Haverhill Rovers 1 Ware 3
02 August 2011
GOALS from Tom Querry, Jon Stevenson and Cedric Kayembe did the damage as Ware battled to a 3-1 victory in a physical contest at Ridgeons League side Haverhill Rovers on Tuesday evening.
Visiting fans were given another glimpse of the emerging juggernaut being built by boss Stuart Nethercott, and with the season now just over two weeks away, things are looking good for the men from Wodson Park.
With Vince Rispoli retaining his place in the starting line-up alongside skipper Jon Stevenson at the back, young defender Jack Friend occupied the right-back berth, having proven himself in that position last season when he first signed for the club.
Ware started brightly in Suffolk, and they could have gone ahead in only the second minute when Ben Andreos crossed from the left, only for advancing right-winger Bradley Wilkinson to sky the ball over the crossbar.
Andreos then had two decent chances to score, the first when he forced a low save from the Haverhill goalkeeper after a brilliant four-man passing sequence that started with Friend on the right, before going through Wilkinson, Ricci Crace and onto striker Andreos on seven minutes.
Andreos then latched onto a botched clearance from the home stopper, only to shoot wide of the target.
Ware broke the deadlock on 14 minutes when Friend’s cross from near the right corner flag was headed home by Tom Querry.
However, Haverhill restored parity on 27 minutes as Joe Harvey beat the off-side trap and confidently slotted past Ware keeper Bert Greenwood to make it 1-1.
Three minutes later the visitors regained the lead when, after workhorse midfielder Teddy Clark was tripped up just outside the area, Stevenson scored with a right-footed free kick that went round the wall and beat the keeper at his near post.
Boss Nethercott made three changes to his side at half-time, and it was two of the fresh faces who combined to nearly extend Ware’s lead on 55 minutes.
Leigh Rose did well to escape a defender sandwich deep inside Haverhill territory before crossing low for the advancing Cedric Kayembe, only for the substitute to shoot straight at the goalkeeper.
However, those two players combined again to put Ware 3-1 up in the 64th minute. Rose rode a challenge on the right and unselfishly squared for Kayembe, who struck a low shot across the goalkeeper and into the far bottom corner of the net.
At the other end, Ben Bradley fired inches wide for Haverhill on 76 minutes, while there was a scary moment for Ware a minute later when keeper Greenwood spilled what should have been a straightforward catch inside his own six-yard box, forcing defender Denny Webb to hook the ball over his own bar to clear the danger.
The last noteworthy chance of the game fell to Ware substitute Marcus Sammons, who cut infield from the right and sent a decent effort just past the top of the post.
Ware: Bert Greenwood, Jack Friend, Denny Webb, Vince Rispoli, Jon Stevenson, Teddy Clark, Bradley Wilkinson (sub: Leigh Rose, 45), Danny Johnson (sub: Shane Branch-Gilkes, 45), Ben Andreos (sub: Darrelle Russell, 60), Ricci Crace (sub: Marcus Sammons, 60), Tom Querry (sub: Cedric Kayembe, 45).
