Saturday, December 28, 2002

IT'S not over till the Fat Lady sings but she came close to a performance on Saturday.

Worcester's title challenge wobbled at home to Welling but ultimately remained intact thanks to David Holmes' audacious strike which rescued a priceless point.

However one point out of six makes grim reading for City despite Holmes' magnificent late goal lifting the gloom at St George's Lane.

It was a tale of missed opportunities in more than one way on Saturday afternoon as Worcester were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw - their 10th of the season.

With chief rivals Tamworth losing at Chippenham and Stafford slipping up there was a golden opportunity for John Barton's side to make up serious ground ahead of their crunch clash with the Lambs in five days time.

In the end they made up just one point as City once again came over all goal shy.

You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink and watching City's players in front of goal at the moment is very much akin to the same thing.

Time after time in Saturday's draw with Welling, Barton's side engineered openings only for the window of opportunity slam shut in their faces thanks to inept finishing.

Two games in 48 hours undoubtedly caught up with City's unchanged starting line-up but even so they should have won.

Three key moments stand out as a momumnent to their lack of predatory instinct - two early on and a Darren Middleton effort which would have sealed three points.

Either side of Welling taking the lead on nine minutes when Carl Heeley diverted Anthony Riviere's cross into his own net, Holmes swept over from 10 yards and Adam Webster glanced a header wide from six yards after John Snape picked him out unmarked - bad misses.

Holmes atoned with a sensational equaliser in the 82 minute curling a shot into the top corner but City were up to their old tricks again when a ball fell invitingly for Middleton only for him to head over.

On the bright side the spirit in Barton's men means they never throw in the towel and they displayed that in bucket loads to claw there way back into the match.

Despite large chunks of possession, City were not at their fluid best and the Wings exploited some ragged marking in the first half.

The visitors' goal came when they stretched the City defence culminating in Riviere's driven cross striking a hapless Heeley as he valiantly tried to clear.

Jittery Worcester then had Allan Davies' smart reactions to thank as he cleared a Paul Booth shot off the line in the 12th minute following a corner.

Mark Blount suffered a similar fate at the other end, connecting well with a header from an Adam Wilde corner that was headed away from under the bar by Russell Edwards.

City were curiously out of kilter, summed up when Paul Carty and John Snape collided, freeing Booth and forcing Danny McDonnell to race 10 yards out of his area to clear, and went in at the break with much to ponder.

The half time team talk revitalised Worcester but for all the huff and puff there was little clear cut goal action to show for it.

One of the best moments came from a surging Pat Lyons run and pass that freed Holmes but in rounding the keeper he was pushed wide and lost control of the ball.

Davies then burst forward and cut in but his shot was saved low at the near post.

With the clock ticking away Holmes received a ball on the angle of the box and pausing only a moment to pick a spot, bent a superb shot into the top corner.

It was greeted with high fives all round and a frantic search for a winner which could, and should have come, in the 87th minute but Middleton planted a free header over the bar.

Wilde's last gasp free kick was well struck but comfortably held and City were left to contemplate, not for the first time this season, two more points that got away.

GOALSCORERS: Heeley og 9 (0-1), Holmes 82 (1-1).

STAR PLAYER: David Holmes.

BOOKINGS: Welling: Watts (foul), Burgess (foul).

ATTENDANCE: 1,176.

REFEREE: Mr D Cooke (Wednesbury).

WORCESTER: McDonnell 6, Davies 7, Carty 7, Heeley 6, Blount 6, Snape 7, Middleton 6, Lyons 7, Webster 6 (Charlton 6, 68), Holmes 8, Wilde 6. Subs not used: Jones, Willetts, Tomkins, Wyatt.

WELLING: Knight, Burgess, O'Shea, Hone, Edwards, Farley (Hogg 88), Riviere, Watts, Sodje (Aboagye 65), Booth (Powell 90), Seabury. Subs not used: Virgo, Lorraine.