LIAM HOPE SAVES THE DAY

It appeared Ware came to Theobalds Lane yesterday with a game plan of working hard, putting as many men behind the ball as possible and hitting Town on the break through pacey winger Aime Blessing.  Ware included a few ex Enfield Town players including John Stevenson in the centre of midfield and David Bastian playing at centre back as opposed to his usual left-back position.

Bastian was paired with Vince Rispoli at the back and put in a good performance against his old side as Ware nearly came away with a point in a match which, aside from the away side’s goal, saw Town dominant possession throughout the ninety minutes.

On 10 minutes Ware took the lead when, following a cross from the left hand side, Danny Johnson caught the Town back line out and slotted the ball home past Noel Imber.

The rest of the first period saw Town pass the ball around well with the Ware players closing down and pressing whenever the ball got near their penalty box.

It was 1-1 right on the 45 minute mark when Jordon Lockie put over a great cross from the right hand side for Adam Wallace to volley the ball home past Rhys Madden in the Ware goal.

Town piled on the pressure in the second half but following a good save by Madden from a Liam Hope free-kick the match looked as if it was going to disappointingly end all square for Steve Newing’s team.

Step forward Liam Hope who saved the day on 87 minutes, when following some good build up play from Adam Wallace, substitute Daniel Ailey and Jordan Lockie, he directed a great shot across goal that hit the stanchion to make it 2-1. It was a great finish worthy of winning the game.

You can see the cold end’s headline reads ‘LIAM HOPE SAVES THE DAY’ with back in training Craig ‘Gio’ McKay preferring ‘OSCAR NOTCHES TO WIN THREE POINTS!!!’

The win puts Enfield Town up into third place in the Ryman Division One (North) table behind Needham Market and Grays Athletic.  Eighth placed Thamesmead Town and the top three now make up the only four teams in the league to lose only two matches.

Being managed by ex Tottenham Hotspur and Millwall defender Stuart Nethercott it was expected that Ware were going to highly organised and hard working in defence so it was a good win even with our local rivals struggling near the foot of the table.

Alongside Maldon and Tiptree they are currently the joint lowest scorers in the league on only 11 goals, which is, one of the reasons they are struggling. Another worrying statistic for Ware fans is that their only win has come via a home victory against Ilford, another side battling at the bottom of the the table.

Talking of Ware fans the cold end asks where were they in the crowd of 178 yesterday??  They used to have a small band of noisy followers with a flag that stood behind the goal but they weren't present yesterday..

Ware’s defence will be solidly put to the test in their next game as they make a long midweek trip to second placed Needham Market who are currently the league’s top scorers on 41 goals.  

Town’s next league game is another tough trip into Suffolk against improving AFC Sudbury who recorded a good 1-2 at Brentwood Town yesterday. Sudbury will also be out for revenge following Town’s fantastic 1-5 midweek victory in January last season.

Before then there is the small matter of returning  ‘home’ and Enfield Town’s first game ever  at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium on Wednesday night!!  Spartan South Midlands League side Harefield United visit in the Middlesex Senior Cup.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS ARE BELOW -