Boreham Wood 5 Ware 2 . . .

Hertfordshire Senior Cup final . . .

Wood lifted the Hertfordshire Senior Cup for the fourth time in their history in truly dramatic fashion at a rain-soaked County Ground in Letchworth on Tuesday night.

Nobody in the ground would have given the side under the guidance of Micky Engwell any hope after conceding twice in the first nine minutes, yet their dramatic second-half recovery was second to none.

Wood made seven changes to the side that lost at Heybridge, and early nerves and hesitancy looked to have handed bragging rites to the Blues.

Wood fell behind after just 14 seconds.

Chris Ellerbeck gratuitously ran on to a through-ball, finding himself with only Callum Horton to beat, picking his spot for his 22nd goal of the season.

Ware, who have amassed 102 goals in Ryman League Division One North this season and currently occupy a play-off spot, would have been excused for thinking that they were more than ready for the step up, as they ran amok.

Wood had no answer to their pace and movement.

After several dummy runs from one end of the pitch to the other, they duly cashed in on Wood's hesitancy further after nine minutes. Ellerbeck and Paul Burton combined and, when the latter's shot was only parried by Horton, Sam Berry flashed home the rebound from 18 yards to increase their advantage.

What turned out to be the defining moment of the game came after 14 minutes, when, from their first fluid move, Wood reduced the deficit, in doing so halting the riot that Ware were on the cusp of realising.

A truly brilliant and penetrating run at pace by Ola Williams down the left produced a superb cross that was cleared as far as Steve Wales. His powerful volley crashed against the crossbar, with Greg Morgan doing well to guide home the rebound from just inside the area.

This timely intervention gave the game a slightly more balanced feel, although a brilliant double save from Horton was required to keep Wood in the running after 21 minutes.

Engwell, deputising for George Borg who was busy eyeing up Saturday's League opposition, induced a mercurial change in fortune, as Wood returned a revitalised and confident outfit after the interval.

With the half just two minutes old, they stunned their opponents, with Chris Watters cutting in from the right to drive a precision low shot wide of Ryan Jones for the equaliser.

This spurred a change in fortune, with Watters and Wales, in particular, reinvented after anonymous first-half performances.

Ware struggled with the transformation, as Wood stroked the ball around the park with panache and purpose.

Watters struck a 35-yard free-kick just over the bar, before Wood took the lead after 57 minutes. Joe Reynolds started the move out on the left, picking out Wales in the centre of the park, whose cross-field ball found Morgan on the right. He took two touches before hitting a majestic 25-yard low drive beyond the reach of Jones for his second of the game.

The quality of Wood's fourth and fifth strikes was unquestionable. Wales mopped up on the edge of the Wood penalty area and, with Ware committed to attack, he cleared for Burrell. The ex-Heybridge Swifts man advanced through the centre of the park, laying a perfect ball in the wake of Leon Archer, who exploded a brilliant 30-yard strike over the head of Jones.

There was still time for sub Simon Thomas to get in on the act. Chris Bangura broke down the right, finding Archer in the inside channel, who unselfishly laid the ball off for Thomas just inside the penalty area. His expertly-guided first-time effort flew into the top corner to complete an amazing turnaround.

WOOD: Horton, Burgess, Williams (Burrell 59), Samuel, Vargas, Reynolds, Wales, Morgan (Thomas 78), Bangura, Archer, Watters. Subs not used: Manuella, Imber.

JOHN MEAD