It may not have been Raining Men (sang the Weather Girls) on Tuesday night but our supporters had to endure plenty of the wet stuff but there were goals galore to keep them happy. The rain never eased up at the Michael Anthony Stadium but the pitch remained in good condition for this Herts Charity Shield (Quarter Final) game against Letchworth Garden City Eagles.

This was (I believe) our first ever encounter against our guests who joined the South Midlands League in 2021 from the Herts Senior County League. They are currently 12th in Division 1 and reached this stage of the competition by beating Sawbridgeworth Town 2-1 away.

The Eagles certainly impressed and the final score line was perhaps a bit harsh because they were still level pegging with us with just a quarter of an hour left when we cut loose and scored 4 goals in 13 minutes.

Our opponents certain got off to a flyer scoring after 69 seconds through Rory Gillham although they were given a big helping hand by some really sloppy play at the back. Score 0-1.

The Eagles lively centre forward Luke Baranowski shot just wide of the far post after being played through on goal in the 3rd minute and then 5 minutes later scored only to be denied by the Assistant Referee’s flag. We were certainly off the pace and our passing was not up to our usual standard.

During the early stages the Eagles were definitely the better side but as the half wore on we started to look like our normal selves and we drew level in the 25th minute with a Frankie Hercules special. Awarded a free kick about 25 yards out he struck it superbly giving the keeper no chance. Score 1-1.

Our opponents were still dangerous going forward with Olly Humphreys finishing off a fine move with a powerful shot that forced a good save from Josh Amenganvi. In the 44th minute our guests celebrated what looked like a magnificent goal from Rory Gillham who shot from around the half way line. But the celebrations soon ended when it was realised the ball hit the top of the net and not the back of it.

To make matters worse for our opponents we scored almost immediately when Dave O’Connor got his head to a Frankie Hercules free kick and Greg Deer was on hand to slot the loose ball home. So after a difficult half when we well below our normal standards we went into the break with a slim one goal lead. HT Score 2-1.

Unbeknown to our supporters Josh Ameganvi suffered a head injury at the end of the half and was taken to hospital. We will keep our fingers cross that Josh makes a speedy recovery. Not for the first time we saw Club Skipper George Carbery don the gloves for the second half.

We had a great chance to extend our lead within 19 seconds of the restart when a terrific run from Bailey Osborne set up Harry Shepherd who has been in great goalscoring form but this time he shot well over. Carbs was called into action within 3 minutes of taking over in goal when he produced a superb save to deny Baranowski who was through on goal.

We were starting to create chances with Harry Shepherd (who was picked out by a magnificent long pass from DOC) and Greg Deer (from a terrific cross to the far post from Frankie) both had good scoring opportunities. Then Frankie crashed a 30 yarder against the bar.

However, our opponents were not out of it and they pulled themselves back into the game with a leveller in the 67th minute when Shay Kelly headed home a super free kick. Score 2-2.

The parity only lasted 7 minutes when the Eagles keeper failed to clear the ball and Ben Kakembo had the easy task of slotting the ball into an empty net. Score 3-2.

We then went on a bit of rampage with Jonah Howgego slotting home goal number 4 in the 77th minute after a superb run by Shep. Bailey made it goal number 5 with a rifled right foot shot in the 83rd minute following a Frankie free kick and DOC header. Ben Kakembo grabbed his 2nd and our 6th and last goal just 3 minutes from normal time after fine link play by Frankie, James Sales and Shep. FT Score 6-2.
Our guests certainly played well and made it a very difficult night for us and we wish them all the best for the rest of the season.

We will now face London Lions at home in the semi-final and we will hope to go on to retain the trophy we lifted last season when we beat Oxhey Jets 4-0 in the final. On Saturday we visit Kings Langley for Herts Senior Cup match.

It was great to see DOC and Greg back in action and to see Jonah return to the club. With some tough games coming up it would be nice to see some of our injured players back in action.

Finally Bailey Osborne was awarded Man of the Match which was fully justified. The youngster has scored in the last 5 consecutive games and is joint leading scorer with Harry Shepherd on 8 goals.

Team:

TA: Josh Ameganvi (George Carbery HT), Harry Jones (Harry Beaumont 61), Adam Sawyer (James Sales 73), Greg Deer (Capt), Dave O’Connor, Mason Clarke, Frankie Hercules, Jonah Howgego (Blake Argent 79), Harry Shepherd, Bailey Osborne, Ben Kakembo.

Scorers:

TA: Frankie Hercules (25), Greg Deer (45), Ben Kakembo (74, 87), Jonah Howgego (78), Bailey Osborne (83).

LGCE: Rory Gillham (69 seconds),Shay Kelly (67)

MoM: Bailey Osborne

Crowd: 62

FOOTNOTE: It appears that we have encountered Letchworth Garden City Eagles before when we played them away in the Herts Charity Shield. We won 4-1 with 2 goals each from Jack Read and Ashton Campbell.