Berkhamsted’s winning run comes to an end against Hadley

Berko’s winning run came to a crashing end on Saturday when they went down 3-0 at home to Hadley and had Ed Canham red carded.

Berko failed to adapt to the high bounce of the ball on a dry pitch and were beaten by a Hadley side who passed the ball on the ground far better than their hosts.

Lewis Rodrigoe came in to midfield for Che To as the only change in the Berko 11 that hit five goals against Hertford in midweek.

The Comrades made a bright start to the game and Frankie Jowle had a shot on the turn before Steve Hawes was tackled goalkeeper by Charlie Mann as he looked set to score.

But it was Hadley who went in front midway through the first half when Laste Dambarre hit the bar and Sam Lyon nodded home the rebound to give the visitors the lead.

Berko looked for a quick response, and Jamie Gavin almost reached a long Courtney Massay free-kick when the slightest touch would have yielded a goal.

In the second half Ashley Morrissey beat three men and played a one-two with Massay but the shot went over the bar, before Alex Foster came forward and saw his shot saved.

It was the visitors who struck next, however. Jernade Meade has recently signed for Hadley from Arsenal and he doubled the lead to round off a fine move with a well-placed shot.

Five minutes later the game was effectively over when Dan McAteer scored with a shot past Ben Barnes.

Berko manager Mick Vipond tried a triple substitution, bringing on Lawrence Bunker for his first game since September as well as midweek absentees Josh Chamberlain and Adiel Mannion.

However, they saw little of the ball, and soon the Comrades were down to 10 men.

Canham committed a foul and Meade pushed him, with the latter earning a yellow card. But Canham got his third sending off of the season for kicking out in retaliation.

Dambarre was released by Meade and from the side of the penalty area fired a fierce shot over the bar, while Hawes came forward and his shot was deflected for a corner in one of very few Berko efforts that were on target in the afternoon.

Berko: Barnes; Massay, Foster(Mannion), Gavin, Canham, Hawes,Jowle (Bunker), Farrelly, Christie, Osborne, Morrissey (Chamberlain). Subs not used: Sears.

Elsewhere, Berkhamsted’s reserve side suffered the heartbreak of going out of the cup to a last minute goal at Sun Sports in the semi-final of the Herts Intermediate Cup on Saturday as they lost 1-0.

It is not all doom and gloom at Broadwater, however, as Berko have the chance to reach two cup finals in the next 10 days.

The tougher task will be on Tuesday night at Broadwater when they hope to pull off a shock Herts Senior Cup win over Hemel Hempstead Town who are three divisions above them. Admission is just £6 and a big crowd is expected.

The following Tuesday, Berko will be at home to Holmer Green, bidding to reach the Premier Division Cup final for the second consecutive year.

In between there is a league match at Hoddesdon Town on Saturday. Josh Chamberlain misses all three games through suspension but otherwise Berko should be at full strength.

Berko’s reserve side are top of the Suburban League North and hope to take another step towards the title on Saturday when they are at home to Newport Pagnell Town.

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