TUDOR TALK

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Saturday 4th August
Herts Charity Cup Quarter Final
Ware 3 Hemel Town 2

Last season’s losing finalist’s Hemel Town, crashed out at the first hurdle this time around against a determined Ware side that for most of the game equalled the Tudors for quality of play, as the visitors for the most part looked like strangers to each other.
The Tudors certainly, had the better of the chances in the first half, with home keeper Luke Woods saving well from Steve Sinclair, Josh Sozzo and Nathan Bowden-Haase before the break.
His impressive display was marred though, when he failed to react to a miss-hit free-kick from Drew Roberts on 36 minutes, and the ball bobbled inside his right hand upright to give the visitors the lead.
At the other end some dodgy passing by the Hemel back four led to chances for Ware’s Chris Ellerbeck & Scott Nielson, but at the turn-around Hemel just about deserved their lead overall.
Play continued in much the same vein for the first twenty minutes of the second half, with both teams’ attempts to attack floundering on a missing final ball.
But just after defender Michael Bardle had headed Roberts’ in-swinging corner kick off his line at the far post on seventy minutes, home keeper Woods was injured in an accidental clash with the Hemel number ten, and outfielder Adam Spenceley took over between the sticks.
This proved to be the turning point in the game, as the ten minutes or so of hanging around in the hot sun while the injury was dealt with, seemed to sap the concentration of the Hemel players, and as a result Ware scored three times in just four bizarre minutes after the restart.
First Substitute Joe Stephens crashed home a direct free-kick from twenty yards out, and this was followed very quickly by Nielson waltzing virtually unopposed into the Hemel box to tickle a shot from the acute angle past keeper Ian Brown.
Two minutes later, Stephens scored his second of the match from the penalty spot after Bowden-Haase had fouled Danny Spendlove, and for a moment the Tudor rear guard was all at sea without a lifeboat in sight.
Having established a good lead however Ware then took their collective foot of the gas, and with six minutes left of the ninety, Roberts scored from the penalty spot for his second of the match after he himself was bundled from behind by Ware skipper Danny Wolf.
In a frantic finish Hemel came close to pulling back even on the ninety minute mark, when Spenceley dropped Chris Herron’s cross into the path of Aaron Cavill - but the midfielder’s shot skimmed off the top of the crossbar, but that proved to be the last shot of the game despite the ten minutes of added time.
Hemel in the end failed to push home some panicky last ditch defending in the dying minutes, & it was somewhat indicative of Hemel’s play on the whole that Spenceley was to touch the ball in anger just three times in thirty minutes (and one of those when he picked the ball out of the net after the penalty).
A disappointing outing then - following on from a poor showing at Leverstock Green on Tuesday - but at least the lads have the chance to step up for better opposition when they play host to Luton Town this week.

Hemel Town: Ian Brown, Jamie Kearns, Chris Herron (Yiadom Yeboah 70), Aaron Cavill, Nathan Bowden-Haase, Steve Sinclair (Robbie Kean 65), Ollie Burgess, Dean Cracknell, Josh Sozzo (Garry Sippetts 57), Drew Roberts, Paul Edgeworth.
Subs (Not Used): Danny Nicholls Jnr & Steve Smith