We Are The Stags Online

The Stags took a rest from League duty to try their luck at the League Cup but they could not reproduce their league form against Cheshunt.
After looking very bright in the opening minutes, Forest took the lead through Leon McKenzie when Fola Orilonishe raced down the left wing, after a ball that the defenders had given up for dead. He stopped the ball near the line and cut it back for McKenzie to shoot home from twelve yards.
Things were looking good for the Stags as they pressurised Cheshunt at the back. But it was not all one way as Cheshunt thought they’d equalised after 10 minutes when ex Stag Dewayne Clarke robbed Kenny thirty yards out on the left and sent the ball over for Lloyd Opara to score but celebrations stopped when offside was signalled.
The seeds of Forest’s defeat were sown in the 18th minute when they were awarded a free kick in line with their own penalty area. ‘Keeper Charlie Hasler passed across goal for Didier Batunga but Opara pounced, stole the ball and shot home before Hasler could regain his position.
This signalled the start of a period of Cheshunt pressure which the home side dealt with but had difficulty in mounting attacks of their own. Having said that, meaningful progress was at a premium for both sides as even Cheshunt could not create a chance for themselves.
Late in the half McKenzie broke through on the left of the Cheshunt defence and shot rather than cutting the ball back to the two Forest men who’d come in on the back post. The shot was a good one but, perhaps, the other option would have been better. The final action saw Wes Thomas desperately unlucky not to score when McKenzie broke down the right and shot from twelve yards out. The ball struck a Cheshunt defend then hit Thomas before he could react. The ball went straight to the astounded ‘keeper rather than the almost gaping goalmouth.
The Stags looked much the brighter team at the start of the second half and had mounted some good attacks, the first came within two minutes of the restart when Thomas got past his defenders, cut in from the left and shot from an acute angle hitting the side netting. Then Darren Duporte had a very good shot.
Everything started to go pear shaped when Gregoriou was allowed to ghost in along the right of the goal line to shoot home from five yards. This seemed to take all the concentration out of, the normally solid, home defence.
On 65 Clarke won the ball in midfield and ran through the left side of the defence to shoot home at the left upright.
A penalty and an injury time goal from Opara sealed the Stags’ fate. Probably not beaten by the better team but by the team who scented the kill early enough and used their experience to gain the prize.

So early in the season and the Stags have already hit their second double of the season in beating Berkamsted on their own turf. This was, however a much harder battle than they had in the previous double over Aveley.
The game was always going to be a physical one and so it started when  neither the referee or his assistant reacted when Ashby pushed Wes Thomas off the ball in the opening minutes.
By the 8^th minute, the Stags had already carved out two good scoring chances them Leon McKenzie  sped down the inside right channel and crossed a lovely ball which eluded defenders and ‘keeper alike, unhappily the Stags were also inches away from goal number one.
By 15 minutes Berkhamsted had settled into a rhythm of play which meant playing the long ball at every chance and using the long throw whenever occasion demanded. The problem with this kind of play was that it made almost every ball forward a fifty fifty ball which the defender was always favourite for.
The Stags went through a phase where attacking became difficult with Alex Brown, at the heart of Berko’s defence coping well with the threat of Thomas and McKenzie.
Berko’s first chance of the game came on 27 minutes when they won a free kick just inside the Stags’ half of the field. A long kick from Cowen was met by Hibbert but his header rebounded off the top of the crossbar, out of harm’s way.
The Stags came out in the second half looking much more composed and could have gone ahead on  48 minutes when Thomas slotted home from an acute angle but was judged off side.
Pressure told and, on 58 minutes Didier Batunga joined the attack for a corner. The ball came out to the edge of the area where Batunga’s first strike was blocked: he made no mistake with his second try and slammed the ball 35 yards into the top of the net.
Berkhamsted could have equalised on 78 minutes when Sonner found himself free in front of goal but his shot went wildly over the bar.
Matthew Judge sowed up the game for the Stags on 85 minutes when he ghosted in at the back post to plant home Darren Duporte’s free kick from close range.
The game ended with the Stags almost netting twice more from a Duporte free kick and a corner. A late appeal for a Berko penalty, after Ardiles went down in the penalty area, was disregarded by the referee and thre points came home to the east end.

Waltham Forest v Leyton Orient in the FA Youth Cup First Round will take place at Wadham Lodge on Thursday 10th November at 7.30. Come down and support the lads.