A  poor and nasty game was comfortably won by Biggleswade Town as fatigue caught up with Welwyn Garden City.

The Southern League Division One Central leaders had too much know-how in the dark arts and too much extra energy for the Citizens to run out 3-0 winners, thanks to goals from Kieron Forbes, Harry Draper and Jack Morrell.

All three were talking points for one reason or another but in truth Welwyn's run of fixtures seemed to catch up with them and they never found their rhythm.

They still remain on course to get into the play-off places but remain two games behind Waltham Abbey and now with two games in hand.

WGC came into the game with nine wins from their last 12 fixtures, with three in the last three games.

All of them came in the seven days prior to this fixture though, part of six games in 13 days, with another three still to come in the regular season.

Keeping the players fresh is clearly in manager Marc Weatherstone's thinking but with a small squad and injuries to key players like James Kaloczi, he made just the three changes from the side that beat Hadley at home on Tuesday night.

In came Harvey Steel, Josh Bryant and Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo for James Mulley, Ryan Kirwan and Emmanuel Yeboah.

Given the stakes on this one, it was perhaps not a surprise that the early going was scrappy and it made the getting of the first goal even more vital.

Eight minutes was therefore a superb time for the Waders to open the scoring although the goal carried a huge amount of fortune with it.

It came direct from a corner on the visitors' left, looped high by Forbes and dropping in off the back post.

If that was fortuitous then the second came with controversy.

Harry Draper thumped a shot with such venom that Charlie Crowley could get his hands on it but not stop it.

It didn't seem to matter that it dropped behind the keeper as defender Alex Harris moved in and after getting his body position right he hooked it clear from under the bar.

The linesman though flagged that the ball was over the line and the goal stood, Harris complaining "that it wasn't even close" while Boodhoo's protestations earned him a yellow card.

The rest of the half had been feisty and there was a tension bubbling away under the surface throughout.

In fact there was more grumpiness than opportunities although most of the half-chances that did turn up fell to Welwyn.

And most of them were for Cyrus Babaie.

He raced onto a long ball over the top but Jack Berman in the away goal made the save.

His other stops, from a Babaie header and a Wadkins shot, were straight down his throat.

It needed something special from Welwyn to pull it back and they started the second period far better, forcing  series of corners.

A scramble after a fluffed clearance was the best that came from it and the game was soon over as  a contest after more controversy.

There were one or two Welwyn shouts that it wasn't handball but most complaints were about where on the field it had happened.

The claret shirts side outside the box, the referee said inside and the spot-kick was thumped home by Morrell. 

From there the match meandered to its inevitable conclusion, the only moment of real quality being a shot off the bar by the hosts in stoppage time.

This one will need to be quickly put behind WGC with recovery the keyword before a trip to Stotfold on Saturday.

Match details

Welwyn Garden City: Crowley, Steel, Bryant, MacDonald, Boodhoo (Vasey 71), Harris, Wynter, Soulya-Osekanongo, Goss (Jones 81), Wadkins, Babaie (Jordan 85). 

Sub (not used): Mulley, Kirwan.

Goals: 

Booked: MacDonald 23, Boodhoo 39, Wadkins 69

 

Biggleswade Town: Berman, Willis, Wilson, Forbes (Thorpe 69), Morrell, Briggs, Goldbourne, Andrews, Draper, Christie (Lacey 75), Hoenes (Brooks 85).

Subs (not used): Forster, McDevitt. 

Goals: Forbes 8, Draper 38, Morrell (pen) 58

Booked: Willis 65

 

HT: Welwyn Garden City 0 Biggleswade Town 2

Added time: 8

Referee: Tom Hudd (Tring)

Attendance: 164