If an advert in favour of non-league football was ever needed then Wivenhoe Town's 4-2 win against Berkhamsted Town would surely qualify.
Their Southern League division one east clash at Broad Lane was played in testing windy conditions and both teams set out to play attacking football from the outset.
The Dragons made a deserved breakthrough on 18 minutes when Stafford Browne headed on the ball into the path of the lively Liam Coleman who broke into the box down the right and hit a low shot across Berkhamsted keeper Sam Mazurek.
At first it looked like Mazurek had trapped the shot, but he appeared to be unsighted by the low sun slanting across the pitch and the ball squirmed under his body into the goal.
But seven minutes later the visitors were back on level terms when an innocuous-looking cross into the Wivenhoe box was cleared only as far as the dangerous Ben Porter and he fired past Ollie Sanders in the home goal.
Michael Brothers also went close for the hosts when he brought the ball in from the left and skipped past a couple of challenges before firing from 25 yards, but his shot went narrowly wide.
But within 60 seconds Wivenhoe were back in front when Coleman's shot from the right was parried by Mazurek and Ray Turner was on hand to forced the ball over the line.
Four minutes after the break they extended their lead when Browne made space down the right and cut the ball back to the edge of the box where Sean Caton was waiting to coolly side-foot it home.
But five minutes later Berkhamsted came back yet again when Sanders punched clear a free-kick and no Wivenhoe player managed to pick up Jack Copson who collected the ball and half-volleyed it past the Dragons' shotstopper through a crowd of players.
Wivenhoe weren't about to surrender their lead though and Michael Brothers wrapped up the win when he latched on to a through ball on 83 minutes and hit a fierce shot past past to beat Mazurek for the fourth time.
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Monday, January 10, 2005
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