Welwyn Garden gain crucial victory

Featured Match - Division 1 Central

Welwyn Garden City v Bedford Town

A WELWYN GC side depleted by suspensions, injury and unavailability, produced a stunning, crucial victory over big-spending Bedford Town.

The sides went into this fixture with Bedford just one place and one point better off than sixth-placed WGC, but having played two games more.

Victory here saw Nick Ironton’s side leapfrog their victims to go fifth, with games in hand on all but one of the sides above them.

Ironton was desperately short of forward options for this vital encounter, due to Eusebio Da Silva’s three-match ban, Elliot Bailey’s thigh injury, Brodie Carrington’s damaged ankle and new signing Stuart Zanone’s unavailability through work commitments.

Ironton had to include Ollie Carey, who hadn’t played since the early weeks of the season through a troublesome back injury and the lone striker did well for 55 minutes until he was flattened by Bedford keeper Dan Benney and taken from the field groggy and concussed.

WGC had to improvise for the final 35 minutes of the game with no recognized forwards but did so impressively to seal a fine victory. The Citizens began well, Lee Close catching a volley from a corner very well, but keeper Benney making a fine save, tipping it around in five minutes. The Bedford keeper, who had a mixed afternoon of fine saves and blatant errors, again did well to save well at Romelle Alomenu’s feet after Callum Stead’s good through ball.

Referee Battye chose to ignore an assistant’s flag to allow Bedford to play on and create a shooting opportunity for Nathan Olukanmi, that Close had to clear off the line, in the visitors’ first dangerous foray in 21 minutes.

The Thurrock official then awarded his first of two penalties on the afternoon, when Dave Keenleyside’s final ball was touched off by Carey to Stead, who was pulled over by Bedford full-back Louis Hall. Keenleyside stepped up to fire WGC into the lead with a powerful penalty.

The lead lasted just four minutes. Bedford’s Dan Walker cut in from the left and slanted over a dangerous cross that Close, attempting to head away to safety, could only deflect past his own keeper Marco Tavares, for 1-1.

WGC again began the second-half in lively fashion, Keenleyside blazing over the bar and Stead having a goalbound effort deflected away, before the Citizens restored their lead, again from the penalty spot.

Willing runner Carey chased a through ball, but keeper Benney went up and over the forward, flattening him for Mr Battye to award his second spot-kick of the afternoon. Again Keenleyside supplied another smart effort from the spot and WGC were 2-1 ahead.

Carey had to be helped from the field after lengthy treatment, to be replaced by Dylan Ebengo, who three minutes later, sent Herns Lane into raptures, when from a left-wing corner, Benney failed to cut out the cross and Ebengo came in on the back post to crash in his first goal in WGC appearances.

Bedford pressed from this point, the threadbare WGC line-up having to rely on Alomenu and Stead as the focal point of their attack.

Their backline, in which Close and Jay Rolfe were excellent, repelled all Bedford could throw at them until the 70th minute, when from a left-side free-kick, Tavares only half punched away and Tom Hitchcock drove the ball home, despite Close’s desperate attempt to clear off the line.

But to their credit, WGC didn’t go back on the defensive to hold onto their slender lead.

Benney fumbled a Stead shot and just dived on the ball in time, to deny Ebengo a second goal and Jack Bradshaw twice burst out of defence to blaze in powerful efforts, one that was tipped away by an excellent Benney save and the other went just wide.

Good work by the ever-eager Stead put Keenleyside through, but he hesitated fatally and it looked as if the midfielder’s hat-trick chance had passed him by.

But deep into three minutes stoppage time, the Bedford defence got into a tangle over a high ball. Keenleyside got between defenders Steele and Swain and raced clear, went around keeper Benney and rolled in his hat-trick goal to complete a memorable victory.