WELWYN GC kept up their 100 per cent start to the league season with a second emphatic victory, this time away to old rivals Barton Rovers in this re-arranged fixture.
Both sides went out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle a fortnight before, so brought forward a fixture originally scheduled for mid October.
The Citizens managed a repeat of their opener at Hadley 10 days before – by the same scoreline – as Gavin Kelsey’s side continue to impress away from their Herns Way home.
Kelsey filled his right-back vacancy, caused by suspensions for both previous occupants Egan Ntege and Luis Cantello, by playing fit again Keiron Gauthier there, but otherwise kept faith with the side that won at Buckhurst Hill in the FA Trophy the previous week.
He had new signings Junior Moses and Reece Barrett on the bench as well as Tyreece Robertson, available for the first time this season.
The first 45 minutes saw WGC dominate possession without creating much on goal and it wasn’t until 25 minutes had gone until they created a chance, the outstanding Ryan Hayes slipping Evaristo Mendes through to set up Nick Ralfe to shoot, but the effort was blocked.
A right-wing corner found Gauthier unmarked, but he put his effort over the bar before Tyrone Shiham shot straight at WGC keeper Connor Sansom with the home side’s only clear opportunity, on the stroke of the interval.
WGC opened the second-half in much livelier form and inside five minutes, Luca Gordon brought a fine tip-over save from Barton’s WGC based keeper Matt Boylan, with a rising effort.
Seven minutes into the half, WGC were ahead, but it was a goal that had the home support howling at referee Mayhew for handball, as Gordon seemed to control Hayes’ pass with his arm before rolling over a low cross that Mendes bundled over the line for 1-0.
WGC replaced Ralfe with Robertson just past the hour and moments later Barton were level from a free-kick conceded by a Dixon-Smith foul. The kick was slanted in to be met by a bullet header from the unmarked Josh Rodriguez who headed the home side level.
But parity didn’t last long. Two minutes, in fact, as WGC fashioned an equaliser, Malik Nosike and substitute Robertson pulling the ball back for Hayes to come in and finish with a finely placed effort beyond keeper Boylan into the top corner for 2-1.
That quickly became 3-1 three minutes later as Gordon’s fine cross-field ball found Robertson who slipped Dixon-Smith inside as he sped into the area, only to be felled by a challenge that referee Mayhew didn’t like and pointed to the spot.
After home protests, Eddie Corbit stepped up and rolled home a well placed penalty for a 3-1 lead.
WGC rang the changes in the closing quarter, the outstanding trio of Gordon, Dixon-Smith and Hayes, all being replaced by Moses, Bennett and Kendall Gyamfi.
Fellow substitute Ethan Rookard had the best chance of the closing stages of adding a WGC fourth, when put through by a Corbit pass, but Boylan managed to push the effort away, in stoppage time.
Overall, another impressive display by the new look WGC side.
WGC: Sansom, Gauthier, Lovell, Impey, Dixon-Smith (Bennett 82), Nosike, Corbit, Hayes (Gyamfi 84), Gordon (Moses 72), Mendes (Rookard 69), Ralfe (Robertson 62).
