Saturday, November 1, 2003

SHOOT yourself in the foot and you are liable to end up with a limp.

Do it five times as City managed on Saturday and you will be lucky to be walking at all.

Unfortunately for the St George's Lane faithful most of Worcester's defence appeared to be packing misfiring six-shooters as they hobbled to a painful defeat against in-form Newport.

In reality there wasn't four goals between the sides and until John Barton's team gifted the Exiles their third goal in the 55th minute it was eminently winnable.

Sure, Barton's side had not hit top gear but at 2-1, even at 3-1, there were sufficient chances, notably two Adam Wilde strikes and an Adam Webster thunderbolt, that on any other given day would have found the net.

But luck is not exactly going City's way at present - even joy at last week's Chippenham victory turned to misery thanks to a burglary of their dressing room.

As it turned out the Exiles match contained another kind of criminal activity - poor defending.

Individual errors handed Peter Nicholas's team three points and City their second defeat of the season at St George's Lane.

These are worrying times at present, not catastrophically so, but collectively and individually City seem unable to knock it on to that prized 'next level'.

Fortunes of course ebb and flow during a campaign.

Just take Newport's spectacular revival of late following an appalling start to the season that left them rooted to the foot of the Dr Martens Premier Division without a win in 10. In stark contrast Worcester had reeled off five wins in seven to flirt with top spot but as the championship heads into the dark days of winter it is the Exiles' star on the rise with a fifth win in six while City are on the wane.

Having mustered just two wins from their last 10 games, including the FA Cup defeat at Nuneaton, it's now a case of will the real Worcester City please stand up!

On Saturday Barton had sprung two changes with the two Craigs, Dean and Woodley in for Pat Lyons and David Foy with Paul Carty pushed into central midfield.

Fielding a 37-year-old in the most vital area of the pitch, speaks volumes for the real strength in depth of the current squad.

Carty didn't let anyone down but the fact he was playing there at all does not augur well.

The game itself was a curious affair, muddling along with no great shape to it until three goals in the space of 10 minutes lit the blue-touch paper.

Goal number one saw Neil Davis spin Carl Heeley and unleash a ferocious drive past Danny McDonnell.

Four minutes later a combination of Allan Davies and Craig Woodley were too easily shrugged aside by Gareth Phillips on his way to scoring with a low shot into the right hand corner before Webster grabbed a lifeline with a glancing header from a pinpoint Wilde cross.

Leon Kelly, bullish as ever was then unlucky to be booked for a dive following a Jeff Eckhardt challenge in the box.

Barton sacrificed Darren Middleton for Foy at half time to beef up City's possession stakes but its early promise was short-lived when following a bout of pressure keeper Duncan Roberts' huge clearance rendered Allan Davies immobile and McDonnell hesitant, enabling Davis to nip in and head a third goal.

Wilde, having his best game since scoring at Merthyr, was a constant threat and twice forced fine saves from Roberts, the latter in the 68th minute which the keeper knew precious little about.

But as City pressed John Phillips blasted home 10 minutes later after an uncharacteristic error by Heeley who lost the ball to Gareth Phillips.

Carty rounded off a miserable afternoon with a poor back pass intercepted and clinically dispatched by John Phillips for his second.

Then just when Barton thought it couldn't get any worse Wilde's rash tackle earned him a straight red.