defeat against Hitchin dented confidence or will there be a backlash after that disappointment?
Previous Meetings
Our first meeting was in the Isthmian Associate Members Trophy, a 3-2 defeat after we had been 2-0 up. Andy Keepence and Lee Gildersleeve were our scorers. Last season we lost 1-0 at home but won the away game 3-1 with goals from Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo, Josh Okotcha (his first for Ware) and Ike Okwusogu. I can’t help but recall the Isthmian League meeting of December 8th 2007 at Wodson Park when we went 2-0 up in the first 63 seconds of the game. The final score was 4-1 with two goals from Chris Ellerbeck and one each from Paul Burton and Steve Horsey.
Commentary
Pete and Symon will be at the game if you can’t make it yourself. They’ll be broadcasting commentary from 2.55 at https://90minuteslivefootball.mixlr.com/events/4622445.
Match officials
Our referee this Saturday is Mudiwa Manyange and the assistant referees are Stephen Williams and Daniel Harvey.
Youth Football this Sunday
There are two EJA league games at Wodson Park this Sunday, with the under-13s at home to Cheshunt at 10am and then the under-16s facing Frenford at midday. Entry is free with the club room and tea bar open throughout.
