Thame United 1 Ware 2

It’s a long way to the end of the season and looking for signs of future results whilst picking over the bones of an opening day win is probably unwise. But beyond the result there was something about much of the performance at the ASM Stadium which augured well.

After a slow start Ware had the best of the first half and started to look the better organised of the two teams, carving openings that should or at least could have produced more than the one goal that Ware did score. By contrast Thame, after a lively start that saw Fred Burbidge required to make a good save at the expense of a corner, mostly relied on long balls up field that were either contained by the Ware defence or just ran out of play.

Paul Halsey was right when he said after the game that he expected his team to have had more than a one-goal lead at the half time break. Even so what a goal it was. Marcus Milner and Richard Bryan combined in a neat one-two on the edge of the Thame box before Bryan broke wide on the right to take the return pass and sent over a cross into the six-yard box.

It was one of those balls that had Joshua Hill in the home goal tempted to intercept but not close enough to get the ball cleanly. Instead, Liam Dulson was there with a delicate touch to divert it into the far side of the net.

After the break Ware opened up the home defence on a couple of occasions with first Marcus Milner drawing a one-armed save out of Hill who punched his shot clear before Rene Howe robbed a defender only to see his cross get the same treatment from Hill.

Yet just a minute after that chance play had switched to the Ware penalty area and for the first time since Burbidge’s save 45 minutes earlier the Ware defence was at sea. Supporters watched in frustration as Thame picked the defence open in a frenzied few seconds.

With Ware unable to get a firm clearance in, first one shot was mishit and another blocked until it was third time lucky for Dave Pearce who collected the ball and shot home the equaliser. It was the first goal conceded against Thame in the five meetings since 1994’s 2-1 home defeat but the ease with which the defence became disorganised was the one disappointment of an otherwise good afternoon.

It might have signalled a resurgence by the home side but Ware managed to get themselves back into the game. Another good cross, this time from the left, might have produced more if Leigh Rose and Dulson had not got in each other’s way.

As it was Dulson had the final say. A cross field pass from Chris Arthur found him with room to come forward and from 25 yards out he unleashed a shot that Hill couldn’t quite get his hand to, the ball finding the top corner of the goal.

Rechan Esprit was close to lobbing Hill after Thame pushed forward for an equaliser in added time but this time the keeper got his hand to the ball.

By this time Ware were down to ten men after Rene Howe’s second yellow card. There was some discontent in the Ware camp about the number of cautions issued by the referee (five to Ware) but the first two were quite early in the game and maybe you need to read the referee’s outlook on the day and not give him the chance to issue more. That said, Clinton Nosakhare’s deliberate looking trip on Liam Dulson as he was about to run free with the ball into the penalty area went unpunished.

With Ware down to ten men Sam Chaney was sacrificed for an extra defender, Dan Rumens coming on for his first game since last November at Welwyn Garden City. Every cloud and all that.

So Ware won their opening game of the season for the second successive year. The last time that happened was as far back as 1974. It was their last season as an Athenian League club before joining the Isthmian League at what we would now call Step 3. Like I said, it’s unwise to pick over the bones of this match for omens but deliciously tempting in this case.

Ware: Fred Burbidge, Richard Bryan, Joel Jacobs, Leigh Rose, Louis Rose, Chris Arthur, Marcus Milner (Rechan Exprit 75mins), Tom Bruno (Shaquille Ishmael 75mins), Rene Howe, Sam Chaney (Dan Rumens 89mins), Liam Dulson. Unused subs: Liam Hope, Tyriq Hunte