Welwyn Garden City finished their Southern League Division One Central season on a high with victory away to Biggleswade Town - and will now look forward to new year with increased vigour.

The 3-2 success at Langford Lane means that they finished eighth in the table in a season that had seen manager Max Mitchell move to Potters Bar Town and prompting the appointment of Marc Weatherstone.

The victory also continued a fine run of form away from home, making it nine unbeaten with six wins.

And for those in attendance, this apparent dead rubber with nothing to play for provided a feast of entertainment.

A first minute snapshot from Biggleswade’s Charlie Smith set the tone, Charlie Crowley more than equal to it, but the City keeper and captain was extended a little further seven minutes later, getting down to hold a Harry Draper shot from a Lanre Lapido cross.

And the good Biggleswade start was rewarded on 12 minutes when the former Stevenage man Draper, nipped in ahead of Zak Brown and Ryan Doherty and took the ball round Crowley.

But the Welwyn response was mightily impressive.

They fashioned a fine equaliser within seven minutes, Ryan Kirwan winning a vital challenge and Jack Vasey playing a sharp pass to Cyrus Babaie, whose trickery fooled Greg Sandiford and allowed him to feed the returning Bailey Stevenson, back after a shoulder injury.

The former Colney Heath man thrashed his effort into the top of the net.

Parity then became a City lead four minutes later, Doherty putting over a cross from the left and Vasey drilling it beyond Harry Smart at the far post.

They missed a golden chance to make it three when Matteo Esposito fired wide while in plenty of space and it was still the visitors in the ascendancy at the start of the second half, a clever back-heel by James Mulley setting up Harvey Steel with a shooting chance.

His effort, however, cannoned back off the crossbar.

Vasey then put a chance of a personal second just over the top with a studied effort from 20 yards out.

But WGC did get their third just before the hour, and it was a fine solo effort from Callum Nicolson.

The Luton Town loanee ran free down the right, cleverly tricked his way into the area and then finished in style with a shot past Smart into the far corner.

It was a fitting goal to end the scoring for any season.

Both sides rang the changes in the remaining 30 minutes, teenager Henry Jones replacing Stevenson and Yasin Boodhoo on for Brown.

And the hosts got back on the front foot in the closing stages and reduced the gap to just one with 15 minutes to go.

A left-wing corner was headed back into the area by the tall Draper and almost inevitably, former Welwyn hotshot Jon Clements was on the end of it, his close-range finish leaving him as the division's top scorer on 26.

And there were some anxious moments for the Citizens in the closing stages, particularly a downward header from the dangerous Draper that brought a sharp, late save from Crowley.

They hung on though and will now turn all eyes on next year.

 

 

WGC: Crowley, Steel, Brown (Boodhoo 72), Doherty, Kirwan (Lowen 82), Mulley, Vasey, Esposito, Stevenson (Jones 70), Babaie, Nicolson.

Subs (not used): Jordan, Flood.