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| MATCH REPORT 30 |
| 5th April 2003 |
Last game of a long season was to be against Watton. It was a game that should not have actually gone ahead as Watton had cancelled the game several weeks previous through lack of players, but wrote a report to the league that the pitch was unplayable. This was absolute crap, all that week was dry and everybody else played both Saturday and Sunday fixtures. As usual the League decided that Watton were right and the game was to be played. A shortage of players was likely to be a problem again, so Dave Cooke and Martin Southall were called up again to make up the numbers. The game started off brightly despite Watton's lousy slope of a pitch. Both teams were actually playing good football. John Warner decided that a physical element should be introduced with many stiff challenges being put in by the boys, much to the disgust of the Watton Players, who thought that some were a little dangerous. Wether this was to blame for the change in the game was not clear, as John Warner began to create more chances as the minutes ticked by. It was about the 20th minute when the first goal was scored, a through ball split the Watton defence and Rob Sharpe ran on goal, confidently rounded the keeper and finished in style. Watton nearly replied immediately, a high bounce beating Lee Murton, but Martin pulled off a quality reaction save to deny what seemed a certain equaliser. John Warner's reaction was to break up to the other end and gain a freekick on the edge of the box. With Rob and Bill hovering over the ball, it was Bill who struck the kick, a sublime curl over the wall, leaving the keeper stranded. 'The Warner Boys' finished the half well by making it 3 - 0, when a combination of Jim And Sav released Rob again, to tuck away in style. John Warner were now outplaying and outbattling Watton. The 2nd half did not start too well as Watton nicked an early goal, taking advantage of some poor defending, 3 - 1. This was a wake up call and it did work, the lads began to get back into the same gear as the first half. Constant pressure on Watton's goal finally paid off when Carlo was brought down in the box. Rob wanted his hat trick and so he stepped up and .... tickled the ball straight at the Watton Keeper, the hard, uneven surface properly caused the rebound, which a relieved Rob Sharpe tucked away. Five minutes later Bill went on another pacey run, some intricate close control left him in on goal at an angle. A classy finish left the score 5 - 1 with 20 minutes to go. At this point it all changed, Lee Murton, feeling the pace, was substituted and on came Dave Cooke. John Warner decided to take their foot off the pedal. Watton pressed and the result was an unconvincing lob that left Martin stranded. The Watton Keeper then made a very important save from Carlo that probably changed the game, because a quick answer from Watton's goal would have killed the momentum. But instead Paul Annis fired into his own goal when an awkward cross came across minutes later, simply dreadful defending all round. Sensing a Chance, Watton Continued to press. John Warner just could not snap out of this period and when a weak shot bounced in front of Martin he really should of done better. Watton reacted to the rebound and that meant 5 - 4. This was clearly a shocking display, as John Warner were clearly unable to deal with the pressure and several more nervous moments happened in the area. They finally got what they deserved, when a cross from the wing to the back post left a free header for the Watton Centre Half, totally Embarrasing! Both teams then had half chances but the game finished 5 - 5, overall John Warner deserved the win, but did get what they deserved for a shocking last 20 minutes. For a change the referee could not be blamed as his performance throughout the game was top class. He was always in control, the decisions he made were clear and he used common sense.
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M.O.M. 
| MATCH REPORT 29 |
| 1st April 2003 |
With the short notice given for this game it was always going to be tough to get a team out. But for the ones who did manage to make it, boy was it worth it. As John Warner arrived we realised quickly we were struggling to get enough to start the match. We had 7 so we could start, a quick bit of persuasion managed to get Darren Rowley into a shirt. After an inspirational chat from Sav we were ready. The game started well with Hertford Heath throwing everything at us, desperate to make the extra men count. JW used all their time to their advantage while they awaited reinforcements. By now Hertford Heath were getting rather annoyed at still not scoring but with Cappa running, sorry walking the line they had a chance with their player latching onto a perfect five yard offside ball and chipping over an advancing keeper. Cue the arrival of Gary T & Billy Luscombe. Five minutes later it was 2-0 with a bending shot from outside the box beating a desperate dive. At this point the Heath thought they were going to bag a hatful but Warner showed the old spirit and finally got over the halfway line. A double bonus considering it was that windy we couldn't kick the ball that far. A great run from Billy Luscombe beating two players before being flattened. With both Darren Rowley & Billy standing over the ball everyone thought Billy would strike it, but oh no, Darren fancied a go. Guess what happens next, thirty yards around the wall and straight past a stranded keeper into the bottom corner, after everyone had got up from laughing, the game was restarted with a very annoyed Hertford Heath. The rest of the first half just played out until half time. Barry Walpole arrived so we were upto a full eleven for the start of the second half with John Warner starting
sharply trying to press home the advantage they had now gained. We also had the advantage that the wind was against them & they were now being blinded by a rapidly setting sun. Hertford didn't really do too much in the second half, being restricted to a few long range shots which were easily dealt
with, they just couldn't get through the back line, Rudy, Winger & Cooke played with some rather astute defending to keep them at bay. After a quick
throw out and lay off Billy felt like another run, determined to go better than the first, decided to beat seven players before unleashing a screaming shot
from 30 yards which hit the post, gutting really, would have been goal of the season. But from the resulting break Hertford heath got lucky and managed a
third rifling home from all of 7 yards out. By now it was getting dangerously dark to see and the referees decisions were getting even worse, which in it's
own right was quite impressive as we didn't believe they could get any worse. A few more shots and plenty of whining saw the ref blow up for full
time. Hertford left the field furious at being held to only winning 3-1 and making a point of moaning about the amount of time a goal kick was taking.
Who cares we were in no hurry. A good performance all round as most of us were betting on a good thrashing, still last laugh on us though, couldn't
beat eight men in the first half.
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M.O.M. | MATCH REPORT 28 |
| 29th March 2003 |
NO GAME
'A' Team
In their last game of a difficult season, the A-Team was bolstered by the presence of Barry Walpole up front, Ian Fordham and Joe Cappalonga in midfield, and with everyone else available it was only the second game this season that the A-Team Manager had 5 subs to call upon! With Elizabeth Allen needing to win to finish in the top half of the table, the A-Team knew that this week’s performance had to be 100% better than the previous weeks dismal effort against Braughing. The game started well for both teams with probing runs by both sets of wingers testing the defences. Warner just seemed to have the edge in most cases and were just that little bit quicker to the ball. EAOB certainly used the Ref to their advantage with some very dubious decisions going their way and rattling the Warner players and spectators. EAOB were trying every avenue to exploit the back line, but Ryan, Tex, Disco and McClair managed to repel everything that was thrown at them and on the few occasions that their line was breached, Martin, playing with his knee heavily strapped, made some fine saves to deny the EAOB forwards. With the midfield line of Si, Alex Collins, Fordy and Cappa blending well together, they proved a potent engine room for the team and kept feeding the front two of Sunil and Barry with balls to chase and supported them at every opportunity. Warner settled down and put their minds to the game and not the EAOB tactics and ref decisions that were blatantly pro-EAOB. Half time came with the score 0-0, and with every player happy with their own performance only words of encouragement were needed by the Manager, one substitution was made with Sunil having a well earned rest from the physical defence that he had faced in the first half, Andy Payne took over up front. With the second half 18 minutes old, a flowing movement from the back to Cappa on the left and a cross-field ball for Andy Payne who got away from an EAOB defender, sat up nicely for a right foot shot across the keeper and into the net for Warner's goal! The expected EAOB onslaught from the kick off never really materialised, they only had about 10 minutes of pressure and failed to breach the Warner defence, but with Warner getting rattled by some ungentlemanly behaviour by EAOB, this resulted in bookings for Tex and Si, but another sub by the Warner manager, Steve Summers coming on for Alex Collins, meant that another fresh pair of legs helped keep EAOB back in their own half again. Then with 10 minutes remaining Warner made their third and final sub of the game with Spencer Thomas coming on for Cappa. When the final whistle went you could feel the elation from the Warner players, management and supporters as a difficult season had come to an end in the best possible way, winning with a clean sheet against a top of the table team. As both teams trooped off the pitch all animosity was forgotten and hand shakes all round was order of the day. Only weird decisions by the ref spoilt what was in general a close fought, clean game. But the A-Team can take heart that next season they will be back bigger, better and stronger. So watch out Division Three… They will win it next season!
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M.O.M. | MATCH REPORT 27 |
| 22nd March 2003 |
After forfeiting the game last week due to lack of numbers, it was hoped that a team could be assembled for the this penultimate fixture. With Matt O' Dea having work commitments, it fell to Barry Walpole to manage the team. It was an away fixture at Bengeo that faced the boys. Bengeo being in the Junior Cup final, League cup final and third in the league, this would seem a difficult fixture. Thirteen people available including himself, the only problem facing Barry was that their wasn't a fit goalkeeper in the club. Sasquatch Ferro offered to go in goal, at 4ft 10 inches, the boys were not that confident! The game started brightly enough with John Warner creating several good chances, but never really connecting properly or taking one stride too many. As with the previous meeting between the two teams, there was a lot of midfield battles and little ground being given by either defence. After an initial wobble by the Sav in goal, he soon began to control his area and install confidence in his back line. John Warner made the first real clear cut chance, when Gary Murton made a good run from the back and split the Bengeo defence with a quality ball along the line, Rob Sharpe ran onto the ball and cut inside, but unfortunately dragged the shot just wide. The deadlock was broken around the 25th minute, when a lack of concentration allowed a short throw to turn into a dangerous run by the Bengeo winger. A bit of fortune was with him as he rode several richocet's and found himself with an easy shot on goal. As the halftime whistle blew, John Warner were disappointed to leave the field 1 - 0 down, feeling that they had matched the opposition. The start of the second half was fairly poor from John Warner and they failed to get out of first gear, happy to plod along they were asking for trouble. Slowly Bengeo began to increase the pressure and it was them who looked most likely to add to the scoreline. The first warning came when the Bengeo centre forward, was put through one on one against Sav. As he tried to round him, Sav Pulled off a quality stop. Sav had also tipped a Fairly dangerous freekick onto the bar minues earlier. Another bit of misfortune led to Bengeo's second goal. Joe Cappalonga was busy talking on the sideline when a pass was made to a Bengeo player in an offside position. As Bengeo tucked the ball away, the John Warner defence looked across but Joe was in no position to see and the goal stood. Within minutes Bengeo scored a third and John Warner began to wobble. Substituting Steve Rudolph for Joe Cappalonga had a two fold affect. Putting on a more attacking player and replacing an awful linesman! Only minutes had passed, when the now more attacking John Warner began to get closer with Danny Beech being put through to whistle a shot inches past the post. Bengeo did not heed the warning and when Danny rose to meet a cross, he flicked the ball past a helpless keeper. Suddenly a bit of belief! Barry decided to try to keep the momentum going and brought himself on, replacing a tiring Jim Pearson. The pressure was now seriosly on Bengeo and they soon found they had a game on their hands, when the ball fell to Carlo Casali who tucked the ball away nicely. It was a shame that John Warner had left it so late to raise their game. Several freekicks and corners rained into the Bengeo box and they were now asking the referee ' how much longer', they knew they were seriously under the cosh. The chance came to equalise, the constant pressure finally told on Bengeo when Ian Fordham put in a dangerous cross and a Bengeo player decided it warranted a block with the hand. With the Referee having a clear view and pointing to the spot.
Paul Annis stepped up and hit a well struck penalty, but it was a good height for the keeper, who pulled off a very good save. The whistle blew minutes later much to the relief of all the Bengeo players, John Warner feeling disappointed that they did not get a point from their hard work.
'A' Team
With six players missing this was going to be a backs-against-the-wall game. Braughing, riding high in the league and looking for points to finish in the top two or three places were going to be a stern test for the ‘A’ team. On a hard and uneven pitch, the game started well for Warner having to play some players in odd positions, they battled for the ball well in the opening 15 minutes but then it all seemed to go wrong. First, Rookey put his foot down only to find a hole for it and damaged his ankle, after being carefully lifted off the pitch, the first ‘A’ team sub to come on was manager, Ken Benbow! Moving Dave Cooke into the back line to replace the injured Rookey, Ken filled in as best he could in the central midfield position. Some inspirational words from the now-playing manager got Warner moving and they had two or three good chances to score but were denied by their keeper and an offside flag. Then Gary McClair was challenged for the ball and was left hobbling for the rest of the first half. But with about 10 minutes left before half time a Braughing forward controlled the ball well on the edge of the area and after being allowed to turn fired in an unstoppable shot into the top left hand corner of the net past a stunned Alex Gray standing in for the injured Martin Southall. At half time more changes were required to halt the expected second half onslaught from Braughing. Martin agreeing to go in goal and move Alex Gray into the midfield spot vacated by the subbed manager, much to his relief! Warner seemed to lose heart early in second half and was always second to the ball, lost possession too easily and gave up the chase when the ball was lost. But still some players kept on shouting and encouraging, and at times matched Braughing who were getting stronger at each attack. Then from an in swinging Braughing corner, the injured Martin in goal just couldn’t launch himself high enough to get the ball and it dropped over him just beyond the far post and from an acute angle the Braughing player slotted the ball in between the post and a defender on the line. Warner’s heads began to drop and seemed to lose heart for a real challenge and within 10 minutes the Braughing forward completed his hatrick from a through ball, slotting it wide of an advancing keeper to put the match beyond Warner. With one game left against Elizabeth Allen OB’s next week, Warner will have to play better than today’s performance to finish the season with style and enthusiasm which the players know they have, and give everyone connected to John Warner F.C. a lift in what has been a difficult season for everyone concerned.
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M.O.M. 
M.O.M. | MATCH REPORT 26 |
| 15th March 2003 |
'A' Team
The ‘A’ Team were dealt several blows before the game started with the unavailability of 3 key players, Tex, Alex Gray and Andy Payne. But with Sav Ferro from the first team keen to help out, the ‘A’ team started well in windy conditions at the Town Mead ground. They put together two or three good moves and their confidence grew visibly by the minute. With 23 minutes gone a long range cross into the Parklands area was spilled by their keeper and an alert Sunil Radia followed in and nodded the ball into an empty net. But within 5 minutes disaster struck in a big way! From the kick off Parklands set off passing the ball and getting two lucky breaks as they steamrollered their way into the ‘A’s penalty box, and a Warner defender, in trying to clear the ball in the scramble could only knock it into the net for Parklands equaliser. Then from another route one ball that dropped over the ‘A’s back line, hesitation resulted in a Parklands player stumbling the ball into the back of the ‘A’ teams net for their second. To their credit, the ‘A’ team kept on pressing and hassling Parklands who didn’t seem to want to play ‘football’ and kept on using ‘route one’ at every opportunity to clear the ball. Half time came to relieve Parklands from the intense Warner pressure. The second half started as the first had finished, constant pressure from Warner. Good moves down both flanks had Parklands on the back foot for most of the game, and with everyone playing their part, they kept up the pressure on the Parklands goal but couldn’t make their superior possession pay off. Parklands only had two or three attacks in the second half and were dealt with efficiently by the back line, by Martin in particular, who after denying a header bound for goal by knocking it onto the post and off for a corner, was blatantly jumped into by a hefty Parklands player, he suffered a chest injury, but didn't let that stop him from carrying on. When the final whistle came, Parklands were happy to come away with both points in a game they knew they were lucky to win.
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M.O.M. | MATCH REPORT 25 |
| 8th March 2003 |
NO GAME
'A' Team
What a difference a week makes. The 'A' team on the back of three good games went into this game with no less than 6 players missing for one reason or another, so Matt Gaskin making one of his rare appearances due to his work schedule and Joe Cappalonga and Lee Murton adding vital experience were used as replacements. With Buntingford fielding some of their recent missing players this was always going to be a hard game for the 'A' team. The slippery pitch and high wind was always going to be a factor in this game and Buntingford started like a team near the top of the division, not the bottom. They played the better football and settled down well in the awkward conditions. They had two or three good chances to score but were kept out by an agile Martin Southall in goal and some good defending by Rob Djemal, ably assisted by Andy Smith. After 16 minutes, with Buntingford exploiting the right back slot filled by Troy Coull playing his first game in six weeks in the absence of Disco Dave, the 'A' team manager made a tactical change swapping Troy with Midfielder Gary McClair, who managed to stifle that avenue of attack. After this switch Warner settled down to their passing game and soon opened up the Buntingford defence with slick passing to a fast moving Joe Cappalonga, he rode a last ditch tackle and shot at goal only for the keeper to keep out the initial shot, but he followed up well to knock the ball into the empty net for the 'A's goal. Then it was end-to-end football with Buntingford taking advantage of the strong wind and Warner having to keep the ball down in the face of the strong wind. With Mossy playing probably his best game this season, having to battle against experienced stronger players, he kept on getting the better of the Buntingford players on his side of the pitch, and with Simon Benbow and Joe Cappa offering plenty of opportunities out wide to the forwards. Buntingford were playing a dicey game, but they kept plugging away and from a flighted free kick approximately 15 yards outside the area it deceived Tex and Martin in the air and just crept inside the top left hand corner of the net for Buntingford's equaliser. Half time came soon after with some players suffering in the boggy conditions. A change was made just before half time with Matt Gaskin taking over from Troy, and ten minutes into the second half Sunil came on for a tiring Lee Murton. Now it was Warners turn to utilise the wind and with Tex and Rob launching wide balls to Cappa and Simon, this soon had Buntingford on the back foot and from a series of corners had the defence at sixes and sevens but just couldn't put the ball away for that all important goal. From a quick break away Buntingford split open the Warner defence and with a cut back ball to a Buntingford forward who had an open goal to shoot at, he nearly knocked the chimney pot off the houses behind with a rushed shot! Warner and Buntingford played out the last 20 minutes or so with end-to-end football, played in a frantic way, and a draw was a fair result to all who were there.
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M.O.M. | MATCH REPORT 24 |
| 1st March 2003 |
Two points were gained last week as Watton could not produce a team, so with maximum points in the last three games it was full steam ahead for ' The Warner Boys'. The Fixture was a local derby at home to rivals Inter. Matt and Barry were confident that if they could field a fair team, that it could be four wins in four. Again it was the same story as the last couple of months, several players could not make it, including the goalkeeper. it was thought that this was would not be a problem as Gary Ellis, who has played on pitch this season, is a very good keeper. But despite the pleas of the management, he refused to go in goal and let down the whole team! Despite this, the remainder of the positions could be filled and a strong team assembled. Darren Beech offered to go in goal, at least some people have team spirit.
Once again it was a good positive start from John Warner, with Inter's defence under the cosh from the start. It was good to see some of old faces from last year playing, with Gary Thomas, Adrian Devine and Max Blanch all starting. The midfield battle was vital, so Max, Sav and Jim had to produce another good display. They did not disappoint. It was this early domination from the start that allowed several Free Kicks and corners to be won and it was just such an incident that brought the first goal, Gary T given the job on the freekick, which he hit with power. The shot hit the end of the wall and deflected past a stranded Inter Keeper. Some Quality wing play was then to follow from young Joe Cappalonga. Twisting and turning, he continually teased the Inter winger and full back and had them in knots, being rewarded with an oppurtunity to complete his fantastic spell, which Joe took in style, curling a great right foot shot around the Keeper, following a scramble around the Inter Box. It has come to the Management's attention that Joe's brother, who plays for Inter has tried to bribe him into playing for them next season, with no signing on fee or subs and buying him boots! Matt and Barry definately don't want him to go as he has virtually made the left wing position his own. Also they hope after seeing what a dreadful team Inter are of present, that he will stay with John Warner. The next incident was just before half time, despite continued pressure, John warner could not seem to add to the tally. This could well have been their undoing, when 'Old Head' of the team Steve Rudolph decided to audition for the 'Harlem Globetrotters' by deliberately bloking a cross in the box with his hand. Up Stepped the Inter player who was technically facing an outfield player in goal. Saved! The secret weapon had worked, 'The Chimp' had pulled of a fantastic stop, those hairy 'Orang-utang' like arms had done the business. The half time team talk was basically carry on as in the first half with everybody playing well and winning their personal battles. At this point the defence needs to be mentioned, being very shaky in many games this season. Not in this match, With Gart T marshalling in what can only be described as a sheer class performance, and Steve Rudolph and Paul Annis never letting the Inter forwards have a sniff. The next goal came around the twenty minute mark and with continued pressure the Inter defence buckled when Danny Beech put a ball in towards goal, only for the inter player to put it into his own net. A further five minutes passed when a penalty was awarded to John Warner and up stepped Carlo. Was there to be no rest for the poor worms this Season! Well in fact the penalty was tucked away in style, Carlo lately confessing that he'd been practising in his back garden with one of his many girls! Having a steady game Carlo then produced a great oppurtunity with some classic centre forward play, spinning off his man he was left one on one, but gave the Inter keeper an easy save, firing half the turf at him rather than the ball. The whistle blew soon after, which sealed a great win for the boys, making it very difficult for Matt and Barry to choose their Man of the Match selections, as the whole team had been solid all game.
'A' Team
Yet another good performance by the 'A' Team gave them their third win on the trot.
With Alex Grey back after injury, it gave even more depth to the team. The match kicked off with the 'A' team passing well and moving to support at
every opportunity resulting in the 'A's getting the upper hand quickly and imposing their authority on the game. A good move down the wing with a good
cross resulted in Rob Djemal knocking the ball into the Cottered net for the opener to Warner. The 'A' team upped their work rate and outplayed Cottered
with all departments holding their own, most moves involved either Simon or Ryan and they were tormenting the Cottered back line at will. A corner by
Simon resulted in panic in the Cottered box and Sunil was on hand to knock in the ball for their second goal. The ball was by now being passed expertly
from back line to midfield onto the wide players to pressure the Cottered goal at every opportunity. A good move swept the ball wide with yet another
cross not being dealt with by the Cotttered keeper and under pressure from Steve Summers let the ball drop onto the ground and Steve tapped the ball in
for the third goal. The half time came and with it a tray of tea's from the Cottered Social Club for everyone! Very civilised. Even the half-time team talk was civilised! Impressing on everyone that concentration and discipline being the key words. Keep focused and keep working together. Monty suffering from
exhaustion stayed off for the second half with Gary McClair filling in his midfield slot. The second half started well for the 'A's with a good move releasing Simon on the right and from a pinpoint cross Ryan challenged the Cottered defender who could only nod it into his own net for the fourth goal of the afternoon for Warner. Then Cottered started playing better and got a couple of lucky breaks with the 'A' team missing goal chances when it seemed
easier to score than miss, but miss they did. A quick move by Cottered split open the normally tight Warner defence and the Cottered forward just got his
foot to the ball to knock it into the net wide of Martin Southall in goal. Warner went to sleep for the next ten minutes and Cottered scored their second from another ball into the box and the Cottered player went down under a clumsy challenge and the Ref gave a penalty from which they scored. Warner kept the ball well and again another couple of missed chances which had the 'A' team management thinking that this could end up a 4-4 draw! But after a couple of great saves by Martin in goal, the outfield players responded and from another defence splitting ball to Simon he carried the ball to the bye line and crossed to Steve Summer who got in front of the Cottered defender and powered in a header for the fifth goal for Warner. But still Cottered never gave up and from a free kick for Cottered evaded 2 or 3 Warner defenders to end up in the back of the net for their third goal. But then Warner battoned down the hatches and kept Cottered out for the final 10 minutes to secure a fine 5-3 win.
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M.O.M. 
M.O.M. | MATCH REPORT 23 |
| 22nd February 2003 |
'A' Team Thundridge - John Warner 'A'
GAME ABANDONED AFTER 20 MINUTES
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| MATCH REPORT 22 |
| 15th February 2003 |
Line up - L Murton, G Murton, P Annis, R Djemal, J Pearson, S Rudolph, J Cappalongs, Dan Beech M.O.M. - 1st Carlo Casali 2nd Rob Sharpe 3rd Lee Murton
Goal Scorers - Carlo Casali 3, Rob Sharpe 2
After an unlucky result in the cup the week before, it was back to business in the league. Good to see that things havent changed between the McMullens league and 'The Mercury', with them reporting that Bengeo had recorded a comfortable win against John Warner. If comfortable means being under the cosh for 90 minutes and winning on a penalty decision, then that goes to show the knowledge they have about football. With Matt O' Dea called away to attend an ill relative, Barry Walpole had to organise the team with Darren Rowley also around to help. An FA Cup match between Man Utd and Arsenal did not help matters with several players turning up late. Again it was a case of 9 players, 20 minutes before kick-off and will any more turn up with Broxbourne also having problems and only being able to field 9 players. By Kick-off John Warner did manage to assemble 11 players but Lee Murton had to go between the sticks. The message from the management was to keep plenty of width and stretch Broxbourne's limited resources. The opening to the game was good from John Warner's point of view, with them passing around the opposition and using the the man advantage well. Within 5 minutes some good work from Rob Sharpe led to the first goal, which Carlo finished superbly from 2 yards without a keeper. Rob's shot was going in, but Carlo seeing several local girls hovering behind the pitch, tried to impress. Only a few minutes had passed and John Warner were awarded a penalty, up stepped Carlo, the worm population in the box evacuated, but Rob Sharpe took control of the penalty and converted in style. The football from John Warner was good to watch as they spread the ball from side to side patiently to find an opening. This lead to a couple of good chances with Rob Sharpe and Joe Cappalonga failing to finish their one on one oppurtunities. Carlo also rounded the keeper, but saw his effort blocked on the goal line. Through persistance though, John Warner's third goal arrived when Rob Sharpe was put through and rounded the keeper to convert. A bit better than the last meeting between the two teams, where Rob had gone through on several occasions and kept giving the ball to the goalkeeper, preferring to play pattercake instead, they made a lovely couple. Again some good work in general from the John Warner Team led to a goal which Carlo finished. It was at this point when the game began to go wrong, First Max pulled a hamstring and had to be substituted. Moaning and groaning he retired from the pitch. No sympathy was given by the management as Max had turned up late because of the F.A. Cup on television and did not have time to stretch properly. The only sub was Sam Bayford, who was introduced, taking over from lee murton in goal. He had barely put his gloves on when he was called into action. The referee had decided to award Broxbourne a penalty and book Jim Pearson. Both decisions were very ropey! Broxbourne converted to make it 4 - 1 and after several non eventful minutes the whistle blew for halftime, it was the only right decision the referee had made for about 20 minutes. John Warner returned on the pitch after half time with only 10 men, Gary Murton had picked up a knock and it was decided that it would be best for him to rest, their would still be a man advantage. It became apparent that it was only because of the 2 man advantage that John Warner's football was good in the first half because despite still having an extra man, it was in fact Broxbourne who looked like they had the advantage. The reasoning behind the fall from grace was not entirely clear, but John Warner had deciced to exchange good passing football for 'gutter football'. Many players were being caught on the ball, passes to colleague's from yards away that a ' Blind Chimp' could pull off, were going astray. Broxbourne began to get back in the game and their pressure was rewarded when unchallenged, the ball was floated over Sam Bayford to make it 4 - 2. The Referee continued to frustrate both teams with ridiculous bookings and decisions that bordered on embarrasing! It was just such a decision that led to Broxbourne's third goal. With John Warner old boy Barry Bolton completing his hattrick for Broxbourne from the spot, 4 - 3. A small spark of life came from John Warner, Carlo (l'm a player) bending the ball around the Broxbourne keeper to make it 5 - 3. This still did not stop Broxbourne's fighting spirit and within several minutes they pulled back another goal, 5 - 4. The Referee again needed a mention as he had done everthing but put the ball in the net to help Broxbourne back in the game. This is how the score remained at the final whistle, with Broxbourne unlucky not to take a point from an awful John Warner 2nd half performance, John Warner's lousy effort only being outdone by that of the 'so called' referee.
'A' Team
Mangrove 1 - 3 John Warner 'A'
Line up - M Southall, D Cooke, A Smith, G Moss, A Payne, S Benbow, S Montgomery, R Ackerman M.O.M. - 1st Dave Cooke 2nd Steve Montgomery 3rd Andy Smith
Goal Scorers - Alex Collins 2, Gary McClair
Well it had to happen ! The ‘A’ Teams first victory. It was earned in a hard-fought, but clean game against Mangrove FC. The game started like the previous 2 or 3 games for Warner, playing the ball around and supporting at every opportunity. And with only 2 reserve players to help the team, a lot of responsibility was put on the shoulders of the regular ‘A’ team players, and respond to it they did. After twenty minutes the ‘A’ team had two or three clear cut chances to score but these were squandered. At that point it looked like it wasn’t going to be the ‘A’ teams day, but perseverance is a wonderful thing. Sure enough from another good build up down the left, a Ryan Ackerman cross to Alex Collins who held off a Mangrove defender and planted the ball firmly into the net for the opener to John Warner. This gave the ‘A’ team much more confidence and they then proceeded to dominate the match and outplayed Mangrove, and from a well flighted corner from Simon Benbow, Alex Collins got a flick on to Gary McClair who muscled his way to the ball and thumped it into the net for the ‘A’s second. The half-time team talk concentrated on keeping the ball and making Mangrove chase the game and leave themselves exposed at the back where they could take advantage of the gaps that would start to appear, but above all enjoy the second half. It started well for the ‘A’ team with another couple of chances to add to the score but again were not taken. Then their large defender began a run on the half way line with the ball and despite at least four attempts by players ( including Tex ) to dispossess him, he forced his way into the box and thumped a shot past a diving Martin Southall to give Mangrove hope for the last twenty minutes. But the opposite happened, the ‘A’s rode their luck a couple more times before they got back into the groove and outplayed Mangrove again and from yet another fine build-up from the back, a quick ball released to Alex Collins who took the ball past a Mangrove defender, cut in from the by-line and smashed the ball past a stranded keeper for the third and final goal. For the last 15 minutes the three subs were used at intervals to keep the impetus going in favour of the ‘A’ team and when the final whistle came a great cheer went up all around the pitch proving that with hard work and effort anything can be achieved.
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| MATCH REPORT 21 |
| 8th February 2003 |
Line up - I O'Shea, L Murton, G Murton, P Annis, J Pearson, S Ferro, I Fordham, M Blanch, Dan Beech M.O.M. - 1st Max Blanch 2nd Carlo Casali 3rd Gary Murton
Goal Scorers -
After the fiasco of looking through the Yellow Pages for players the previous week, Matt & Barry were confident that a near full side would be available. This proved the case. Although still missing a few regulars, the players available meant a strong line-out and some good substitutes. One particular player who did not show was 'Gianfranco Rudolph', who at the grand old age of 42 felt he should give the younger players a run in the team. The real reason being pre match nerves, spending most of Saturday morning on 'The Throne'. This weeks game started better from John Warner's perspective, with the players pressurising Bengeo early on. Despite this pressure, the team could not seem to find the killer ball and no real chances were made. Around the 20 minute mark came a warning to John Warner as a series of free kicks and corners allowed Bengeo to relieve the pressure and when the ball sailed over to the far post, it should have been 1 - 0 to Bengeo with a free header being spurned. Again Max Blanch blessed the team with his presence and again he proved to be a 'Trojan' in the midfield, winning 95% of his aerial battles and chasing every ball in the vicinity like a 'Bull Terrier' hunts its favourite toy. This eventually led to several good chances being created by John Warner. The first coming when Max released Danny Beech on the right, running on the ball at pace, Danny hit a sweet right foot howitzer. Unfortunately, like his lovelife it showed promise, but tailed off! The next chance arrived after some good build up play allowed Carlo to spin away from his man and release a good shot, but the Bengeo keeper was positioned well and pulled off a fine save. This move had been practiced by Carlo several times in 'Faces' nightclub the previous Friday. The Final chance of the half fell to Jim & Rob, but it turned out to be too many cooks as they ran in on goal hand in hand, only for Jim to put a left foot shot wide, but Jim & Rob are now much closer. With the second half mirroring the first, it seemed more evident that one goal was likely to win the game. Despite consistent pressure, no chances were created due to poor final balls, John Warner had ran out of ideas. Clearly frustrated by this and after making a poor pass, Max's temperment faltered and like Red Indians losing their chief, John Warners midfield domination slipped. In the 75th minute, a poor defensive decision by Paul Annis, led to him bringing down a Bengeo player in the box. A clear penalty, which they coverted. Soon after, some poor refereeing decisions were made, when two clear penalty claims were turned down, one where the keeper was actually bear hugging Danny Beech and the other when Carlo's legs were scooped away from him turning away from goal. What with that and the ball crossing the Bengeo goal line, but no goal given, it was clear that it was not going to be John Warner's day. Makes the fact that Bengeo had already filled in the player card and given the Referee a score of Eight increasingly suspicious!
'A' Team
John Warner 'A' 1 - 3 Deaconsfield
Line up - M Southall, A Gray, D Cooke, A Smith, R Djemal, S Benbow, S Montgomery, S Francis, G McClair M.O.M. - 1st Steve Montgomery 2nd Simon Benbow 3rd Gary McClair
Goal Scorers - Alex Collins
The match versus Deaconsfield was the first game since the Reserve team folded, so the 'A' team had the services of 5 Reserve players. With this amount of new players the 'A' team manager had to experiment with a new formation, but with experienced players in all departments of the team it was a balanced outfit that started the game. For the first 20 minutes slick one and two touch football and one-two's had Deaconsfield chasing the game but with a goalie with a long kick it soon became obvious which route they were going to take during the game! Another long ball over the top and with a marginal offside decision not being given, a Deaconsfield player pounced on the ball to score, 0-1. Still, the 'A' team picked themselves up from this set back and started pushing forward again and soon had the Deaconsfield goalie making 3 or 4 saves and defenders clearing hastily from attacks. From a quick throw out by keeper Martin Southall to Steve Montgomery steaming down the left wing, he looked up and picked out Simon Benbow steaming down the right wing with a lovely flighted ball, the ball was taken in stride by Simon who went past a Deaconsfield player and played a perfectly weighted ball to the running Alex Collins who side stepped their keeper and knocked into the net to equalise, 1-1. For the last 15 minutes of the first half Deaconsfield were unable to pressure the 'A' teams goal. The half time team talk was mainly about keeping on playing to feet and give the wide players as much of the ball as possible and support the front two at every opportunity. The second half was only 10 minutes old when after a coming together of Alex Gray and a Deaconsfield player, it resulted in Alex hurting his back and Deaconsfield scoring their second, 1-2. Spencer Thomas now coming on for the injured Alex Gray the 'A' Team changed to a back 3 with Dave Cooke moving into midfield and Steve Francis joining Alex Collins and Sunil Radia up front for the final twenty minutes in an effort to reduce the deficit. From another fine build up, Simon hassled a Deaconsfield player in his own penalty box, flicked the ball over him and lobbed the on-coming keeper for the ball to drop down on the goal line, at the same time as this happened 2 'A' team players and a Deaconsfield player tumbled into the net in an attempt on the ball only to pull the goal net off the cross bar and the ball bounced through the gap between the cross bar and net. The only person not to see the goal was the ref who gave a goalkick! Even some of their supporters thought it was a goal.
Time and time again the 'A' team split open Deaconsfield only to be denied by some quick flagging by their Assistant Referee and some clumsy challenges on 'A' team players. This resulted in tempers fraying a bit but the 'A' team managed to keep their discipline and kept on pressing forward in an effort to get at least a point from the game. And as is the case with a team pressing forward a quick break resulted in Deaconsfield playing neat football and leaving their forward clear in the box to knock in their third goal, 1-3.
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| MATCH REPORT 20 |
| 25th January 2003 |
Line up - I O'Shea, L Murton, P Annis, R Djemal, Dan Beech, D Cook, S Ferro, J Pearson, I Fordham M.O.M. - 1st Dave Cook 2nd Rob Djemal 3rd Ian Fordham
Goal Scorers - Ian Fordham, Jim Pearson
After a disappointing result against Broxbourne the previous week, Manager Matt O' Dea and new assistant Barry (Sven) Walpole were looking for a lot more spirit and fight from their players. Yet despite counting 14 players on the Thursday night, several players were missing due to holidays, Injuries, suspensions and worst of all, last minute calls with poor excuses. So this left Just nine Players 20 Minutes before kick-off. This proved too much for Matt O' Dea who had to retire to his Taxi for tantric breathing exercises. Thus Barry Walpole & Darren Rowley had to flick through the player list and try to assemble a team. Quick discussions with Martin Southall by Barry Walpole led to the call up of two A' Team players, Sunil & Dave. Also a quick call to Max Blanch, who done the club proud by getting out of bed and Andy Smith for going sub and running the line. With Rob Sharpe also turning up (eventually) a team was finally assembled. With such a shambolic lead up to the game it was obvious that it was likely to affect the team and this proved the case as Westmill had most of the early play although not really looking dangerous on the final ball. With a several changes and new faces the team looked out of shape and was giving too much respect to their opposition. Yet still, it took a mix up in John Warner's defence to allow Westmill to break the deadlock in the 25th minute, despite this, it was good to see no arguing and the team continued to battle. It was around this time that Lee Murton took a nasty blow to the head and had to be replaced. On the battlefield stepped ' Maximus Pitbulis Blanchicus', with Dave Cook switching to his preferred defensive role and Max into centre midfield. Max's entry seemed to lift the team and the last 5 minutes saw close efforts from Rob Djemal, Jim and Max. Some good work was also be done by Dummy peach with some exquisite wing play reminiscant of George Best. At halftime, despite being 1 - 0 down, John Warner were definitely on top. After a team talk from Matt & Barry pleading for more of the same they went out for the 2nd half. Again a great fighting spirit through the whole team led to many opportunities and a free kick being awarded on the edge of the Westmill box. Ian Fordham was nominated and soon it was apparent why he had not been seen out at a club or a pub for several years. Ian's continual viewing of David Beckham's Video had paid off! A beautiful curl around the wall and John Warner were level on the 65th minute. It was a very nervous last 25 minutes with Westmill coming back in the game, but With Rob Djemal marshalling at the back, Max, Sav and Fordy Battling hard in the middle, great work from Jim Pearson on the left, Rob Sharpe and Carlo tormenting the Westmill back line and a Fat Osh 'in the sticks' , often soil testing, the team held out. With just minutes to go Carlo was tripped in the box and a penalty was awarded, up stepped Carlo and...... with a long run-up unleashed a shot which was never going to trouble the keeper but dealt a serious blow to the worm population around the six yard box. Obviously put off by the screaming of dying worms, the keeper fumbled and Jim Pearson sealed a great 2nd half performance with a poacher's rebound goal. A nervous last few minutes could have been avoided when Max sent Fordy through on goal with a delicious ball. Unfortunately Fordy had swapped his David Beckham Predators for Gabby (his Ex's) Moccasins and the ball tamely fell to the Westmill Keeper. At the final whistle a great all All round team performance was rewarded with a good win.
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| MATCH REPORT 19 |
| 18th January 2003 |
'A' Team
Ware Lions 10 - 0 John Warner 'A'
Line up - M Southall, S Thomas, D Cooke, R Djemal, A Payne, S Radia, S Montgomery, G McClair, S Benbow M.O.M. - 1st Steve Summers 2nd Dave Cooke 3rd Simon Benbow
Goal Scorers -
On a pitch that resembled a farmer's field the game versus Ware Lions started quite frantically. Boosted by the return of Andy Payne and the addition of Rob Djemal and Steve Montgomery from the Reserves, the A-team matched Ware attack for attack and were unfortunate not to take the lead when a good movement resulted in a long range shot from Alex Collins which was taken by the Ware keeper low down to his left. Then after 35 minutes with the score still 0-0 the A-Team suffered two injuries which were to have major repercussions in the course of this game. Monty made a saving tackle on a Ware player who left his foot in and he suffered a very nasty kick on the inside of his right knee and had to be helped off the pitch unable to continue. Then Martin Southall in goal twisted his knee badly in making a save in a congested penalty box. After treatment he decided to play on until half time and see then how bad his injury was. Moments later Ware scored two goals in a minute to stamp their dominance on the game. After withholding 10 more minutes of pressure another goal for Ware gave them a 3-0 lead at half time. Martin, unable to walk or kick properly was substituted by Downzy who found himself immediately in the action saving the A's on two occasions, but was unlucky minutes later with a long range shot that flew into the top right hand corner of the net. Then from a corner, a towering header from a Ware defender again flew into the net. Regrouping and a tactical third substitution altered the play for a while and the A-Team got the upper hand for the first time in the game as Alex, Steve S, Simon and Sunil all had chances to score but were unlucky with their efforts. Spencer started to torment the right back and caused all sorts of problems for him which resulted in another couple of chances to score which were squandered. Then a third major blow occurred when Rob Djemal made a last ditch tackle to deny a Ware goal resulted in him injuring his hip and being unable to carry on. Having used the allowed three subs the A-Team were forced to finish the game with only 10 players. Coupled to this injuries picked during the game to Gary McClair and Spencer Thomas meant that the A-Team only had 8 fit players for the remainder. When Ware realised this they woke up and scored another 6 goals in the last 20 minutes as the formation was changed in an attempt to limit the damage
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| MATCH REPORT 18 |
| 11th January 2003 |
Line up - I O'Shea, L Murton, G Murton, G Thomas, J Pearson, S Ferro, G Ellis, P Annis, C Casali M.O.M. - 1st Carlo casali 2nd Ian O'Shea 3rd Rob Sharpe
Goal Scorers - Carlo Casali 3, Rob Sharpe
Up against top of the table Knebworth the team were still short of some key players, plus Matt was away tucked up in bed with a stomach virus. The team went one up after just 5 minutes, Carlo connecting after a good corner from Rob Sharpe. But 5 minutes later Knebworth equalised after a mix up in the defence, a corner kick swerving straight in with no one clearing the damn thing. Knebworth went 2-1 up after a mix up down the left side, someone tried one of his customary back heels and it backfired ! But the team drew level on 25 minutes after Gary T closed down a defender to steal the ball and let Carlo in for his second which he took well. Ten minutes later the team took a lead into half-time, this time Carlo stealing the ball off a lax bit of defending from Knebworth to set Rob Sharpe off for the team's third goal. Knebworth applied a lot of pressure in the second half and came close many times to equalising, but it wasnt until the 82nd minute that the break through came to send the game into extra time. With both teams exhausted after 90 minutes of football, both teams were cautious and passed the ball around with no immediate effect on getting a result. It took a great one two between Rob Sharpe and Carlo casali to put the team in front, Carlo taking it around the keeper to then chip two defenders lining up on the goal line. Great result for the team considering the shortage of players, their opponents, and Matt being away.
Reserve Team
NO GAME
'A' Team
NO GAME
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| MATCH REPORT 17 |
| 4th January 2003 |
Reserve Team
NO GAME
'A' Team
Thundridge 3 - 2 John Warner 'A' ( a.e.t. ) Divisional Cup 1st Round
Line up - M Southall, M Ridley, D Cooke, G McClair, A Payne, S Radia, R Ackerman, S Benbow, S Summers M.O.M. - 1st Dave Cooke 2nd Martin Southall 3rd Andy Payne
Goal Scorers - Joe Cappalonga 2
On a bitterly cold day the 'A' team manager had the opportunity to experiment with a different line up for this cup match. He rested a few players, but then before kick off a couple more pulled out so a few frantic phone calls and Joe Cappalonga from the first team arrived to help out. The situation also meant that the manager also named himself as a substitute, hoping not to be required. The game started at a lively pace with Thundridge exerting pressure with their physical stature being used at every opportunity. After holding off Thundridge's first few attacks the 'A' team started passing the ball around and then made their own good couple of chances to score which were unfortunately not taken. A Thundridge corner was not covered properly and one of their players rose to head home their first goal. Within 10 minutes some sloppy play and a static back line allowed Thundridge to score their second. But then the 'A's responded in their normal way by getting first to 50-50 balls and hassling the Thundridge players which rattled them on more than one occasion by giving away needless free kicks. From one of these kicks the ball was played wide and from the resulting cross Joe Cappa got on the end of it and powered home the 'A' team's first goal. All players took on board the half time team talk and everyone agreed this game was there for the winning. From more pressure a slick movement allowed Joe Cappa another chance to score which he took much to the dismay of Thundridge. Then a few nasty tackles on 'A' team players resulted in a few 'handbags at 6 paces' and when a Thundridge player who had been substituted then decided to put his face in our linesman's face to 'question' him, the referee had no option but to book him and ask him to leave the touchline. At this point both teams calmed down and both produced end-to-end football that either team could have won this tie in normal time. Full time came and another encouraging team talk to the players to up their effort for a final 30 minutes which would result in a deserved victory had them fired up for the first period of extra time. An unfortunate collision by a Thundridge player on Martin in goal resulted in a lengthy stoppage to allow him to recover from a nasty bang to the head. Bearing in mind the 'A' team manager had already made a couple of substitutions, his concern was with Martin being able to continue. But he did and produced another couple of great saves to keep the 'A' team in the tie. The first half finished still deadlocked, but soon into the second half a throw in near the touchline by Thundridge took two wicked bounces on the by-now uneven ground over 'A' team defenders and landed at the feet of a Thundridge forward in front of goal who tapped it into the net for their third goal. The 'A' team pressed forward with more urgency to get back in the tie and nearly scored on two occasions but were prevented by goalmouth clearances. Another injury, this time to Gary McClair forced the 'A' team manager to put himself on for the final 5 minutes in an endeavour to claw back the deficit. But ultimately it was not enough and the referee blew for full time with the 'A' team still pressing forward. Another good all-round team performance which saw them the stronger side only just failed to bring the rewards it so richly deserved in this game.
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| MATCH REPORT 16 |
| 21st December 2002 |
Line up - I O'Shea, L Murton, G Murton, G Thomas, J Pearson, S Ferro, S Rudolph, P Annis, J Cappalonga M.O.M. - 1st Gary Thomas 2nd Jim Pearson 3rd Paul Annis
Goal Scorers - Paul Annis, Danny Beech
The team were let down by Gary Ellis just before kick off and with Gary Murton arriving late from work the team started with ten players. But they managed to hang on until Gary turned up with 30 minutes gone in the game and then started to get on top. Coming out of the break the pressure told with a fine goal from Paul Annis, his first for the club. The team continued to pressure Greenbury and the game was made safe 15 minutes from time after a fine move saw Danny Beech fire home. A good result considering the team were short of players again. Barry Walpole did a fine job deputising for a working Matt O'Dea.
Reserve Team
Old Mulletians 1 - 4 John Warner Res.
Line up - S Letts, A Gray, R Djemal, A Smith, D Coomes, I Fordham, M Ridley, S Radia, S Montgomery M.O.M. - 1st Mark Deville 2nd Matt Ridley 3rd Andy Payne
Goal Scorers - Mark Deville 4
With injuries affecting the team and O'Shea and Cappa still with the first team the Reserves called on three 'A' teamers to help out with their team having no game. Andy Payne, Sunil Radia and Matt Ridley got their first run out for the team and all played well. Facing a side who won 6-1 last week it was going to be a very tough game. The team started well and were ahead after just 20 minutes after a good solo effort from Deville saw him nuts the keeper. Then the team fell asleep for the rest of the half and Old Mulletians equalised on 38 minutes through some very slack defending. A good old rollicking from manager Gerry Brislin and moving Monty inside for Coomes changed the face of the game. Coomes had a lot of possesion on the left side and Monty started to win the headers in the middle. This pressure showed with Deville netting his second on 60 minutes. Axeman came on for Monty in the middle of the park on 70 minutes and his fresh legs gave Deville more opportunity to roam free. This paid off on 75 minutes with Deville getting his hatrick, again another fine solo effort. Mark finished off the game ten minutes from time netting his fourth after some good work from Andy Payne who was certainly making it easier for him up front. All in all a good game. The 'A' team manager should be proud of his players and also a little worried about losing them !
'A' Team
NO GAME
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| MATCH REPORT 15 |
| 14th December 2002 |
Line up - I O'Shea, L Murton, S Rudolph, P Annis, J Pearson, S Ferro, I Fordham, J Cappalonga, Dan Beech M.O.M. - 1st Ian Fordham 2nd Rob Sharpe 3rd Sav Ferro
Goal Scorers -
The first team were short of players an hour before kick off so in line with McMullen rules the reserves had to call their game off, a shame really as the 'A' team weren't playing but weren't told until very late which meant most of the 'A' team players had arranged other things. Mark Deville and Ian Fordham started with Rob Djemal and Andy Smith as subs. Matt was a few short mainly through injuries and a few work commitments. The game started off quite frantic, Knebworth obviously up to beat a side they hadn't had any success against and mostly to get revenge for their cup final defeat by the first team 2 seasons ago. The early pressure showed with some terrible defending at Knebworth's first corner resulting in an unmarked pl |