ROYSTON Town bounced back from Saturday’s defeat in front of a bumper Garden Walk crowd with a hard fought victory against local rivals and fellow play-off contenders Biggleswade Town.
The Waders’ rhythm was unsettled on five minutes after Paul Barnes suffered a facial injury and had to be replaced by Brett Donnelly, however it was the away side that tested the Crows defence when a sloppy back pass was not dealt with by Luke Howard and Luke Knight pounced onto the opening but shot wide.
Shortly afterwards, Lewis Endacott set off for a run down the Waders right flank and took a shot that was saved magnificently by Michael McEntergart.
The returning Kaan Fehmi then entered the referee’s notebook for dissent on 15 minutes as the game fell into a war of attrition.
The official then enraged the away side for failing to spot a blatant handball in the Royston area and with frustration besetting the Waders, Royston began to turn the screw.
The excellent Fehmi tested McEntergart and was then the instigator of the best move of the match.
His superb pass found Lee Wilson in an unorthodox left wing position, and his cross was returned to Fehmi who headed just wide.
A minute later and the Crows had the lead. Endacott was fouled just outside the area and the resulting free-kick evaded the entire away defence, falling to Jason Beck who had the simple task of slotting home.
Endacott was causing all sorts of problems and nearly helped to double the lead after his cross-cum-shot was punched away by the away stopper.
The Crows were dominating the mid period of this match and the lively Fehmi made a nuisance of himself at every opportunity. On 35 minutes, the tricky striker found Lee Wilson lurking on the edge of the area and the makeshift winger’s cross was perfect. The ball found Edwards who hit his effort agonisingly over the bar.
Biggleswade tried to break into the game and had a fabulous effort from Steve Gentle blocked by Joe De La Salle.
With half-time approaching, Luke Howard found himself in no-man’s land and lost the ball to Knight. Red faces of embarrassment were avoided as the striker allowed the ball to run out of play.
The second half saw Royston determined to increase their lead with a fantastic ball from Ryan Ingrey played to Kaan Fehmi, but the striker was too slow to react.
The Waders then made things difficult for themselves when Andrew Iwediuno was shown a second yellow card for elbowing Endacott, a mêlée ensued which had to be quelled quickly by the man in the middle.
This seemed to wake the away side and they pressed forward looking for an equaliser. Craig Daniel tested the home defence but unlike last Saturday, the Crows held firm.
On 75 minutes the scores were level after a shot from a corner was superbly saved by Howard, the rebound was pounced upon by Donnelly who made no mistake from close range.
Lee Wilson then became the second Crow to be booked for dissent as the game looked to be heading towards a draw.
Fehmi had other ideas and after a terrible mistake by Gentle allowed Taylor Parr to lob a ball into the area, the little striker’s composed finish settled Royston nerves.
Royston were not finished though and after a long ball was not dealt with by the Waders, Fehmi latched onto the opportunity and slid home to give the Crows a more relaxed scoreline.
The final whistle was greeted by huge celebrations from the home players and fans as Fehmi’s double kept the Crows on track for the play-offs.
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