WELWYN GC lost for the first time in a midweek pre-season fixture, when they were edged out in their penultimate warm-up game before the start of the new season.
WGC were beaten by their former manager Adam Fisher’s new charges – Hendon of the Isthmian South Central division – who play at step 4, the same as the Citizens.
In what was a bitty, untidy game for the most part, that also threatened to get out of hand, the referee sending off a Hendon forward for following through in a challenge on WGC keeper Connor Sansom, 10 minutes into the second-half.
Sansom was back between the posts for WGC, having missed their heavy reverse at Hanworth Villa three days earlier, as was skipper Jay Lovell at the heart of defence and talented new signing Luis Cantello.
WGC had the first meaningful attempt on goal, when Lovell won a powerful header that Teddy Stacey picked up and struck a fierce effort just wide in 10 minutes.
But it proved the Citizens’ last effort for some time in a scrappy encounter, Hendon flashing two almost identical free-kicks over Sansom’s crossbar in their only replys.
It wasn’t until five minutes before the break that WGC carved out their best opening of the half.
Ethan Rookard began the move with a neat turn and pass out to the right, it was helped on to the overlapping Cantello, whose low cross found Evaristo Mendes. His first effort was blocked and when Cantello won it back to set up a second chance, Mendes’ next effort had the same fate.
Then in stoppage time, Hendon poached the lead, when Lovell badly misplaced a pass straight to the opposition. WGC’s defence were caught going forward and when a left-wing cross came in, it deflected off a luckless Cantello to beat keeper Sansom.
Another slick WGC move opened the second-half, Nick Ralfe, having his second outing after a long injury break, had the shooting opportunity, but he placed it too near the home keeper.
From the hour mark, manager Gavin Kelsey rang the changes, replacing starters Reece Mosanya, Ralfe, Cantello, Mendes, Malik Nosike and Rookard with a trialist, Joe Shenouda, Eddie Corbit, Kendall Gyamfi, Ryan Hayes and Luca Gordon.
These changes seemed to spark a better spell for the Citizens as fine hold-up work by Gyamfi set up a shooting chance for Gordon that was turned around by the home keeper and moments later the trialist’s powerful effort was also saved.
The improvement continued until five minutes from time, when a defence-splitting pass from impressive new signing Hayes put Gyamfi in to finish powerfully for 2-1.
In the very next attack, WGC wasted the chance to draw the fixture, Shenouda being put clean through, only to finish with a weak effort that was wide of the post.
WGC: starting line-up: Sansom, Cantello, Lovell, Impey, Mosanya, Stacey, Nosike, Annous, Rookard, Mendes, Ralfe. Substitutes: Shenouda, Corbit, Gyamfi, Hayes, Gordon, a trialist (all used).
