Three points and a clean sheet after the recent less than impressive run or, if you like, a first win in six games, is good reason to be pleased. The club has halted its drop down the table and is back within touching distance of the play-offs.
Some caution is necessary however. The visitors enjoyed a good share of the game particularly in the second half. They will consider a three goal deficit scant reward for their efforts. Don’t anybody mention the luck of the Irish.
To some extent however they have themselves to blame. Ware came out for the second half looking content with their two goal lead. The Irish on the other hand seemed determined to get back in the game and, inspired by their captain Mason Spence, had more influence in midfield than before.
So, what went wrong for them? Well, their problem was that they faced a rejuvenated Ware and were kept at bay, unable to get much meaningful pressure on the home goal. At least some of this was due to the return of Jack Grosvenor from an eleven match injury lay-off to captain the side. He played well in a revitalised defence.
For Paul Halsey the problem was how to reorganise his back four when Jay Rolfe and Josh Okotcha had put in a solid stint stint as central defenders in those eleven matches as injuries mounted. The answer on this occasion was to move Okotcha to left back and push David Sota forward in a number eleven shirt. It seemed to work.
Not only that but the vacant right back position was taken by Gabriel Ward, a former member of Ware’s youth set up but now at St Albans City. Ware have him on loan to cover the period of Finlay Titchmarsh’s injury.
Ward looked good and played a confident, proactive role from the start. He had a hand in one goal and almost scored himself when he was on the end of Reece Beckles-Richards’ cross into the six yard box. Somehow Aaron Halai was able to grab the ball on the goal line.
So with Ware looking more confident at the back they seemed able to be more adventurous up front. They converted that spirit into a goal as early as the fourth minute after Theo Ofori drew defenders to him before slipping the ball through to Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo who turned it past Halai.
Ware were having the better of the chances in the first half and got a further reward on the half hour. Ward played the ball forward to Soulya-Osekanongo who clipped the ball home from an angle for his second.
Spence’s free kick a few minutes later brought a good save out of Max Woodford who dived to his right to gather the ball by the foot of the goal post. But it was almost the only time Woodford was needed for anything other than a regulation save.
For all the visitors’ efforts after the break they were generally kept at a distance by the Ware defence. So it was long range shots for the most part and plenty of them it seemed at times but mostly driven high and sometimes wide.
By contrast Ware, when they did get close, looked more dangerous and had the ball in the net on one occasion only to be penalised for a push. Another effort was cleared off the goal line with Rechan Esprit not quite able to turn it beyond the keeper.
Still, the threat of a goal by the visitors hovered over the match along with the thought that one goal might then easily lead to another. With hindsight however that thought was a hangover from the recent poor run, in reality the Irish rarely looked likely to get back into the game. Strikes from distance continued to present little difficulty for the home defence.
Instead, it was Ware who scored again a minute into added time when Beckles-Richards opted for accuracy over power, stroking his shot just wide of Halai but inside the far post for number three.
Line-ups and cards
Ware: Max Woodford, Gabriel Ward, Josh Okotcha, Sami Moutawafiq, Jay Rolfe, Jack Grosvenor (C), Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo (Gabriel Chapps 77mins), Max Granville (Andrew Bennett 92mins), Reece Beccles-Richards (Leon Theodoropoulos 92mins), Theo Ofori (Rechan Esprit 65mins), David Sota. Unused sub: Josip Jevdic.
Yellow card: Jack Grosvenor 45mins
Milton Keynes Irish: Aaron Halai, Clinton Zawe, Callum Hirst (Stephen Brooks 72mins), Harry Guess, Oliver Kalek (Matthew Haworth 62mins), Kyle Boyce, Michael Richardson (Kwai Marsh-Brown 31mins), Owen Brooks (Joshua Guthrie 72mins), George Shrieves, Nat Beecher, Madon Spence (C). Unused sub: Freddy Joyce.
Yellow cards: Michael Richardson 25mins, Callum Hirst 45+1
