Blues look all but certain to qualify for play-offs following Westfield win

Photo: David Holmes

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Marlow look all but certain to qualify for the end of season play-offs having strengthened their grip on third place in the Isthmian League South Central Division with a thrilling 3-2 win over Westfield on Saturday.

The Blues twice came from behind in the first half, with goals from Dawid Rogalski (17) and Toby Raggett (44) cancelling out strikes from the hosts' Florian Envoudou Ada (12') and Andrew Crossley (41'). And the prolific Rogalski got his second of the afternoon in the 79th minute to tee up their 18th win of the season; however, the afternoon wasn't without stress for manager Mark Bartley.

Having seen his side twice fall behind in a topsy-turvy first half, the Blues suffered another big scare in the second half, when Aaron Watkins saved from the penalty spot. But the Blues perseverance shone through with Rogalski showing great composure to fire home the winner with 11 minutes to play.

After the mid-week games were played, the Blues now have a 10-point lead over sixth-placed Binfield and are all but assured of a top five spot with three games left to play. It's now just a question of whether they can hold onto third spot to tee up a home tie in their first play-off match.

It is likely they'll play Northwood, Hanworth Villa or Binfield in that match, but whether it takes place at home or away is yet to be determined.

“For the neutral, that game probably had everything they wanted – they’ve seen five goals, we came from behind twice to win, our ‘keeper has saved a penalty – but it was relatively stressful for me,” said Bartley this week.

“They did a great job to get the game on, but the pitch was quite soft. In fact, if conditions were like that at our ground, we wouldn’t have played. We lost Louis Rodgers in the warmup. He lost his footing and rolled his ankle, so we were forced to change things before kick-off.

“I felt as though the goals they scored were just owed to two lapses in concentration from us. I think the turning point in the game was Watto (Watkins) making the penalty save. That put us in a great position and, suddenly, we were just too much for them. Everything before then felt a bit stressful like I’ve said.

“We beat Westfield quite convincingly a few weeks ago but I knew it was going to be a challenge at their place. The pitch is quite tight, it probably suits them more than it suits us, and they’ve got a new manager who is trying to do things slightly different.

“At the end of the day good teams find a way and we found a way. The performance wasn’t great but at this point in the season, it’s about getting the three points in the bag and moving on.”

Marlow now turn their attention to two tricky games in quick succession. The Blues host eighth-placed South Park on Saturday (April 8) before travelling to fifth-placed Binfield on Monday (April 10).