BRACE FROM ED SENDS US THROUGH TO NEXT ROUND OF CUP

A late goal from Edwin Daffern, his 2nd of the game, saw us ease past our A41 neighbours and into the second round of the Premier Division Cup. It was a closely fought and entertaining encounter and we will now play old rivals Colney Heath in the next round at The Michael Anthony Stadium. We won this trophy in 2008/09 and 2021/22 with the latter victory no doubt having a special place for Ryan Sturges and his coaching team as this was the first piece of silverware they lifted for the Club.

As is the case these days with cup matches we saw both teams make changes and we gave Freddie Grant, Jonas Kalonda, Pablo Kalamaras and Lincoln Gilmartin their first starts and they all did very well. We are particularly short of centre backs at the moment so Skipper Jack Harvey showed his versatility by dropping back into defence from his normal midfield position and as usual he led by example. Our hosts were missing some key players so they included a lot of talented youngsters which bodes well for their future.

We started well and opened the scoring after only 9 minutes with a well worked goal. Eighteen year old Freddie Grant started the move when he swept a superb cross field pass to find Jonas Kalonda who showed terrific skills to control the ball and release down the inside right channel Ed Daffern who fired a well placed shot past the keeper and into the far corner. Score 0-1.

It was just the start we needed but the goal did not dishearten Dynamos who nearly drew level in the 17th minute from a free kick which led to a goal mouth scramble before Blake Argent cleared the danger. We had a chance to double our lead in the 23rd minute when Bailey Osborne whipped in a cross from the bye line to find Harry Jones but his shot was blocked and then cleared by a defender. Two minutes later Dynamos drew level when we lost the ball in midfield and our hosts broke away quickly with Theo Lawrence slipping a lovely pass through to Blaaze Lawrence who confidently slotted the ball past Josh Ameganvi. Score 1-1.

Our hosts were playing with confidence and looking dangerous on the break but in the run up to half time we spurned a couple of good opportunities to take the lead again firstly in the 37th minute when Lincoln Gilmartin did well to cross from the bye line and pick out Ed Daffern who scuffed his shot from a good position. A minute later Ed’s fierce shot from the left was spilled by the keeper but a defender came to his recue by blocking Bailey Osborne’s effort.

An entertaining first half ended all square with 45 minutes left to hopefully sort out a winner. HT Score 1-1.

Harry Jones broke down the right 3 minutes after the restart and his cross picked out Ed Daffern who tried to back heel the ball into the net but the keeper was alert to his effort and made a save. Soon afterwards Ed went closer by hitting the post with a shot and a minute later Blaaze Lawrence did likewise at our end.

The game entered a stalemate situation as chances became fewer, so Ryan Sturges decided to bring on some experienced players to avoid the dreaded penalty shoot out. We started to dominate the game but our opponents defended well as the clock ticked around to the 89th minute when at last we broke the ice. Harry Shepherd cut in from the right and appeared to be fouled in the area but before the referee could blow his whistle Ed Daffern had despatched the loose ball past the keeper. Score 1-2,

Soon afterwards Harry Jones appeared to be fouled in the area by the keeper but it didn’t make any difference to the outcome as we came away with a hard earned victory. FT Score 1-2.

A satisfying win against an up and coming team with Ed Daffern grabbing a couple of goals to take his tally to 5 for the season so far. On Saturday we are on the road again with a league game at Sawbridgeworth Town who are 3 places above us in the table so come along and give the lads a lot of support.

TEAM
TA: Josh Ameganvi, Mason Clarke, Jack Harvey (Capt), Freddie Grant (Dylan Fitzpatrick 63), Harry Jones, Edwin Daffern, Jonas Kalonda (Josh Chamberlain 67), Pablo Kalamaras, Lincoln Gilmartin (Max Hercules 77), Blake Argent (Finn Rolfe 60), Bailey Osborne (Harry Shepherd 63).

Scorers:

AVD: (25)

TA: Edwin Daffern (9, 89)

Crowd: ?