Back to Winning Ways at Welwyn

Hertford bounced back from the previous week's defeat with a strong performance, registering a 2-1 win away at a windy and very wintry Welwyn Garden City on Saturday.

Mike Hawes returned to the side, and injury to Stan Power allows Hertford to give a first team debut to the languid and skilful Jeremiah Donoghue, operating on either side of midfield.

Hertford started much the stronger, and when an early penalty corner was won, they were unlucky as Ben van Rooyen's heavy strike came crashing off the post.

The de Haviland pitch was playing very quickly in the near-frosty conditions, which played to Hertford's strengths with pace across midfield and up-front creating further chances.

Nick Downer broke the deadlock, as a skewed clearance led to a sideline in an attacking position. Ian Dunnett played a slanted pass to find Downer's run, who drove into left hand side of the circle and unleashed an undercut across the goal, nestling high in the side-netting, well beyond the reach of the Welwyn's goalie.

Playing with some confidence the visitors continues to express themselves, and were unlucky not to add a second when an advantage fm a mis-controlled aerial ball into the D fell to Dunnett, whose swivel and reverse-stick shot-cum-cross evaded the far post and the lunging stick of van Rooyen by the smallest of margins.

Welwyn were content to try to find their forwards with long passes form their fullbacks, but the able marshalling of Mike Hawes and sweeping of Ben Tootell kept chances to a minimum. Max Capaldi in the Hertford goal was called on to defend a few penalty corners, acrobatically gloving a drag-flicked effort over the crossbar to keep it 0-1 at the break.

Hertford reassert end themselves early in the second period and it wasn't long until they double their advantage. High pressing forced a defensive error and when Ian Dunnett sized on the loose ball he was unceremoniously stick-tackled from behind.
Ben Cooper stepped up for the penalty corner and finished with a powerful and well disguised low drag-flick, wrong-footing the net minder.

Two goals to the good, Hertford showed the composure they have been lacking at times this season, keeping the ball for long periods across defence and at the base of the midfield, frustrating their opposition and creating space to launch attacks, but on several occasions the final pass wasn't quite clinical enough to add a third.

Hertford's lack of closing out games came back to bite them, as Welwyn found a route back into the match. A fortuitous penalty corner was awarded, and struck hard, where Hawes could only deflect the shot up onto his own crossbar, with the ball falling kindly for the advancing Welwyn striker to tap home.

Welwyn pressed for an equaliser, but Hertford's back-line remained resolute, with only a few speculative balls into the D getting Hertford hearts racing on occasion.

Hertford thought they had mad the win safe when in the final 2 minutes they broke away down the left and a square ball into the D found van Rooyen in front of his man to squeeze a shot onto the backboard, but the umpire adjudged there to have been a push by van Rooyen in gaining his advantage, disallowing the goal.

The decision turned out to be inconsequential as Hertford hung on to recorded their third win of the season.

The win moves Hertford into the top half of the table, and they will be looking to cement that position as they welcome Bedford 3s to the Simon Balle ground this weekend.

Hertford: Max Capaldi; Elliot Barling, Mike Hawes, Ben Tootell, Gavin Elliot; Alec Short, Nick Donwer, Ian Dunnett, Jeremiah Donoghue; Ben van Rooyen, Ben Cooper. Subs: Mike Branford, Darren Norman.