Bengeo Tigers FC

What was expected to be a closely fought fixture opened well for Sumatrans. With an attacking starting line-up of Sam Rider in goal, Zack, Craig, Richard and Ben in defence, Warren, James Levy, Chris and Tyler in midfield, Robert and Andrea as strikers and Calum and Sam Milne in reserve, Bengeo applied good pressure on their opponents and for the first quarter of an hour there wasn’t much to separate the two sides. Welwyn came close with a 16 min strike which hit Bengeo’s post then succeeded in netting their first goal a minute later. Around this time Sumatrans were hit with some bad luck when, moments apart, Ben and Zack retired through injury, forcing the use of both subs – including substitute goalkeeper Sam Milne as an outfield player.

Sumatrans continued to press but Welwyn’s strength provided Bengeo with few opportunities to shoot.

After a further 10 mins or so of battling, Sumatrans looked to have scored when a superb long ball diagonal cross from Warren on the left dropped, after a good 30 yds, into the penalty box on the far side of Welwyn’s goal to be met by a leaping Robert who headed a cracking goal but the attempt was deemed off side. Added to this disappointment, Sky’s scored their second goal in the final minutes to take the 2 nil lead into half time.

With first half injuries shrugged off, Sumatrans tackled the second half with the benefit of subs. With Sam Milne taking to his usual position in goal, the opening minutes looked promising when, 5 minutes in, some good football led Robert to an on target shot but Welwyn countered to lead a strong attack resulting in their third goal at the second attempt after Sam blocked their first shot.

The next 20 minutes saw both teams battle hard, Sumatrans developing several spells of terrific passing football. Good work down the right by Chris was instrumental in both delivering on target shots and supplying the forwards with useful crosses, but it was Sky’s who had the edge and, despite the efforts of Sumatran’s defence including Sam’s terrific dive to palm a shot wide in the 57^th minute and his goal line clearance 8 minutes later, Welwyn eventually claimed their 4^th.

Bengeo’s goal came just a minute before the final whistle when Warren scored from a free kick to end a match that fairly reflected Welwyn’s stronger performance on the day.

Well done to Chris, named Man of the Match.

Lloyd Adams