Wodson Park Saturday, March 6th, 2010 k/o 15:00   Isthmian Division 1 North Attendance: 145         Ware 4-3 Romford
2009 /10

Comments :

Match no. 989. An incredible game that turned on one controversial incident midway through the second-half. Romford were leading 3-1 when they put the ball out of play so one of their players could receive attention. When play restarted with a Ware throw-in just inside Romford''s half the expectation was clearly that the ball would be returned to the Romford goalie. However, Ware took a short throw and the ball was then hit in the general direction of the Romford goal and, with their goalie having come to the edge of his area to receive the ball, it sailed over his head and into the unguarded net. Whether this was by accident or design was unclear but the ref had no option but to award the goal. Uproar ensued and order was only restored when the ref requested that Ware allow Romford to score a goal unopposed from the restart. This was agreed by the Ware bench but, in the event, not all their players went along with it and the ball was cleared. More uproar. Then Romford sent a long ball into the Ware half where one of their players, who was clearly offside but not flagged, bore down on goal. This time the Ware goalie came out to challenge and the Romford player panicked and shot wide. No further attempts were made to redress the balance and, in their fury, the Romford team collectively lost their heads. Almost inevitably Ware equalised and then scored the winner via an own goal deep into added time!