Bartley delighted with Marlow's response in 4-1 win over Stotfold

Kwesi Ntim. Photo: Marlow FC

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Mark Bartley wanted a response from his Blues side after Saturday’s home defeat to Biggleswade, and he felt he got that in last night’s 4-1 win over Stotfold at Oak Tree Road.

The Blues weren’t at their best for the opening half an hour or so, and fell behind when Jack Brown scored from a setpiece in the 21st minute.

But Marlow responded well to falling behind, played with a little more control, discipline, and patience as the visitors’ hopes unravelled either side of half-time.

Mitch Parker created the equaliser in the 43rd minute, wriggling free from a couple of challenges and sweeping in a low cross that Luqman Kassim turned home at the far post.

Having been the better side for the opening 30 minutes, Stotfold suddenly struggled to impose themselves on their hosts who had by now worked their way into the contest.

Kwesi Ntim was picked out on the edge of the box by Kassim in the 48th minute and he swept home the hosts’ second before Flavio Gyawu-Kyem wrapped up the points in the 88th minute. Player of the match Parker was again the creator, showing a turn of pace down the flank before whipping in a cross that Kyem controlled, checked and then arrowed into the back of the net.

Shamar Moore then showed his strength to hold up the ball in stoppage time and lay it into the path of Toby Raggett who slotted home Marlow’s fourth.

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Stotfold will feel the scoreline flattered Marlow to a degree, having dominated the opening 20 minutes and forced Sharlott into two or three decent second half saves. But the result lifts the Blues back into the top half in 11th place. They remain 12 points off the top five play-off places – their stretch target for the remainder of the season – but will be looking to show this kind of form when they host Thame United at Oak Tree Road on Saturday.

“Yeah, I’m pretty pleased with that today,” said Bartley. “We again went 1-0 down and I felt that our keeper was fouled on the set piece. Not many decisions went for us today, but I’m pleased with the overall performance. It’s a tough game, the pitch was quite difficult today and they’re a decent side that have been on a good run.

“We had to stand up. We needed a response after Saturday, and I feel we got that tonight. I’m really pleased with the performance and the fact the goals have come from different areas. Everyone has really grafted and worked hard, it was an appropriate response to Saturday’s performance.”

He added: “We just needed to control the game a bit better. They started very quickly but after half-an-hour their tempo seemed to drop and there was an opportunity for us to take a bit more care of the football and play through them. I just thought we were rushing it a bit. We took our time in the second half, and we got our rewards for that. We created a lot of openings, probably should have had a penalty, had a couple of shots blocked, but overall, we were pretty dominant in the second half and took better care of the football.

“We now need to find that consistency within ourselves. We now must train hard on Thursday and bring this level of performance on Saturday against Thame. A very different but equally difficult challenge.”

Elsewhere in the division, Flackwell Heath were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Rayners Lane, who lifted themselves off the bottom of the Southern League Central Division as a result.

Flackwell took the lead through an own goal in the 52nd but led for only eight minutes before the hosts hit back through Kleyton Dowglas De Biazze Junior’s finish.

The result leaves the Heathens 15th in the standings, now only nine points above the drop zone heading into a difficult looking clash at leaders Leighton Town on Saturday – the club’s fourth away match on the spin.