STEVENAGE BOROUGH 4 HERTFORD TOWN 2 (AET)
Herts Senior Cup - Quarter Final
Monday 19th January 2009
A little more than 48 hours after completing an impressive win away at Spartan League Premier Division leaders, Harefield United, the same Hertford Town starting line-up took to the Broadhall Way pitch for this game in the Herts FA's flagship cup competition. Blues' 'keeper Lee Robinson was making his 100th appearance for the club, fittingly at the club where he began his career. It was always going to be a big ask against a team that included a number of players with Blue Square Premier experience. However, the Blues acquitted themselves well, finally succumbing to an extra time defeat, having held their more illustrious neighbours over the initial 90 minutes.
Teams - Stevenage Borough: 1. Ashley Bayes, 2. Lawrie Wilson, 3. Eddie Anaclet, 4. John Martin, 5. Luke Oliver, 6. Peter Vincenti, 7. Darren Murphy, 8. Gary Mills, 9. Jerome Anderson, 10. Brendan Cowell, 11. Theo Swaine. Subs Used: Harry Atkins (for Cowell), Dayo Junaid (for Swaine).
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 Korsoveczki, 10. Matt McArdle, 11. Michael Cooper. Subs Used: Alex Scriven (for Cooper), Ryan Gordon (for Abbott), Andy Chapman (for Ardiles).
One of the main talking points before the game was the state of the Broadhall Way pitch. There had been heavy overnight rain and the surface had cut up badly during attempts to clear the excess water. From the off the quality of the home side showed but the Blues also demonstrated that they could equal their hosts. In the fifth minute Hertford won a corner. The kick was taken by Owen Beale but headed clear by the home defence and Borough immediately launched a counter-attack. The ball was soon at the other end and Stevenage won a corner. The ball was whipped in by Gary Mills and after some tense moments was cleared by the Hertford defence. The Blues then launched their own break; Attila Korsoveczki brought the ball forward and passed to Michael Cooper. He took a shot but his effort was high and wide. The hosts were soon awarded a free kick in the Hertford half but their set piece came to nothing.
On fourteen minutes there was a short break in proceedings when the Blues' player-manager Pablo Ardiles needed attention for an injury. After play resumed the hosts began to dominate for a while. They won a corner, which was again taken by Mills, though was headed clear by Duncan Hamilton. A few minutes later they won another corner, which this time was played short to John Martin, but his shot was saved by Lee Robinson. Another Stevenage corner soon followed, though the referee then whistled for an infringement and awarded Hertford a free kick.
The first breakthrough came in the 31st minute. Hertford were awarded a free kick just inside the Stevenage half. Duncan Hamilton played in a dangerous cross to the far post. The ball came to DAVE HUNT who controlled it well and from a narrow angle slotted it into the net, to give the visitors a slightly unexpected lead. Three minutes later the hosts won a free kick inside the Hertford half, but Mills' effort was headed clear.
Disaster struck for Hertford in the 38th minute. There was initially relief amongst the travelling support when a powerful Stevenage shot cannoned off the underside of the Hertford bar and back into play. The ball was played wide but whilst still in the box and as he tried to control it, it was handled by Jamie Abbott. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Jerome Anderson stepped up to take the spot kick and calmly played his effort wide of Lee Robinson to level the scores. A few minutes later the Blues suffered another scare; a Gary Mills corner was dropped by Robinson but the Hertford defence were able to clear. As the half went into injury time, Borough were awarded another corner. The Hertford defence were again equal to Mills' cross and able to clear. After a few more seconds the referee blew the half time whistle.
Half Time Score: Stevenage Borough 1 Hertford Town 1
The home side attacked from the off in the second half and in the opening seconds brought an excellent save out of Lee Robinson. The Blues again showed they were a match for their hosts and Owen Beale soon brought a save out of home custodian, Ashley Bayes. Duncan Hamilton took the resulting corner but his cross was hit too long and the ball went harmlessly out of play. A short while later the Blues were awarded a free kick, but Jamie Abbott's effort came to nothing.
Twelve minutes into the half the hosts had a great opportunity to take the lead; John Martin crossed to Brendan Cowell who headed powerfully towards the Hertford goal. However, this brought out an excellent reflex save from Robinson to keep the scores level. A minute later, Stevenage had another chance when they were awarded a free kick on the edge of the Hertford box after a Glenn Draper foul. However, John Martin's powerful shot was hit at the Blues' wall and cannoned to safety.
A moment of controversy came in the 63rd minute, when Gary Mills clearly elbowed Michael Cooper in the face. The Hertford player needed treatment and Mills was shown a yellow card; on another occasion it could so easily have been red. Hertford soon won a corner and Hamilton's cross found the head of Glenn Draper but his effort was wide of the target.
Cooper had not fully recovered from his injury and was soon replaced by Alex Scriven. At the same time Stevenage replaced Brendan Cowell with Harry Atkins. Lawrie Wilson soon became the second Stevenage player booked. A few minutes later Attila Korsovecki was also cautioned for a foul. As the game entered the final fifteen minutes of normal time, Luke Oliver became the third Borough player to be booked, for a foul on Korsoveczki. Owen Beale took the resulting free kick, which was saved by Bayes at the second attempt. Stevenage soon won a free kick in the Hertford half but Mills' effort came to nothing.
In the 85th minute both sides decided to make their second substitutions. Stevenage brought on Dayo Junaid for Theo Swaine and Hertford brought on Ryan Gordon for Jamie Abbott, who had just been injured by a late challenge. Stevenage soon won another corner but the cross was hit too long and cleared to safety, As the game went into injury time it seemed the hosts would snatch victory, but a good move ended with a header against a Hertford post. The ball was cleared behind for a corner by the relieved Hertford defence. Nothing came of the ensuing kick and the referee soon blew his whistle for the end of the ninety minutes. There would now have to be an extra thirty minutes of extra time.
Score at 90 Minutes: Stevenage Borough 1 Hertford Town 1
In the fourth minute of extra time the home side won a corner, though nothing came of Gary Mills' cross. The ball was soon down the other end and Hertford won a corner, but Duncan Hamilton's effort was hit too long to pose any danger to the Stevenage goal. As extra time continued a number of Hertford players began to show signs of tiredness - not surprising given that they had all been through a tough game just two days before. Eight minutes in, Lee Robinson pulled off a magnificent save to deny the hosts the lead. The scores would not stay the same for long, however. From the resulting corner, Gary Mills found Luke Oliver, who headed powerfully into the back of the net to give the home side the lead for the first time in the match. They soon won another corner, but this time Mills' cross came to nothing. Shortly before the end of the first period of extra time, Hertford made their third and final substitution, bringing on Andy Chapman for Ardiles. There was time for one more Stevenage corner, though the referee spotted an infringement and awarded Hertford a free kick. He then blew the whistle for the end of the first period of extra time.
Tiredness was beginning to seriously take its toll on the Hertford players in the second half of extra time. Less than three minutes after the restart Stevenage played a long ball forward to Jerome Anderson. With much of the Hertford defence stranded upfield he calmly chipped the ball over Robinson and into the back of the net. With score now 3-1 to the home side there now surely no coming back for the visitors. With five minutes left on the clock Andy Chapman found himself with the ball in an advanced position. He passed to OWEN BEALE, who calmly controlled the ball and slotted it past Bayes to make the score 3-2. However, while the away supporters were still chanting "we're going to win 4-3", the score became 4-2 to the hosts. Straight from the restart the ball was played to Borough's Peter Vincenti, who tried a powerful but speculative shot at the Hertford goal. The ball went under Robinson and into the net. Hertford would still not give in though and in the dying seconds of the match Alex Scriven played in Dave Hunt. However, his tired shot was high of the target and connected with the electronic scoreboard above the Stevenage goal. The referee soon blew the final whistle and the exhausted Hertford team slumped to the ground. However they were greeted with a well-deserved ovation from their travelling supporters. They had done the club proud and showed what a competitive footballing outfit they had become.
Final Score: Stevenage Borough 4 Hertford Town 2 (aet)