Ayres admits Flackwell got what they deserved after being 'out run, out thought, out played'

Chris Ayres. Photo: Charlie Carter

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Biggleswade 3, Flackwell Heath 2

Having bowed out of the FA Cup following a narrow defeat at Maldon & Tiptree, Flackwell Heath’s unbeaten run in the Southern League Central Division this season was also ended in dramatic fashion by Biggleswade on Saturday.

The Heathens were unbeaten in the league this season, but they sat down in mid-table ahead of this trip to The Eyrie due to their impressive run to the final qualifying round of the FA Cup.

They are hoping to emulate last season’s run to the play-off final, where they lost to Berkhamsted, but will be looking to do so without much of the firepower that delivered so many impressive results last season.

The Heathens have done their best to replace the goals of Wiktor Makowski, Michael Harding and Jethro Odumosu, and their form in the league has been solid with three wins and three draws so far.

But they were beaten by one of the front-runners on Saturday having led 2-1 going into the final 20 minutes.

Alex Marsh had fired Biggleswade in front after only eight minutes and the goal had been coming from the first whistle. The hosts had already missed a couple of big chances before Adam Hunt and Marsh combined for the latter to guide the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot.

But Flackwell hit back slightly against the run of play in the 15th minute. Blade made the initial save for the hosts, but Connor Young was on hand to bundle home the loose ball.

The goal was a shot in the arm for Flackwell’s confidence, and the game was much more even from that moment on. Blade reacted quickly to prevent Jack Shakespeare making it 2-1 to Flackwell in the 23rd minute.

An open game then took another swing in the 41st minute when Shakespeare controlled a cross from the right brilliantly before firing home on the volley.

The visitors might have wrapped up the points had a close-range effort not bounced off the underside of the bar and ran away to safety in the early stages of the second half. Biggleswade survived and managed to exact their retribution in the closing stages.  Having seen Marsh miss a big chance on the hour mark, Rory Browne making a splendid save when it looked like he might be wrong-footed, Biggleswade turned the game around with goals in the 73rd and 88th minutes.

First Temi Akinbusoye fired off the underside of the bar with Sonny Coughlin-Brown following in to nod home their equaliser. Then, in the 88th minute, Biggleswade bagged the goal their pressure probably deserved when Charlie Hayford’s drive deflected in off Marsh to make it 3-2.

Reflecting on Biggleswade’s comeback win, Flackwell boss Chris Ayres said: “We probably didn’t deserve anything today. We had little bits, but even when we were 2-1, they looked like scoring. We hit the bar for 3-1, but overall, it wasn’t good enough. We got what we deserved. We were out run, out thought, out played and that doesn’t happen very often, but it did today.

“Some people might say they deserved to win by more, but we had a chance to make it 3-1 but we didn’t take it. We then gave the ball away and were sloppy. We didn’t react to the rebound and they scored. It was 3-2, it was a defeat, whether it was 4-2, it’s a defeat.

“At 2-1, we were alright. They had a lot of the ball. But we ran into midfield and gave it away. They’ve then clipped one in behind and the two centre halves haven’t dealt with it. That’s made it 2-2. They then looked like scoring at the end, and they did. It’s disappointing.”

Flackwell have a quick turnaround to their next match at Welwyn Garden City on Tuesday evening. Welwyn are ninth in the table, a few points and places above 13th placed Flackwell, but the Heathens do have four matches in hand on them. Win all of those matches and they’d likely find themselves back in the play-off positions.

Looking ahead to Tuesday’s clash at Herns Way, Ayres said: “Everything needs improving. Application, desire, will to do well. It’s a tough league and if you’re not at it, you’ll get beat. Fair play to Biggleswade, they played some good stuff. The seven for them, I’d say is probably the best player in the league (Alex Marsh). When you’ve got someone like that you’ve got a good chance of winning football matches.”