Saturday, October 4, 2003

NUNEATON Borough grabbed the spoils but needed the lion's share of luck to see off valiant City.

The consensus from the Boro contingent was that John Barton's side were the best they had faced this season.

But it was no consolation and if Nuneaton are the yardstick (and they currently top the Dr Martens Premier Division) then Worcester are still a notch or two short of where they want to be.

City's best qualities remain their flair and pace but Boro boast power, strength and aggression which over two games proved the difference.

Manor Park's hostile setting, with its loud and aggressive terrace support was echoed in Boro's no-nonsense approach on the pitch.

Fiercely competitive, Boro will overwhelm many teams but on Saturday City rose to meet the challenge head on, despite losing captain Carl Heeley after just 23 minutes.

The goals in each half from Mark Clifford and Jez Murphy, either side of Leon Kelly's brilliant equaliser, owed much to good fortune but City came nailbitingly close to salvaging something from the game.

Even after Murphy's winning goal the visitors battled on, narrowly missing out on a second goal when both Kelly and Adam Wilde struck the crossbar.

But in the end it was all nearlys and maybes and if the club harbours serious ambitions of competing with Nuneaton and their ilk for the remainder of the season, new signings are surely required to bolster the solid foundations built by Barton.

On the surface there was little between the two teams, bar one could argue, the healthy dollops of luck that the Manor Park club enjoyed but equally Danny McDonnell was still the busier of the keepers with some fine shot-stopping.

Worcester's best opportunity early on followed an electrifying burst from Kelly which released Wilde on the right but the winger's shot was blocked.

Wilde, in a surprise switch with Pat Lyons, started on the right and was involved in City's other decent chance when Adam Webster chipped a 35 yarder over an open goal after Acton mis-kicked under pressure from Wilde.

David Foy then whistled a free kick inches over but it was Nuneaton who made the decisive move of the half five minutes before the break.

City were breached down the right and Murphy's mis-directed header flew straight into the path of Mark Clifford to head home from six yards.

City, lessons learned from last week's FA Cup defeat, started the second half brightly and were level in the 63rd thanks to Kelly's superbly taken equaliser.

Picking up an inch-perfect pass from Darren Middleton, Kelly powered past Terry Angus before flicking the ball with the outside of his foot past Acton and into the corner.

Football often leaves managers cursing their luck (sometimes justifiably, sometimes not) but in this case Barton had much to lament particularly when he lost his second centre back of the day when Holloway limped off in the 69th minute.

It proved a pivotal point because three minutes later makeshift defender John Snape and Allan Davies combined to misjudge a high ball allowing Murphy to nip in and fire a crisply-taken left foot shot past the despairing dive of McDonnell.

Back City came in search of an equaliser and Kelly hooked a ball onto the bar following a mad goalmouth scramble.

Three minutes from time Middleton spliced open Boro to release Wilde but his shot crashed against the bar when it should have sent the net bulging.

Barry Woolley's acrobatic volley might have nicked it but City's brave effort ended in glorious failure and the sobering thought that they've now lost five of their last six matches.