Tuesday, October 8, 2002

A FURIOUS John Barton tore into his players after Worcester's woeful 1-0 defeat at Bath City last night.

City's manager branded the display poor and locked his side in the dressing for a lengthy inquest following the clash at Twerton Park.

The result sees City slip to second behind Crawley Town on goal difference but having scaled the heights of the Dr Martens Premier Division, it was a spectacular fall from grace in a dreadful showing, lacking passion and guile.

Barton pulled no punches and admitted they deserved nothing from the game.

"The 1-0 scoreline flattered us and we got more than we deserved," said Barton.

"It was a disappointing performance, individually and collectively, we lacked strength and it was a flimsy display.

"It was a poor, poor performance and it is not kicking the players just for the sake of it - it was weak.

"I can understand players having bad games - that's why we are operating at this level - but it wasn't just a case of us being a little adrift, we were miles off the pace."

The killer blow came in the 63rd minute when Jason Eaton lifted the ball past Danny McDonnell and saw the ball go in off the post via Jon Holloway who desperately tried to clear.

Bath could have doubled their lead in injury-time when substitute Leon Jackson chopped down Eaton but McDonnell denied skipper Gary Thorne with a fine save from the penalty spot.

Before the match City must have expected a backlash from Bath with the spectre of their 6-1 defeat at Tamworth still hanging over them but failed to heed the warnings.

"We talked about imposing ourselves straight from the start of the game following the Havant game but we started poorly and got worse," added Barton.

Frankie Bennett was given the freedom of Bath down the right as Paul Carty endured a miserable night while City were frequently second to the ball or out-muscled.

John Snape battled bravely but with little support City failed to record any efforts of note. Spells of neat play surfaced from time to time but an Adam Webster looping header was the closest they came to scoring.

Darren Middleton fired in a 30-yard free-kick and Snape sent a stinging drive just wide after a brief rally following the interval but there was little evidence to suggest City could break the Bath hoodoo which has seen them fail to win in their last 11 meetings.

Carl Heeley, on his 400th appearance, made some typical interceptions at the back but for once even he failed to stir City into action and when in the 79th minute Middleton turned brilliantly in the box but screwed his shot at the corner flag it summed up the evening perfectly.

Worcester: McDonnell 6, Davies 4, Carty 4, Heeley 6, Holloway 6, Snape 7, Middleton 5, Lyons 4, Owen 5 (Jackson 72), Webster 5, Holmes 6. Subs not used: Willetts, Jones, Smith, Wyatt.

Attendance: 695.