Saturday 24 January 2009 - Spartan South Midlands Premier Division
Hertford Town 0 Colney Heath 4
Hertford Town: 1. Lee Robinson, 2. Jamie Abbott, 3. Duncan Hamilton, 4. Joel Maybury, 5. Glenn Draper (capt), 6. Pablo Ardiles, 7. Owen Beale, 8. Dave Hunt, 9. Attila Korsovecski, 10. Matt McArdle, 11. Alex Scriven. Subs Used 12. Rob Luya (for Korsovecski, 75), 14. Chapman (for Ardiles, 70), 15. Chris Spiteri (for Hamilton, 75)
After having played Stevenage Borough at Broadhall Way on Monday evening, where the Blues put in a fantastic display forcing extra time before eventually going down four goals to two, it was back to reality for Hertford Town today and a muddy league clash against Colney Heath. Third in the league, Colney Heath arrived at Hertingfordbury Park looking to close the gap on second place Broxbourne Borough. Hertford however have made a habit of beating the highflyers this season and the lure of success brought a season high crowd of 129 to the Park eager to witness another exciting game of football.
The Blues started brightly enough and the first attack of the game saw Beale put the ball across the Colney penalty area, which was badly defended, leaving Attila Korsoveczki a free shot on goal which he put just wide of the left post. Owen Beale continued to cause Colney problems and in the first ten minutes he was the architect of everything positive that was created by Hertford. The next real chance for the Blues was a free kick swung toward the back post by Hamilton which was controlled by captain Glenn Draper who then fired the ball into the side netting.
In the first ten minutes Colney Heath appeared quite sluggish but it did not take them long to get a hold of the game and they began to cause Hertford some problems of their own. A warning of their threat was evident when Carl Ashton hit a long shot at goal after eleven minutes which was well saved by Robinson in the Hertford goal. After fourteen minutes Colney took the lead when Richard Howard received the ball on the left flank and crossed into the six yard box for Greg Deacon to beat the defence to the ball and firmly head the ball into the back of the net.
Seconds after the kick off and Howard again attacked the Blue defence, skipping into the box only to be stopped short by a good strong tackle by Draper. Not discouraged however, Howard again received the ball soon after and blasted a good shot that eluded the goalie but hit the side netting. Colney had firm control of the game and continued to press forward, playing nice football, looking to find another goal as reward for their efforts as Hertford struggled to compete. The Blues missed a good chance to level however as Korsoveczki made it to the by-line and played the ball back to Beale who was galloping into the area. Unfortunately for the Hertford number seven, the keeper was equal to his well struck shot and parried the ball for a corner.
Colney Heath were soon back on the front foot as Howard ran toward the area with the ball from the left flank. The striker hit an excellent curled shot that went just wide of the right post with Robinson beaten in the Hertford goal. On 40 minutes Colney were awarded a free kick on the right flank which was swung into the box, arriving at an unmarked Deacon who put the ball wide of the post. One minute into injury time and Colney were awarded another free kick, this time on the left wing, after Barry Dowling had been fouled by Joel Maybury. Richard Howard lined up to take the kick and struck a sweet curling shot into the top right hand corner of the goal, leaving the keeper no chance. A bad half had got worse for Hertford just before the break and as the whistle blew the Blues trouped back to the dressing room two goals down and having been out played.
Half Time: Hertford Town 0 Colney Heath 2
The second half started slowly as Colney Heath appeared willing to protect their lead while Hertford busied themselves with the task of trying to give the crowd something to cheer about. Their efforts were in vain however as every Blue attack was easily dealt with by their opponents. Hertford forced a couple of corners in a row but each was dealt with without the Blues looking close to breaching the net. Taking a strong Stevenage side to extra time earlier in the week seemed to have had an effect on the Hertford players and as the game dragged on it was apparent that they were tiring. No doubt the heavy Hertingfordbury Park pitch was also taking its toll on already weary legs.
On 67 minutes Colney Heath again broke forward and Greg Deacon beat the offside trap to bear down on goal. Coming to meet the ball, Robinson lost his footing allowing Deacon an easy goal despite the attention of two Hertford defenders. Hertford made a change by throwing on another striker with Andy Chapman replacing player manager Pablo Ardiles, but at three nil to Colney the game was all but won. Alex Scriven did come close to consolation goal however with a shot that the keeper deflected wide for a corner. With fifteen minutes remaining both teams made substitutions. Jake Parratt and Jamie Eames taking the pitch for Colney replacing Carl Ashton and Dean Parratt. For Hertford, Rob Luya replaced Attila Korsoveczki.
Jamie Eames was quick to involve himself in the action, firing a good shot across goal that was well saved by the Blue keeper. Hertford then used their final sub by bringing on Chris Spiteri to replace Duncan Hamilton. On the 79th minute, Colney Heath reaffirmed their dominance and put the game to bed when Parratt ran across the edge of the box before shooting left footed into the bottom of the net to leave the score line four goals to nil. The final whistle brought to a close a disappointing game for Hertford Town, yet recent results have shown that the Blues have enough quality to ensure that defeats such as this one will be few and far between.
Final Score : Hertford Town 0 Colney Heath 4
Jack Roberts.