Bar Denied Victory by Late Collapse

Skipper Richard Hughes was able to name a strong side, although the usual difficulty of ensuring the services of a regular goal keeper, meant that on this occasion it was veteran defender Dave Blakemore who had to battle to put on the kit!

Bar were immediately on the front foot and nearly took the lead as early as the 2nd minute, as Andy Latham’s shot from a short corner was deflected into the goal – but the effort was rightly disallowed as the initial strike was heading well over the back board. After this initial foray however the match settled down and whilst Bar remained largely in control of possession and territory they struggled to create any clear cut chances despite a number of incursions from Simon Kelly.

However when a clear cut chance arrived on 18 minutes, Bar took the lead. Damian Pace did really well to retain possession close to the bye line inside the D and his pass was deflected towards goal by Nathan Stiffin, who would have been as surprised as all those watching to see neither the goal keeper nor a defender appear to make an effort to stop the ball rolling over the line.

Bar now pressed forward with increased purposes. Rich Laverick-Brown made a mazy run towards goal after 24 minutes and his pass found Will Latham whose effort from a tight angle was well saved. Bar came much closer to increasing the lead 5 minutes later when following a considerable goal mouth scramble the ball was picked up Simon Kelly whose effort came back off the post and away to safety.

The Hertford goal only survived for another minute however as Bar had a good stroke of fortune as Will Latham’s strike from just inside the D was probably missing the target before it was deflected home by a defender. Disappointingly for Bar however they were unable to retain their 2 goal lead until the half time whistle as with their only meaningful attack of the half Hertford pulled a goal back when a forward was left free on the back post. Then just before half time Scott Alexander saw green for a robust challenge by the touchline.

Half time brought a composed team talk with the skipper stressing the need to control the rolling substitutions so as to ensure that the pace could be maintained and that everyone played their full part – perhaps with the player coming off making sure the replacement was sure of the position he was going to! He also stressed the need for the defence to keep its shape.

Bar went out to dominate the opening 20 minutes of the second half scoring twice to create a 4-1 lead and could easily have scored more. Within 2 minutes of the restart Bar should have scored the opening goal of the half when Andy Latham’s shot from a short corner was saved before Damian Pace was unable to a decent stick onto the rebound from close range. Paul Brady then saw a hot saved before Bar scored the goal of the game after 39 minutes – Richard Hughes put in a tremendous tackle in the middle of the park and then his pass found Andy Latham with his back to goal just inside the D, before doing what he has done for many years in turning the defender and firing an unstoppable shot into the corner of the goal.

6 minutes later Bar secured their 3 goal lead but this owed a lot to the Hertford goal keeper. Jon Yates played a tremendous long pass out of defence to send Nathan Stiffin away on the right. He cut inside and his shot looked to have been stopped by the goal keeper until a move of his boot simply ensured that the ball then rolled into the empty goal.

Bar continued to press – Andy Latham had a shot well saved by the keeper from close range on 46 minutes and then twice nearly scored with 15 minutes remaining despite being down to 10 men – Simon Kelly having seen green for retaliation on 53 minutes. An excellent passing move after 54 minutes ended with Stephen Demery’s pass to Nathan Stiffin being intercepted at the last moment by a defender’s stick. A minute later Andy Latham was again in the thick of things as his shot went just wide.

There looked to be only one winner at this stage and even when Dave Blakemore was called upon to make an excellent high stop from a short corner after 57 minutes there was little concern on the side line. However the game changed dramatically when seemingly against the run of play Hertford scored twice inside two minutes. On 58 minutes Dave Blakemore made another save from a short corner but this time the rebound was put away from close range. Two minutes later the Bar defence was all at sea once again and all stopped in expecting a short corner to be awarded. However the whistle never blew and the Hertford forward was the only one alive to the situation to finish with ease.

Suddenly the game had been changed with Bar unable to relieve the pressure as there did not seem to be any midfield outlet. Dave Blakemore made another crucial save after 63 minutes to maintain the one goal lead. Stephen Demery was then forced from the field after 65 minutes as he took a nasty blow to the ankle from a ball hit by one of his own players! Sadly Bar could not maintain their lead as another attack through the middle saw Hertford equalise after 66 minutes.

Both teams pressed for a winner but in the end the match finished as a 4-4 draw. A win would have meant that just a draw would have been required from the final match at Luton, as it is nothing short of a win will do to secure that final promotion place.

Potters Bar 3s 4 Hertford 3s 4 (HT: 2-1)

Team: R Hughes (Capt), D Blakemore (GK), J Yates, S Demery, O Pace, S Kelly, D Pace, N Clements, N Stiffin, P Brady, S Alexander, W Latham, A Latham, R Laverick-Brown

Goals: Nathan Stiffin (18 & 45), Will Latham (30), Andy Latham (39)

Umpire: Michael Levy & Jonathan Elms