Ware’s injury problems were reflected in the starting line up with at least five regulars unavailable for this game. Both full backs were absent with Josh Okotcha filling in on the right and Ollie Baker, on dual registration from St Albans, making his debut on the left.
That said, the story at the start of the season was that the squad was strong and there was enough quality on the bench to overcome injury problems. True or not, of the five named substitutes only two were capable of playing.
Recent results have exposed Ware and they are at times too easy to score against. In this game Hadley were two up after eight minutes following defensive mix ups. A free kick into the right pocket of Ware’s penalty area after four minutes was knocked back into the six yard box. It dropped from a height almost vertically in front of goal. Co-ordination between Fred Burbidge and new boy Baker was lacking and Lenny Asamoah stepped in to head home.
Hadley had their second after a mix up on Ware’s left by the goal line allowed the ball to be played into the six yard area. An attempted clearance hit Leigh Rose and the ball fell to Jordan Edwards who hit a firm strike low into the net.
Ware rallied after this setback and had plenty of the game. They pulled a goal back at the midpoint of the half when a ball over the top dropped for Sam Mayuma to control it and go forward before, under pressure, slipping his shot past Charles Taylor in the Hadley goal.
They had a further boost when Hadley were reduced to ten men. Reece Beckles-Richards was taking the ball towards goal when Hermes Gbio, one of two shadowing defenders, brought him down. The referee produced a red card for the offence which seemed harsh. He explained after the game that as Beckles-Richards had a perfect chance for a shot on goal he had no choice but to send Gbio off.
The Hadley bench didn’t see it that way and two members of their staff were also red-carded for their manner of objection. They would have been even more upset if Rechan Esprit’s free kick for the offence had clipped the inside of Taylor’s post rather than the outside.
Buoyed by the one man advantage Ware pushed for an equaliser and it came fifteen minutes into the second half. Khale Da Costa’s ball into the box found Beckles-Richards in a crush in front of goal but he got his shot away and into the net.
But Hadley weren’t out of it and just past the hour mark might have regained the lead as Asamoah broke into the penalty area. Baker however was on the case and executed a perfect tackle to rescue the situation. Yet as the game went in the opposite direction Burbidge spotted Asamoah still prone and in trouble.
A frantic wave to the visitors’ bench and calls to the referee saw the game stopped as Burbidge put the Hadley man into the recovery position. After treatment he was stretched off the pitch and later attended to by paramedics who declared him fit to go home but it had been a tense moment.
Back came Ware and with fifteen minutes to go Okotcha’s header cannoned against the bar. Josh Hutchinson picked up the rebound and drove it goalwards. It was scrambled away and Hadley could breathe again.
From Okotcha to gotcha. Two minutes later as Ware sought to go one better and get the ball in the net they were caught out. Pushing high up field their attack was repelled and a long clearance found Edwards on the right. The whole midfield had been bypassed and the Hadley number eleven bore down on goal. Baker chased but Edwards had had a clear start. His diagonal shot from just outside the area was rifled into the corner of the net to torpedo Ware’s hopes.
Ware’s last chance to score again came in the seventh of the eight minutes added on by Mr Twitching. A free kick on the edge of the area was hit by Anthony Wordsworth that had success written all over it. But Taylor rose to the challenge with a two-fisted punch that took the ball high and behind. It would in any case have been no more than a consolation, Hadley having gone two ahead when Louis Udeh had been free to head home a corner in the final minute of normal time.
After what Ware have become used to under Paul Halsey’s management the current situation looks alarming. They might therefore like to remind themselves of the 2012/3 season when they went sixteen league games into December without a win. A run of 13 defeats and just three draws. Even so, they still pulled clear of the relegation places. These are stressful times especially for the manager but there is a long way to go.
Line-ups and cards
Ware: Fred Burbidge, Josh Okotcha, Ollie baker, Jack Taylor, Leigh Rose (C) (Josh Hutchinson 62mins), Jay Rolfe, Khale Da Costa, Reece Beckles-Richards, Rechan Esprit (Theo Ofori 81mins), Sam Mayuma, Anthony Wordsworth. Unused subs: Errol Stewart, Herbie Townsend, Jack Grosvenor.
No cards.
Hadley: Charles Taylor, George Alfieri, Callum Ismail, Herme Gbio, Louis Udeh, Rio Grant, Cameron Ferguson (C), Billy Hayes, Lenny Asamoah (Chibueze Echem 71mins), Romey Meoded (Daniel Taylor 79mins), Jordan Edwards (Ridwan Euba 98mins). Unused sub: Omer Ozer.
Yellow card: Callum Ismail 95mins
Red card: Hermes Gbio 36mins
