Report by Jools Thomas

FC travelled to Ware’s impressive Wodson Park for their fourth game in eight days and in truth the signs of fatigue and lethargy were there for all to see as the team delivered a lacklustre performance settled by a soft penalty in the latter stages of the first half.

On five minutes Josh Oyibo had the game’s first effort, a shot which went fractionally wide, and this was followed by a Kieron Schmidt attempt which produced a fairly routine save for home keeper Tom Coulton. A Gareth Price corner a few moments later could have produced a goal especially after Ben Stevens temptingly flicked it on.

Another Gareth Price corner from the right was met by Aston Goss who met the ball well but once again this provided few issues for Coulton. Just to be certain, James Weatherill tipped the ball over from a looping George Essumen header but this was just the latest in a series of half chances for either side as the game plodded along with neither side really wanting to take the initiative.

It was always going to take a moment of brilliance or naivety to break the deadlock. Unfortunately for FC, it was the second option as Jeanmal Prosper needlessly left a trailing leg which Oyibi fell over just inside the box. The Ware man was moving away from goal and there seemed little danger which made Jammers’ mistake all the more frustrating. Dernell Wynter sent the spot kick straight down the middle with Weatherill diving in the wrong direction.

Ben Bateman replaced Prosper at the start of the second half. Shortly afterwards Ben Stevens was unlucky with a glancing header which drifted wide. Dernell Wynter responded with a cross shot that flew just over the bar.

In the second half, FC raised their game a little as they played down the slight slope of the ground. On 64 minutes Kieron Schmidt maybe could have done better when his shot was cleared from the line after a quality Daniel Murphy cross before Gareth Price’s long range drive burnt Coulton’s fingertips. A series of substitutions followed with Rob Tomlin and Ed Smith leaving the field to be replaced by Jamie Rudd and Brian Haule.

FC had their golden chance to equalise soon afterwards. A cross from the right wasn’t cleared and as it fell yards from goal, Danny Gordon could only blast it skywards, to the shock of most in the ground. Wynter was guilty of missing a promising chance of his own when failing to connect with a quality cross a few minutes later. Khale Dacosta then had a reasonable chance on the left but his side foot shot didn’t have enough venom to trouble Weatherill.

As the minutes ran down, Brian Haule hit a shot through a crowd of players which keeper Coulton was alert to and then Aston Goss hit a classy cross which the under pressure keeper did well to gather. FC had a second glorious chance to equalise in the 90th minute. Jamie Rudd’s goalbound shot was deflected agonisingly over the bar. James Weatherill had ventured forward to help his teammates in the search for the elusive equaliser but a Ware breakaway almost brought a second goal. Dangerman Wynter under pressure from an alert Ben Bateman, dallied over the strike and Weatherill had time to recover and beat the ball away before the rebound was smacked high over the bar.