At long last Paul Halsey was able to select from a sizeable squad of fit players to achieve a sixth game without defeat. Is it because people are playing for their places now? Certainly there was little time for sentiment in Halsey’s selection.
Jay Rolfe has been playing well in defence but had to take a seat on the substitutes’ bench for this game. The only change from last week’s starting line up saw him give way to Leigh Rose.
Rolfe did have the last word however. Brought on for Rose shortly after the break, he scored his first goal for the club with two minutes of normal time left. It sealed a convincing margin of victory in a game where Flackwell Heath had probably had the better of the first half although even then Ware had the better chances. Heath’s best effort came from Larry Kagwa’s exhilarating run through the Ware defence which Fred Burbidge did well to put a temporary stop to, forcing the ball wide before Kagwa fluffed his lines and his shot which went across the face of goal and wide.
Sam Mayuma’s sixth minute cross had seen Finlay Titchmarsh fire over and then later Mayuma beat Keeper Henry Upstell to the ball out wide of the goal. This time his cross was partially cleared to Reece Beckles-Richards whose shot was on target but superbly saved one-handed by the recovering Upstell. Soon after, a free kick saw Jack Taylor strike the Heath post.
Ware were getting into their stride and playing with a confidence that has been missing for large parts of the season when injuries hit the hardest. So, for all the Heathens’ efforts at the other end of the pitch it wasn’t entirely surprising when Ware took the lead five minutes from half time. Titchmarsh’s cross found Josh Hutchinson in the six yard area and he turned the ball into the net with an ease that would leave you wondering why goals can sometimes seem so hard to come by.
The first half conditions were influenced by the wind with strong gusts towards the visitors’ goal. It was noticeable that hurried clearances lofted too high into the air would twist and turn back though to no particular advantage or disadvantage to either side.
Come the second half the wind dropped at times and it was then that Ware played some of their best football. Mayuma was the man at the centre of this, his tussle with the Heathens’ Neilon Pascall was one of the interesting aspects of this match. Ware’s number eleven has taken some time to get back to his full form following a lengthy injury but we saw something of the best of him in this game.
It was his run into the penalty area and along the goal line constantly dogged by Pascall that saw his cross handled by Callum Mapley who seemed to slip and almost fall on the ball. With Beckles-Richards already substituted it fell to Theo Ofori to take the spot kick.
Ofori has already scored three penalties this season but he just didn’t get it right this time. Upstell scrambled the ball away and whilst Ofori was quick to get to it so were a couple of defenders. They closed him down and the chance to put some room between Ware and their opponents disappeared. Like Mayuma, Ofori has been absent for a while and possibly needs more time to get back to his true form.
All this meant that Ware were only a goal ahead and vulnerable to an equaliser that could turn the game around. The home side needed a second goal and it eventually came with about ten minutes left of normal time. Okotcha’s throw from Ware’s right came off a defender and into the six yard area. Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo, celebrating a good performance in his fiftieth appearance for Ware, headed for goal but he ball came back off another defender. It was left to Mayuma to volley the rebound home.
The scoring ended when Sami Moutawafiq sent in a corner that went beyond the Heathens’ goal to meet Rolfe’s run from the edge of the penalty area. His header was directed inches below the bar and over the line as the unlucky Mapley, trying in vain to clear it, could only help the ball on its way.
Despite the win Ware remain eight points away from a play-off place but can give themselves a big helping hand on Monday at Biggleswade, one of the two teams eight points better off than them. It’s a tough ask but who said it was meant to be easy?
Line-ups and cards
Ware: Fred Burbidge, Finlay Titchmarsh (Josh Okotcha 75mins), David Sota, Jack Taylor, Leigh Rose (Jay Rolfe 48mins), Jack Grosvenor (C), Reece Beckles-Richards (Theo Ofori 62mins), Max Granville (Sami Moutawafiq 62mins), Josh Hutchinson (Johnny Allotey 83mins), Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo, Sam Mayuma.
Yellow card: Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo 61mins.
Flackwell Heath: Henry Upstell, Neilon Pascall, Josh Sapwell (Lewis Patrick 62mins), Matt Roberts, Callum Mapley, Lewis Pegg (C), Rio Oat-Ut (Ben Stallard 66mins), Matty Ayres (Eli Grant 66mins), Larry Kagwa (Lindell Stewart 71mins), Jack Shakespeare, Bruce Nsang Ryan Avery 75mins).
Yellow card: Josh Sapwell 58mins.
