Report by Pete Boyer

Following the disappointing reverse at Barkingside on Monday night it was no surprise to see some changes in personnel and formation for this match at Preston Park. Mark Virgo stayed at home to cover for suspended reserves 'keeper James Sturgeon, while Nick Barnaby resumed between the sticks for the firsts. Louis Lancaster started at left back, with Pablo Ardiles moving to the right, whilst Nicky Marsh was pushed up and along with Rory Brien, replaced Paul Taylor and Phil Goss in the midfield. This left Taylor and Goss on the bench with two other midfielders; Ross Collins, and Nicky Burt returning from injury and suspension respectively.

Teams: Hertford Town - 1. Nick Barnaby, 2. Pablo Ardiles, 3. Louis Lancaster, 4. Kevin Kilroy (capt), 5. GlennDraper, 6. Ryan Wade, 7. Rory Brien, 8. Nicky Marsh, 9. Ryan Redford, 10 Kevin Cooper, 11. Lee Roberts. Subs Used: 12. Paul Taylor (for Cooper, 44), 15. Nicky Burt (for Roberts, 73).

Harefield United - 1. Nathan Cobb, 2. Luke Eldridge, 3. Adam Willis, 4. Gary Williams (capt), 5. Robert Coldrake, 6. Luke Willis, 7. Ben Hammond, 8. Joe Cowans, 9. Danny Buckle, 10. Sean Sonner, 11. Ryan McCulloch. Subs Used: 15. Paul Haynes (for McCulloch, 89), 12. Alex Brown (for Buckle, 90)

The opening minutes of the game saw play evenly distributed between the two teams with each trying to get some measure of the other. Early on, Lee Roberts tested the home 'keeper with an on target shot and on two minutes Harefield dragged an effort wide. Shortly afterwards the first serious physical contact of the game saw Ryan Wade taken from behind by Sean Sonner, but the referee saw no offence and waved play on.
On eight minutes Harefield won the first corner of the game on the Hertford left. This initially came to nothing but the ball remained in the Hertford half and a powerful Harefield shot from all of 25 yards out, sailed wide of Barnaby's left post. Hertford immediately put on a pressured attack down the right but this too came to nothing, though the Hares responded with their own counter, but Barnaby was equal to the shot.
Hertford were denied a clear corner in the 15th minute and from the resulting goal kick, Harefield pushed down the other end and won their own corner. A well taken kick from the left was flicked on at the near post, but high and wide of the goal. Two minutes later the Blues had their first real chance of the game, when Redford battled his way into the box, only for the ball to be smothered by the advancing Cobb.
On 21 minutes Harefield had another good chance. The diminutive Ben Hammond found himself in some space and crossed to Sean Sonner in front of goal, but his shot was well saved by the impressive Nick Barnaby. The ball was quickly released and within a minute Hertford had their first corner of the match. Lee Roberts' kick was well taken but cleared by the Harefield defence, though only as far as Glenn Draper. Unfortunately it fell to his wrong foot and by the time he had gained his composure, the threat had been dealt with by the Hares defence, and a period of Harefield dominance followed.
However, in the 27th minute the Blues won their second corner. Another well taken Roberts kick was met by Draper, who was again lurking on the edge of the box. Unfortunately he headed straight at the home 'keeper, who immediately cleared downfield, so far in fact, that the ball found itself in Barnaby's safe hands. He immediately launched a counter attack down the right, which found the advanced Nicky Marsh. The powerful midfielder evaded the close attention of a shirt-pulling Harefield defender, but ultimately shot straight at the well-positioned goalkeeper.
In the 30th minute Hertford mounted another attack, which was cut short by a foul on Ryan Redford, wide on the left by the Hares' Robert Coldrake. The referee had words with the offender, but no further action was taken, and the resulting free kick came to nothing. Two minutes later however, the referee had to be a little more stern with his approach following some 'handbags' in the centre circle involving Hertford's Ryan wade and his opposite number, Luke Willis. Wade had been tripped by Willis but retaliated and both players were shown yellow cards, an incident that would ultimately prove costly for the Blues' midfield dynamo.
On 36 minutes Lee Roberts was injured during a challenge, following a Hertford advance down the left. While he was receiving attention, an equally worrying sight for the travelling faithful was Kevin Cooper also receiving attention in the middle of the park for something which looked quite serious. With Roberts back on the field, Hertford won their third corner, but it came to nothing. A minute later another Hertford foray down the right was cut short when Nicky Marsh was fouled by Adam Willis, with the number three becoming the third player in the referee's book. The resulting free kick found Lee Roberts, whose skilfully lofted shot floated just over the bar.
In the 44th minute the Blues won another corner, but with the home defence clearly rattled, the resulting shot was hit straight at Cobb. A minute later Rory Brien was caught with a two-footed tackle, wide on the left by Harefield's Danny Buckle. The Hertford management were incensed and the referee had to step in prevent the verbals between the two benches getting out of hand. Meanwhile Kevin Cooper could play no further part in the game because of a hamstring injury and was replaced by Paul Taylor. Following the foul on Brien and the incident involving the benches, the ensuing Hertford free kick came to nothing and the half time whistle was blown shortly afterwards.

Half Time: Harefield United 0 Hertford Town 0

The Second half began with the Hares exerting some significant pressure on the Hertford box. An early shot was deflected over the bar, but nothing came from the resulting corner. Shortly afterwards, Harefield had a free kick on the edge of the Hertford box, but again nothing resulted.
With Cooper off the field, the Hertford attack was beginning to look a little less potent and the overall team formation a little unclear. It was now up to the midfield to do the work to provide attacking chances. In the 55th minute one such attack was being mounted down the left when Ryan Wade was fouled and awarded a free kick. However, following a discussion with the linesman, the referee showed Wade a second yellow card and gave the player his marching orders, much to the disbelief of the away supporters. Apparently, unseen by most in the ground, including the referee, Wade had once again retaliated against a poor challenge, and this time it cost him his place on the pitch.
Nothing came of the free kick and on 59 minutes Harefield had another corner, which resulted in the ball being headed over the bar for a goal kick. With the influential Cooper off the field and Hertford reduced to ten men, the team began to get stretched. Harefield began to look the slightly stronger side, with the attacking threat of Redford, for the second match running, kept in check by a well briefed defence. However, on the hour, Ryno managed to evade his minder, only to be tripped on the edge of the box for a clear penalty. With regular penalty taker Cooper off the field, captain Kevin Kilroy stepped up to take the spot kick. He blasted the kick low and wide of the diving 'keeper. Unfortunately, it was also wide of the 'keeper's right post, and although causing some damage to the perimeter fence, had no impact on the score.
A minute later Hertford were again able to mount an attack despite the Hares' continued pressure. Nicky Marsh was again felled and won a free kick. The kick was well taken and Cobb somehow tipped the ball wide without sending it into touch. On 63 minutes the ball was once again up the other end and Barnaby was forced to make a brave diving save at the feet of Harefield's Adam Willis. The referee adjudged Willis to have impeded the Hertford custodian and a free kick was awarded.
There followed a sustained spell of Harefield pressure on the Hertford goal, which culminated in the 66th minute with the ungainly, but effective Danny Buckle providing a well taken cross from the right, which found SEAN SONNER in front of goal, who tapped home from close range to make it one nil to the Hares. The goal was followed by more sustained pressure by Harefield in the Hertford half, which culminated with a shot from distance by Luke Willis, though it did not trouble Nick Barnaby.
On 73 minutes, Lee Roberts, who had taken an earlier knock was replaced by Nicky Burt. This left the combative midfielder in an unfamiliar left-sided position but he soon adapted. Within two minutes however he was adjudged to have fouled Danny Buckle and the referee had words with both players. Nothing came of the ensuing free kick. The Hares had another corner soon after but again it came to nothing.
In the 80th minute a Hertford attack resulted in Pablo Ardiles having a shot from the edge of the box, though the plucky defender's effort was high and wide of the target. More Harefield pressure followed and they won a further corner two minutes later. By this time, the depleted Hertford team appeared to have run out of steam, and although Harefield continued to apply pressure they did not really threaten the Blues' goal. In the 89th minute The Hares brought on Paul Haynes for Ryan McCulloch.
As the game went into injury time a final throw of the Hertford dice saw centre back Glenn Draper move up field, in a formation that puzzled even the most ardent Blues supporter. However, the move did have some merits as Draper had some success, using his strength, whilst playing in the left wing position earlier vacated by Lee Roberts, and caused a little anxiety in the Harefield defence, which amazingly was beginning to show some serious indiscipline at this late stage. During one final Hertford push, Harefield 'keeper Cobb was injured in a challenge with Nicky Marsh, and although no free kick was given the referee returned the ball to Cobb after he had received treatment, and allowed play to continue. The supporters behind the goal were not entirely sure which law of the game had been applied in this instance.
Harefield had time to make one more substitution, deep into injury time, with Alex Brown replacing Danny Buckle. The game was already won though, and this was surely just a move to count down the clock. The final whistle sounded shortly afterwards. Overall another disappointing Hertford performance. However that of Harefield also left a lot to be desired, though they went top of the table with this result. Given that these two teams finished second and third in the league last season, and were among the favourites at the start of the current campaign, the management of both teams will surely be looking to improve significantly if they wish to be in the fight for the championship come April.

Final Score: Harefield United 1 Hertford Town 0



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