WARE | FITTING TRIBUTE

Skipper remembered with emphatic win

It was an emotional day at Ware on Saturday as the club played its first competitive game since the passing of skipper, Louis Rose, over the summer as he lost his brave battle with cancer.

The club made Emirates FA Cup progress in emphatic fashion with a 5-0 victory over AFC Welwyn, equalling their best-ever winning margin in the competition.

The result and performance sets them up nicely for the start of their Pitching In Southern League Division One Central campaign, which opens with a trip to Leighton Town on Saturday.

“It’s been a very tough time for the club and me personally,” manager, Paul Halsey, told us. “Lou was our/my skipper for so long; a fantastic person who is going to be sorely missed by us all.

“I know that he was looking down on us at the weekend. He will always be with us and never, ever forgotten.”

The Matchday Programme for Saturday’s Extra Preliminary Round clash featured Louis Rose on the front cover as the club paid its respects to a man who had many friends across the non-League game.

“There’s a togetherness at the club, which gives us extra strength” added Halsey. “It was a great start to the season on Saturday; I felt that the lads controlled the game from start to finish.

“We’ve added a number of new players and the team is gelling together well. There were some stand-out performances that I was particularly pleased with and we fully deserved to take our place in the next round of the competition.

“Everyone loves the excitement of the FA Cup and it would be nice to go on a bit of a run in it this year, something we’ve not done for a few seasons.

“As for the League, it’s going to be tough again. The teams that have come down are strong and it’s going to be entertaining and competitive, that’s for sure.

“Our focus will be firmly fixed on trying to get promotion and giving everything we ca, be it in training or matches.”

IMAGE: Ware FC

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