Ware 1 Brentwood Town 3
16 February 2011
A SERIES of unfortunate individual errors cost Ware dearly as they allowed a 1-0 half-time advantage to slip through their fingers against Brentwood Town on Tuesday.
The match yet again saw flashes of brilliance from Tony Faulkner’s side interspersed with some basic errors, on which the visitors were able to capitalise.
New centre-half Lee Protheroe made an impressive start to life at Wodson Park – aside from unnecessarily giving away a penalty in the second half – as he marshalled the back line well alongside Chris Sargent.
Indeed the whole defensive unit enjoyed a good game on the whole.
Ross Price started just in front of the back four, although Emiel Aiken was ineffective in his position on the right side of midfield.
Ryan Wade started as a lone striker, in front of a central midfield pairing of Sam Ruff and Sam Berry, who was playing his last game before a four-game ban kicks in.
Brentwood had the better of the opening 25 minutes of the game, and they would have gone in front had it not been for a great block by Ware stopper Obey Murefu.
A ball in from the right wasn’t dealt with by Chris Sargent, and it fell to the feet of Steve Butterworth, who had a clear sight of goal.
However, his low shot was excellently kept out by the legs of the advancing keeper.
Three minutes later, Ware were unlucky not to take the lead. Ryan Wade was brought down on the right near the corner flag, and following a twice-taken free-kick at the order of the referee, the striker’s deft cross found Sargent whose header cannoned off the post.
The opening goal came just before the break, as Jimmie Berry controlled a ball in from his brother Sam and fired past Brentwood keeper Andy Hall.
And the story of the game could have been so different had Aiken not missed a glaring chance to make it 2-0 on 55 minutes. The former Grays Athletic man went through one-on-one with keeper Hall, but his shot went wide of the target.
Brentwood’s equaliser came on 62 minutes after an innocuous ball was left to trickle through into the box by Ross Price, with Sos Yao bundling the ball in from close range.
Sam Berry and Sam Ruff both had good chances, but Brentwood seized the advantage when Lee Protheroe – who had been using his experience to guide his young team-mates through the game – needlessly brought down James Love close to the byline on the right side of the box.
Yao blasted home the spot kick on 74 minutes to make it 2-1, and it was game over on 84 minutes when, after Ware went with three at the back in a bid to get themselves back into the game, the defence was left wide open and Ryan Edgar obliged with a well-taken strike past Murefu.
Ware: Obey Murefu, Joe Clemo, Rob Kemble, Chris Sargent (sub: Gazmend Dauti, 82), Lee Protheroe, Ross Price (sub: George Dukes, 77), Emiel Aiken (sub: Luke Marshall, 62), Sam Berry, Sam Ruff, Ryan Wade, Jimmie Berry. Subs not used: Matt Turpin, Aaron Ormand (GK).
