#5 - Berkhamsted FC 0-2 Stevenage

The third round of the Herts Senior Cup saw League Two Stevenage travel a short distance to Broadwater to face unfancied yet threatening Berkhamsted FC.

 Stevenage made a blistering start to the game, hitting the post inside the first five minutes after Andponcos Georgiou beat his man and cut the ball back for target man Alex Reid. Shortly after, Stevenage won a corner and a good delivery was met by captain Ronnie Henry whose header crept wide of the post. The aerial threat Stevenage possessed continued to cause Berkhamsted problems as they came close from numerous set pieces throughout the match. After a strong challenge in the middle, Ryan Plowright limped off and was replaced by creative midfielder Ross Adams, forcing a versatile  James Towell to switch to left-back. Shortly after the substitution, an unorganised Berkhamsted defence almost allowed Reid to score the opener after Berkhamsted’s goalkeeper James Weatherill sliced a pass played back to him. The game continued to flow, and exciting winger Marcus Gouldbourne flashed past a few Berkhamsted players, leaving space in the centre of the pitch to play a neat one-two with Reid and smash the ball into the top corner from outside the area. Whilst the mazy dribbling showcased his fluent skills, his strike presented a wonderful technique which gave Stevenage a deserved lead. Berkhamsted responded well to going a goal down and created a few chances which scared the Stevenage management. Berkhamsted full back Karl Stevenson produced one of many long throws which caused the Stevenage defence problems, and this one led to the ball bobbling around the box only to be met by Berkhamsted captain Max Farrelly who’s right footed strike smacked against the outside of the post. As the first half drew to a close, both sides could be satisfied with how the game had panned out, despite Stevenage being narrowly ahead.

 The second half began just as ferociously as the first. Another Stevenage corner proved difficult for Berkhamsted to deal with again and Reid bundled the ball into the bottom corner before realising the linesman had raised his flag for offside. Shortly after this, another ball in the air sailed over the Berkhamsted defence and allowed Liam Smyth to nip in ahead of Weatherill and again put the ball in the Berkhamsted net. Once again though, the officials spared Berkhmasted’s blushes by awarding a free kick against Smyth for a foul on Weatherill. After the hectic start to the second half, Berkhamsted managed to take control of the game and work their way in behind the Stevenage defence. Cutting in from the left side, Will Summerfield played an exquisite through ball into the path of Matt Bateman who could only toe-poke the ball into the side netting. For the next fifteen minutes, the game was tight and didn’t produce many chances as Stevenage looked to hold on to their one goal advantage. A common combination of the game was Summerfields accurate passes to Batemen and they linked up once again when a long cross field ball was beautifully controlled on the head by the Berkhamsted striker who raced through to face Stevenage’s goalkeeper. Unfortunately for Berkhamsted, his finishing didn’t meet the standards he had been hitting all of this season, and his side-footed effort squeezed wide of the far post. Stevenage capitalised on this ten minutes later when another long ball caused confusion amongst the Berkhamsted backline and a hesitant Weatherill was punished by Reid as he lobbed it over the stranded goalkeeper. With not long remaining on the referee’s watch, Berkhamsted bombarded the Stevenage box without much success as the formidable and experienced Stevenage side didn’t allow Berkhamsted any opportunities to create some late drama.

Although Berkhamsted produced plenty of chances going forward and defended well for large periods of the game, the class displayed by Stevenage was the main difference in the outcome of the result, despite Stevenage fielding many of their Under 23 team.