DUNSTABLE TOWN 2 HERTFORD TOWN 0
Molten Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division
Saturday 17th April 2010

Ten of the eleven Hertford Town players that started in the impressive victory against Royston Town on Tuesday night also started this game. However, the performance and result were very different. The battling determination seen on Tuesday was largely absent from this game and although The Blues had chances, they were not put away. In the end it was two impressive strikes by the home side that would have been worthy of winning any game that settled this encounter, though in truth it was clear throughout much of the game that this was an end-of-term affair involving two sides with nothing really to play for.

Teams - Dunstable Town: 1. Paul Taylor, 2. Wayne Mills, 3. Lee Burgoyne, 4. Shane Wood, 5. Matt Baldry, 6. Neal Perrin, 7. Alex McCarthy, 8. Dan Picknell (capt), 9. Douglas Kisuule, 10. Russell Preston, 11. Aaron Flood. Subs Used: Danny Watson (for McCarthy), Tom Dolan (for Mills), Jake Bewley (for Flood).

Hertford Town: 1. Lee Robinson, 2. Stuart Bailey, 3. Tom Neill, 4. Matt McArdle, 5. Masangu Mwetaminwa, 6. Joel Maybury (capt), 7. Scott O'Donoghue, 8. Dave Hunt, 9. Dominic Musafiri, 10. Lee Roberts, 11. Alan Barker. Subs Used: James Halsey (for Neill), Ben Bouchnak (for McArdle).

The opening ten minutes of the game were largely unforgettable; both sides had chances but on each occasion any threat was comfortably dealt with by the respective defences. The first serious chance for Hertford Town came in the thirteenth minute when a good Lee Roberts effort was well-saved by Dunstable custodian Paul Taylor. Five minutes later a fine effort by the home side at the other end was superbly saved by Hertford's Lee Robinson. Two Dunstable corners followed but neither really threatened Robinson's goal.

Approaching the half hour mark, Roberts again had a good chance as he embarked on a solo effort that took him past a number of Dunstable players. However, having done all the hard work he blasted his shot high and wide. The home side were soon on the attack and having breached the Hertford defence and beaten Robinson it appeared that a goal was inevitable, though a last ditch clearance off the line by Blues' skipper Joel Maybury ensured the game remained goalless. The remaining quarter hour of the half proceeded in much the same vein as the opening ten minutes, though Robinson was called on to make another excellent save on the stroke of half time.

Half Time Score: Dunstable Town 0 Hertford Town 0

The hosts had clearly had a stern talking to by their manager during the interval and came out for the second half fired up. However, it was the visitors that had the first chance of the half as Alan Barker attempted a lob from distance in the opening minute, though his effort was just too high.

It was not long before the re-invigorated home side broke the deadlock. The ball was played to Douglas Kisuule and he was allowed far too much time and space. He easily drifted past a couple of lacklustre challenges from the Hertford defence before unleashing a belter of a shot that Robinson had no chance of stopping before it almost burst the net.

Having taken the lead the home side continued to dominate and approaching the hour mark Robinson was forced to make another fine save to stop them extending their advantage. A few minutes later the first substitutions were made: Danny Watson replaced Alex McCarthy for the home side, whilst the visitors sent on James Halsey for Tom Neill in a move that saw Barker move to the left back position as he had done on Tuesday. A short while later a second Hertford substitution saw Matt McArdle replaced by Ben Bouchnak.

It was not long before continued Dunstable pressure brought their second goal. Good interplay between goal scorer Kisuule and Russell Preston saw the two make rapid inroads into the Hertford half. Kisuule provided a final pass for Preston, who caught out the visiting defence by blasting a shot from distance that again gave Robinson no chance and doubled the lead. The visitors attacked immediately from the restart and Taylor was called on to make another fine save to maintain the home side's two goal cushion.

As the game went into the final quarter of an hour the referee produced the only yellow card of the game as Hertford defender Masangu Mwetaminwa was cautioned for a poorly-timed challenge. The hosts could not produce anything from the resulting free kick and made two further substitutions; Tom Dolan and Jake Bewley coming on for Wayne Mills and Aaron Flood.

With ten minutes to go Hertford substitute Halsey played in Dominic Musafiri, who had an excellent chance to pull a goal back, but unusually his composure was lacking and he blasted his effort over the bar. Both sides had chances over the next few minutes but on each occasion these were squandered by wasteful finishing and the referee blew the final whistle with no further addition to the score.

Final Score: Dunstable Town 2 Hertford Town 0