Leiston 1 Ware 1

07 January 2012

WARE put on arguably their best performance of the season to dislodge Leiston from the top of the table and claim a valuable point – although in truth the battling visitors deserved all three.

A late equaliser from Ryan Mattos ensured Ware remained unbeaten in 2012 and was the first goal the Suffolk side had conceded for 329 minutes of football.

The battling visitors were also indebted to goalkeeper Rhys Madden, who saved a controversial first half penalty when his side was already a goal down.

Leiston slipped from first to second place in the table as a result of the draw, with Enfield Town taking over in pole position after their 5-0 win over Romford.

Ten of the eleven players who started in Ware’s win over Cheshunt five days earlier began the Leiston contest, with Aime Blessing coming back into the starting line-up at the expense of Junior Adeoye.

This led to some shuffling around of the attacking positions, with Blessing starting on the left wing and Kieran Weekes playing in behind striker Mattos.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Ware skipper Ricci Crace on the ball (PIC: John Heald/Leiston FC)

After a fairly even start, Leiston had the first real chance on 10 minutes when Rhys Henry played a neat one-two with a midfield colleague before firing towards goal from outside the box, forcing defender Wesley Beckles to clear the ball away from inside the six-yard box.

Four minutes later, Weekes sent a low ball across the Leiston box but Liam Foster, arriving at the back post, could only steer the ball into the side netting.

Ware keeper Madden made a comfortable stop to keep out Patrick Brothers’ high header following Gareth Heath’s cross three minutes later.

Seconds later, Ware broke away and Kieran Weekes found himself in behind the defence, but his low shot was blocked by advancing Leiston keeper Louis Johnson.

The home side took the lead on 21 minutes after Ware lost possession just inside their own half. Henry rode a couple of challenges down the right before squaring to Gareth Heath, who sent a fierce shot high into the net from just outside the box.

At the other end, keeper Johnson had to make a low save to keep out an angled downward header from Foster after he got on the end of an Aime Blessing cross, while Heath was inches away from quickly doubling his tally as a Leiston chance went begging.

The home side were awarded an unlikely penalty six minutes before the break. Vince Rispoli routinely prodded the ball out at the near post following a corner, but the referee surprised everyone in the ground, including the Leiston players, by pointing to the spot, deeming Rispoli to have impeded Danny Smy.

Keeper Madden came to the rescue for Ware, saving Heath’s right-footed spot kick low to his left.

SAVED: Ware keeper Rhys Madden saves Gareth Heath's penalty (PIC: John Heald/Leiston FC)

After a slow start to the second period, a snap shot from Rhys Henry produced an excellent reaction save from Madden on 56 minutes, while a low shot-on-the-turn from Mattos was saved by the home custodian three minutes later.

As the half went on, Ware did well to keep possession away from their hosts.

Boss Stuart Nethercott made a double change with 14 minutes left, bring Junior Adeoye on in place of Blessing, with Dave Bastian replacing centre-half Wesley Beckles, who pulled up with a slight leg injury.

WEEKES THE STRONGER: Kieran Weekes tussles with Leiston's Luke Hammond (PIC: John Heald/Leiston FC)

An equaliser for Ware looked inevitable, and it finally arrived with 88 minutes on the watch.

A ball out of Ware territory from Liam Foster caused all manner of problems for the Leiston defence, and after a mix-up between keeper Johnson and defender David Head, Mattos seized on the loose ball and fired into the net with aplomb, sparking jubilant scenes from the Ware contingent on and off the pitch.

The visitors kept level heads to see the game out, jubilation once again erupting after the final whistle.

Ware: Rhys Madden, Michael Elliott, Tom Querry, Kieran Weekes, Wesley Beckles (sub: Dave Bastian, 76), Vince Rispoli, Liam Foster, Dan Johnson, Ryan Mattos, Ricci Crace, Aime Blessing (sub: Junior Adeoye, 76). Subs not used: Kain Roomes, Stuart Nethercott, Danny Hayes.