Wormley Rovers FC

Wormley Rovers have begun their preparations for the new season, Pre season training has stated!!

Every Tuesday and Thursday at the club starting at 7.30

After the recent setbacks and below par performances Wormley returned to form with a vengeance as 5th place Bovingdon suffered a 6 – 0 thrashing in their visit to Church Lane last Saturday. Despite dominating the first half, Wormley only had a one goal lead at half time thanks to Mike Dodds 20th minute header from a pin point cross from Richard Howard. If Bovingdon thought they had drawn Wormleys sting, they were in for a surprise as once Richard Howard had cut in from the left to power in Wormleys second, fifteen minutes into the second half, Wormley upped their game still further and in the end the visitors were glad to keep the scoreline to just the six, as five minutes later 18year old Tom Sinclair making his first team debut slotted home at the near post after good work from Mike Dodd, ten minutes later Michael Fantis volleyed home a loose ball from ten yards, and five minutes later Tom Sinclair chased down a long through ball from Jack Bartlett, his presence causing confusion between defender and goalkeeper and the ball ended up in the net. Almost immediately Sinclair finished off a five man move but was adjudged to be marginally offside, and despite pounding away at the demoralised Bovingdon defence, it took until the final minute before Jack Bartlett bundled home a corner to complete the rout.

Saturdays Aubrey Cup quarter final produced a poor game as Womley stuttered to a 1 - 0 victory over mid table Sandridge Rovers. Wormley went into the game missing Jack Bartlett and Simon Bellanca both injured in wednesdays final and Lewis Gardner still struggling with an injury from two weeks previous, and within a quarter of an hour had also lost Nico Nigreeli with back spasms. Despite also missing Robbie Syrett away on holiday Wormley got away to a flyer as Billy Cunninghams cross was neatly dispatched by Richard Howard with the game barely three minutes old. The rest of the first half consisted of Wormley squandering chances and the Sandridge centre forward struggling to come to terms with the offside law as he was caught at least ten times in the first half alone. The second half continued in drab fashion with Richard howard missing a gilt edged chance to sew up the game as a well worked free kick routine ended with the ball flashing past the far post with noone able to apply the finishing touch. As the half dragged on Sandridge realised that Wormley were there for the taking but despite a number of corners they still they failed to create any worthwhile efforts on goal. With ten minutes remaining Billy Cunning joined the Wormley injury list but they managed to hold out for a Semi Final tie against Division One side Letchworth Garden City Eagles who produced the shock of a 2 - 1 win over Baldock Town.

Wormley were totally outplayed in last Wednesdays final at the Letchworth County Ground as they tried to play a strong well organised London Colney side at their own game side and ended with a 4 - 0 defeat. After the initial quarter of an hour of midfield sparring Wormley suffered three setbacks in the space of ten minutes which virtually killed the tie. Firstly Danny Isaacs failed to clear when under pressure from a Colney forward and Simon Dent in the Wormley goal lost out on the ensuing one on one. Five minutes later influential centre half Jack Bartlett suffered an ankle injury which handicapped him for the rest of the game despite his efforts to ignore the pain. As Wormley were still recovering from the first two setbacks, indecision in the Wormley rearguard enabled a Colney forward to nip in and slot the ball in by the post. Despite not adding to the scoreline Colney continued to dominate until halftime. The second half continued as with the first with Wormley trying to compete with London Colney at their game and once again failing and as yet another long ball over Wormleys back four enabled the a cross to be delivered across the six yard box with the hobbling Jack Bartlett struggling to intercept. The Colney forward was then left with a simple tap in. Within a further ten minutes the tie was dead and buried as a well worked corner set up a Colney midfielder to blast an unstoppable twenty yarder through a crowd of players past the unsighted Simon Dent. At last Wormley started to pass the ball around but they still failed to create any worthwhile opportunities, and by contrast London Colney had two further opportunities to score as firstly a dubiously awarded penalty was fired against the bottom of the post (even London Colney didn't know what it was awarded for!!) and the same post was struck when it looked easier to score.

Wormley produced a stunning come back to inflict the first defeat in 13 games on last years Herts League champions. The start of the game proved disastrous for Wormley, as they conceded after two minutes when a throw was awarded to Met Police as Wormley pushed players forwarded in the certainty that it was their throw. The quickly taken throw found a Met Police player unmarked who slid the ball past Simon Dent in the Wormley goal. Five minutes later Wormley found themselves two goals down as Billy Cunningham lost the ball in midfield. With the Wormley players appealing for a foul the ball was quickly transferred to a Met Police forward to hammer home from 15yards. From there the game became a scrappy affair until with ten minutes of the half remaining Simon Bellanca broke free on the right and his cross was dispatched into the far corner by recent signing Richard Howard. Five minutes into the second half and the scores were level; this time Richard Howard burst into the area and although his first shot was parried by the Met Police keeper he was unable to prevent the same player from burying the rebound. Met Police then suffered a further set back when their number 10 who had been niggling away at the elusive Billy Cunningham all game decided to head butt the Wormley midfielder and was duly shown a straight red. Twenty minutes into the half and Wormley took the lead. Once again Richard Howard burst through but was dragged down before he could apply the finish. The ensuing penalty was fired home by Jack Bartlett. Despite being down to ten men, Met Police battled hard to get a share of the spoils but the game was finished off by a stunning left foot strike from Robbie Syrett which saw wormley earn a deserved 4 -2 victory and consolidate their position at the top of the division.

Wormley were relieved to come away from a difficult visit to Sandridge with all three points thanks to disputed penalty midway through the first half. Wormley always expected a tough game but their task was made even harder by the state of the Sandridge pitch after it had been invaded by horses that had escaped from a neighbouring field, and it was only due to a lot of hard work by their groundstaff that the game was able to go ahead. Despite the difficult surface Wormley should have been comfortably ahead by half time however relatively easy chances were spurned either side of the penalty, which had been drilled home by Jack Bartlett. The worst offender in the first half was the usually clinical Robbie Syrett who sliced his shot well wide with the goal at his mercy. The second half was more even with Wormleys best chance falling to Billy Cunningham who failed to hit the target from eight yards as the keeper could only parry a shot into his path. With only the slender one goal lead there was always a chance that Sandridge could get something from the game and Wormley were grateful for Simon Dent pulling off a couple of smart saves in the closing minutes to protect all three points.

Despite missing a number of players through injury, suspension and in Jack Bartletts case travelling with the Herts County League squad to play the Guernsey League, Wormley were still expected to have no trouble in beating Knebworth from the division below in the Herts Senior County League Aubrey Cup. Despite controlling the first half, which included Mike Dodd hitting the post and the Knebworth keeper pulling off a number of fine saves, Wormley were frustrated to go in at half time after a goalless first half. Whatever was said at half time certainly did the trick as within five minutes of the restart, Robbie Syrett gave Wormley the lead with an fierce shot on the turn from 18 yards, and ten minutes later the same player doubled the lead volleying home from around the penalty spot. The introduction of new signing Richard Howard added even more potency to the Wormley forward line as he created space for himself to set up Mike Dodd for a simple tap in from six yards out. Robbie Syrett completed his hat trick with a superb lob before Mike Dodd wriggled his way in to add the fifth and his second of the game. Wormley now look forward to an away trip to Sandridge or Evergreen in the quarter finals.

Wormley at last made it to their first County Cup Final since 2001 after securing a 3 – 0 victory over fellow Herts Senior County League side Codicote. Codicote took the initiative and penned Wormley back for the first eight minutes, until the home side forced a corner in their first foray into the Codicote half. Simon Bellanca’s corner was met on the edge of the 18 yard box by Mike Dodd who hammered an unstoppable half volley into the top corner of the Codicote net. The stung Codicote back into life and within two minutes a deflected shot rattled the top of the Wormley crossbar. Although Codicote forced a number of corners none produced anything in the way of a clear chance for the visitors. By Contrast, although not dominating the play, Wormley were unfortunate not to extend their lead as twice Jamie Nicholson went close once with a crashing goal bound volley that deflected to safety off a desperate defensive lunge and then with a header from a corner that shaved the far post. As the first half neared its close the Codicote keeper saved well by his near post as Mike Dodd looked to add to his tally and the usually clinical Robbie Syrett should have done better from twelve yards out as a poor clearance gave him a clear sight of goal. The second half still featured Codicote probing for an opening but without any cutting edge and it took them until 80th minute before they found the target but the shot was well gathered by Simon Dent in the Wormley goal. With Wormleys defence holding firm they were content to hit Codicote on the break and with the 90th minute approaching Lewis Gardner blocked an attempted clearance and as the ball bounced loose reacted quickest to head the ball past the despairing dive of the Codicote keeper. With the cushion of the second goal Wormley now started to peg Codicote back, and in the eighth minute of time added on Simon Bellanca waltzed past three defenders before lashing a left footer into the top of the net for a slightly flattering victory.

Despite difficult conditions, Wormley eased their way to a 3 – 1 win away at Croxley and extended their lead over London Lions and Baldock who battled out a goalless draw, with their goals coming from the prolific partnership of Mike Dodd and Robbie Syrett.

After an even first twenty minutes Wormley took the lead; Robbie Syretts cross from the right was headed back across goal by Lewis Gardner, and Mike Dodd applied the finish with a slightly scuffed shot from eight yards out. It took until a quarter of an hour into the second period before Wormley added a second, this time through Robbie Syrett who lost his marker with ease before giving the keeper no chance from ten yards out with his 12th of the season so far. Midway through the half, Croxley reduced the deficit as Wormley failed to deal with a corner and Jamie Nicholsons headed clearance cannoned back of a Croxley attacker and into the Wormley net. Within five minutes Mike Dodd had restored Wormleys two goal cushion, this time cutting in from the left before curling a sweet twenty yarder into the top corner giving the Croxley keeper no chance and taking his tally to 18 goals for season. From then until the end Wormley remained in control and they took home the three points without any further alarms.

Wormley now take on another Herts Senior County League side, Codicote in the semi final of the Herts Senior Centenary Cup after a comprehensive 3 – 0 victory over London Lions fellow County League pace setters. London Lions started the brighter for the first quarter of an hour knocking the ball around comfortably but except for one occasion, well dealt with by Simon Dent in the Wormley goal, failing to set up any goal scoring opportunities of note. After that initial period Wormley stepped up a gear and for the rest of the half took the game to the visitors creating a succession of corners that caused panic in the Lions rearguard. On the 18 minute mark the presence of Lewis Gardner on the goal line made life difficult for the Lions keeper; his poor punch was collected by Jack Bartlett who then saw his goal bound shot ricochet to safety of the unfortunate Gardner. After 23 minutes Wormley took the lead. Robbie Syretts corner looked to be misdirected but he had picked out Jack Bartlett on the edge of the area who rifled home a fierce half volley. Minutes later Mike Dodd tapped home after the Lions keeper had failed to deal with another corner but much to the keepers relief and surprise, he was adjudged to have been fouled by Gardner. Wormleys second goal on 35 minutes owed a little to lady luck as Jack Bartletts free kick from 40 yards out eluded attackers and defenders before bouncing into the top corner of the net. As the half drew to a close more Wormley pressure saw Robbie Syrett turn his defender inside out before beating the keeper with ease. Lions came out for the second half determined to get back into the game but found the Wormley rearguard in uncompromising mood and it took them until the 85th minute before they managed a worthwhile effort on the Wormley goal, but even then they failed to hit the target. In the meantime the home side were content to soak up the pressure and hit the Lions on the break. On one of those occasions second half substitute Simon Bellanca tricked his way through the Lions defence and saw his pin point cross volleyed home by the un marked Mike Dodd who for the second time in the game had a goal ruled out; this time for offside. The only down side for Wormley came in the closing minutes when a badly mistimed tackle from Jamie Nicholson saw the referee pull out a straight red and left Nicholson looking at a five week ban after the first sending off of his career.