The usual thing to say after a cup exit is that it leaves the team free to concentrate on the league. This has never been more true than in the unexpected circumstances Ware currently find themselves in. Second from bottom in the table, the lowest by far they’ve ever been under Paul Halsey’s management, and with eleven goals conceded in their previous two games, they needed a good performance.
There is though no doubt that Aveley enjoyed the better part of this game but Ware had two spells during which they looked capable of a result. One such spell came after Recham Esprit had pulled them level in the second half. Sam Mayuma had the ball on the right but Esprit was in space on the left and called for the ball. Mayuma obliged and Ware’s second half substitute took the ball towards goal before driving it low past Glassborow in the Aveley goal.
Speaking afterwards Esprit said that he was in two minds where to shoot. He thought that the keeper seemed to be expecting him to fire across his front so he shot instead to his right. In reference to any possible indecision on his part Esprit said “if you don’t shoot, you won’t score”. Much of what else Ware did in the Aveley penalty area failed to follow that dictum. Too often Ware were crowded out.
The same could be said of Aveley and much of their pressure when it came was thwarted by the visiting defence. As a result, shots were sent high or wide with Fred Burbidge only required to make one out of the ordinary save, tipping Said Mohammed-Mariche’s shot over the bar. What Aveley had that Ware didn’t was the willingness and ability to shoot from distance which is where two of their goals came from.
The first almost seemed to fizz just over Burbidge’s fingers and just under his cross bar. If Malachi Napa thought he had broken the stalemate he would have been disappointed because Ware raised their game and had a good spell in the eight minutes remaining to half time. The inability to take half chances was their undoing however.
There was another good period for Ware after Esprit’s fifty-second minute equaliser but again the visitors’ pressure came up against a defence that at times seemed to crowd them out. There were three separate occasions when Ware appealed for hand ball in the area but referee Mr Göçek showed no interest whatsoever which tells you all you need to know.
Even so, anything still seemed possible but twelve minutes later a Ware clearance was returned and Emmanuel Harvest scored Aveley’s second, blasted through the defence. This time it felt as though the resistance had been broken and Aveley’s pressure mounted. They were quicker onto the ball and stronger in the challenge. It was then that Mohammed-Mariche drew the best out of Burbidge.
The keeper could do nothing about Aveley’s third however. Yet another blast, this time from within the penalty area and in added time from Toby Aromolaran, extended Aveley’s winning margin. For the home side the result signalled a good start to Alex Akrofi’s time as manager and a quick recovery from the upheaval of a week before.
For Ware it could have been better. The third goal was a disappointment. A close defeat to a Step 3 side would have looked a lot better than the previous two results and suggested that the defence was back on form. If Aveley missed a number of chances, it might be said it was because they were denied openings by the Ware defence.
Blues, minus the suspended Khale DaCosta and the missing David Sota, need to remember the 92 minutes that preceded the last goal and take that into the next league game. A step on the way back to form. The cliché holds true. The Herts Senior Cup aside it’s just league games to concentrate on with a need to dig in and hold firm.
Line-ups and cards
Ware: Fred Burbidge, Finlay Titchmarsh (Gabriel Ward 69mins), Josh Okotcha, Jay Rolfe, Jack Grosvenor, Theo Ofori (Rylee Kitteringham 77mins), Max Granville (Rechan Esprit 46mins), Josh Hutchinson, Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo, Sam Mayuma, Anthony Wordsworth (C). Unused subs: Leigh Rose, Ekow Coker.
Yellow card: Josh Okotcha 20mins.
Aveley: Jack Glassborow, Harry Critchley, Giovanni Palmer, Anthony Jeffrey (Said Mohammed-Mariche 52mins), Emmanuel Harvest, Eddie Dsane (Luke Kelly 64mins), Malachi Napa, Bilal Hibbert, Matt Johnson (C), Ellis Bates, Toby Aromolaran (Timothy Okello 92mins). Unused subs: George Alfie Miller, Max Booth (substitute on at 93 mins but match never restarted due to injury to Rylee Kitteringham).
No cards.
