Sharp Edgware Grab Another Win

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 7 April 2015 at Silver Jubilee Park
Result	Edgware Town 2 Harpenden Town 1
Competition	Spartan South Midlands Division One (Step 6)
Hopping	Ground 560, chosen for travel convenience for this impulsive trip.  This ground was once the home of Kingsbury Town, who eventually merged with London Tigers and are now based in Greenford.  A new artificial surface is down and further ground improvements are proposed – Hendon FC (currently sharing at Harrow Borough after a spell as tenants at Wembley) are planning to move here next season.
Pre-match preparation
Mid-table end-of-season clash, Harpenden slightly higher but Edgware on a good recent run.  The teams drew 2-2 recently in the reverse fixture.
This match in one sentence
Edgware deserved the win but they wasted a sackful of chances.
So what?
Harpenden go up to sixth in the table for now, and Edgware are ninth.  The two teams in between have plenty of games in hand, and it is looking like eighth and ninth-place finishes for these two clubs.
The drama unfolds
This game was played at a good pace on the artificial surface and kept the interest of this passing neutral until the end.  You don’t always get that on grass at Step 6, it has to be said.  I took an early scene-setter clip from a position in splendid isolation behind one of the goals.  We had experienced a very nice sunset during the warmup and the last remnants of daylight were just fading away as Edgware imposed themselves on the game at the far end.  They are in green. The first clear chances for each side came midway through the first half.  Harpenden’s #10 found himself with just a defender on the line to beat with the keeper out of position, but he shot just wide.  Then Edgware took the lead with a move down the right.  Their winger Adem Ali got to the byline and created the chance for Bilal Butt.  1-0 after 24 mins The game now fell into a pattern.  Harpenden were never out of it but lacked a cutting edge or incisive final pass.  Edgware created and missed the better chances.  There was a header that I remember, and indeed they hit the bar with the last kick of the half.  1-0 at half-time I moved round to the touchline for the second half as more of the same evolved.  Fergus Moore headed just over for Edgware.  I took another clip, which has two offside calls in quick succession, and then the home side hit the woodwork again. By now I had lost count of the number of clear-cut chances spurned by the hosts.  There was a rare Harpenden shot on the hour, but then good work by Edgware fullback Olu Quadri created a shooting chance for Butt, duly saved.  One goal is never enough, they say, and Harpenden equalised through substitute Mark Hitchcock.  Shockingly, I haven’t made a note of the time – that will be a mandatory three points on my groundhopper licence.  It was somewhere around 70-75 minutes.  1-1 However, the home side had a penalty within a minute, for a foul, which Butt smashed home off the bar in decisive fashion to restore the lead.  2-1 There were a few nervy moments as Edgware held on for the points and continue their unbeaten run.  They deserved the points but need to be less wasteful in front of goal in future!  Final score 2-1
Ground Pix
Match Pix
All too fuzzy, sorry.  Really should start taking my new camera to matches.
Something You Don’t Get in the Premier League
Entry, programme, car parking, coffee, Mars Bar and 90 minutes with the result in doubt right to the end for less than £7.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Blue beats Grey.  Updated table later in the month.
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!