Wealdstone 3 – 2 Hemel Hempstead Town

Wealdstone

Friendly

3 - 2

Hemel Hempstead Town

KO: 15:00 | Sat 3rd Aug ’24

Wealdstone come away with a win in their final pre-season fixture thanks to a brace from Sam Ashford and a calm volley from Adrian Mariappa.

Ashford was on hand to convert Max Kretzschmar’s cross just 12 minutes in to give the Stones an early advantage.

The lead was cancelled out in the 34th minute when Brandon Barzey hit a well-struck effort into the bottom corner from range.

Ashford was on hand once again to finish calmly one-on-one before Mariappa doubled the Stones advantage in the 85th minute.

Hemel pulled a goal back late on but it wasn’t enough to draw the game level.

Being the last game of pre-season, the starting lineup was familiar to that played in previous weeks against Crawley Town and MK Dons.

The Stones looked strong in the early stages, and found themselves ahead in the 13th minute when Ashford poked a leg out to convert a smart cross from Kretzschmar.

But as the game grew on, the Hemel press began to take a toll on Taylor’s side, who found their chances limited.

The lively Barzey looked a threat for the visitors, who looked to be direct at every opportunity. His effort in the 33rd minute went narrowly wide just one minute before he hit a similar effort into the back of the net to level the game.

With Hemel looking strong, they came close to scoring in the 43rd when Joe Laciofano found space in the area, but Jack Cook’s sliding block denied what looked a certain goal.

The momentum of the second-half swang both ways, but it was the Stones that would find the lead again when Ashford was played through in the 78th minute. A calm finish one-on-one saw him bag his brace and put the Stones ahead.

With a lead now in their hands, the Stones looked much stronger as they looked to see out the game. The win looked sealed when Mariappa was on hand to convert a cross from Cook in the 85th minute with a tidy volley.

Despite the Stones beginning to cruise, Hemel looked to make a late comeback when they found the net late on, but with just seconds remaining the Stones came away with a win to end their pre-season.

Next up, a trip to Dagenham & Redbridge to start off their National League campaign on Saturday at 3pm.

WEALDSTONE XI: Matthews (GK), Mariappa, Cook, Barrett (Woodman 65′), Georgiou (Hutchinson 71′), Boldewijn, Scott, Dyer (Traore 71′), Kretzschmar (Obiero 75′), Ashford, Adarkwa (Sandat 45′).

Match Report: Will A Beaman

Matt Taylor Post Match Interview HERE

Jon Taffel Match Pics HERE