On a night that slowly got colder through the ninety minutes this game, one that swung one way then another, maintained spectators’ interest from beginning to end. Ware supporters would have had the warmest feelings however after their side came from a goal down to take the points against a hard working Kings Langley.

Following a tentative start the home side had the best of the first half but only after they had gone a goal behind. Initial sparring gave way to more constructive football from both sides until the stalemate was broken fifteen minutes in. Jack Grosvenor’s forward header found Sam Mayume who fed the ball to Johnny Allotey who in turn played it through to Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo.

The number ten, making his first league start for the Blues, kept his cool to slip the ball past Cian Moore in the home goal before running on to accept the congratulations of the vociferous Ware fans behind the goal. It looked good for Ware at that point but Kings Langley responded strongly and began to take control of proceedings.

By the midpoint of the half the home side were looking in charge but Ware, aided by some wayward shooting from their opponents and moments of fortune with their backs to the wall seemed capable of maintaining their lead. That the Kings did prise an equaliser out of Ware’s miserly defence was a surprise more in its delivery than anything else. Bradley Smith’s shot from wide out on Ware’s right was judged perfectly to loop over the defence and beyond a nonplussed Fred Burbidge to find the far side of the net.

Spurred on by this the home side continued to apply pressure but Ware held firm again until added time when David Sota brought down an attacker in the penalty area. Jake Anthony’s penalty might have been better allowing Burbidge to get a hand to it but it still found the net.

It might have been 3-1 ten minutes into the second half when Lance Williams’ header hit the cross bar and Declan Phillips drove the rebound goalwards. However, Burbidge was there to make the block with what now seems a save that turned the match Ware’s way.

The result of Kings continuing search for a goal brought Mackye Townsend-West off the bench to bolster the central defence. Townsend-West, back from international duty for Montserrat, would have found the conditions somewhat different from his last game in El Salvadore but things did start to settle.

More so when Paul Halsey swopped out two midfielders to bring on Jack Dreyer and George Ironton to make a more robust contribution in the central area of the pitch. Kings also made a change, bringing on Lewis Duberry, coincidentally also back from playing for Montserrat, with instructions to take control of midfield.

Certainly a lot of what the home side did after that seemed to flow through Duberry but Ware were now showing better and a feature of the game seemed to be Sam Mayuma’s race for through balls alongside Kings’ Charne Lemba. Honours were even over all but there always seemed a possibility that Mayuma would get his chance to influence things. And so he did with just over ten minutes left, his cross from the left finding Theo Ofori at the far post to turn the ball in for the equaliser.

It was another Mayuma cross, this time from the right two minutes into added time and turned deftly off Johnny Allotey’s chest, that found Ironton just inside the penalty area. Moore got a hand to his shot but could only slow the ball’s progress. There was an agonising moment for both sides as it looked possible for Moore to recover the ball before it crossed the line but no, Ware had the victory.

Ware: Fred Burbidge, Josh Okotcha (Mackye Townsend-West 56mins), David Sota, Mitch Hahn (Jack Dreyer 63mins), Jay Rolfe, Jack Grosvenor, Theo Ofori, Max Granville (George Ironton 63mins), Sam Mayuma, Gucci Soul]ya-Osekanongo, Johnny Allotey. Unused subs: Freddy Moncur, Joe Dearman.