Saturday, August 18, 2001

MARK Owen was the hat-trick hero as Worcester City pulled an unlikely point out of the bag in their opening Dr Martens League Premier Division game of the season.

Not even the most optimistic City fan would have backed them as they trailed Weymouth 3-1 with just a minute of normal time to play.

But Owen gave Worcester hope by pulling a goal back, and three minutes into stoppage time he slotted home a penalty to complete a remarkable comeback.

It's fair to say that City gained a point they did not deserve and they won't be happy with any of the goals they conceded.

But their fighting spirit will stand them in good stead for the battles to come over the next nine months.

Hero Owen said afterwards: "Weymouth are a good side who are difficult to play against, but we kept going, showed some character and got back into it in the end.

"We put ourselves on the back foot early on although in the middle 15 minutes of the half we got into it, and then we conceded two sloppy goals. The penalty before half-time put us back in it before they scored again, but we pushed for the last 10 minutes and got two goals."

Owen was naturally delighted with his hat-trick. "Last season it took me about six games before I got a goal, so I am over the moon to start with a hat-trick.

"I felt the pressure a bit for the second penalty but I just put it in the corner and hoped for the best."

Owen might have grabbed the glory but the best City player on view was new midfielder Jon Holloway, whose strength in the tackle was a telling feature.

Manager John Barton said: "We saw all the reasons why we brought him to the club, and I am sure we are going to benefit from his presence."

Barton was less happy with other aspects of the game with the defence looking slightly suspect on occasions, the service from the flanks being erratic and Owen taking time to find his feet alongside new strike partner Phil Stant.

The veteran former Hereford United striker will be a good addition to the City squad once he is more familiar with his team-mates, but his most significant contribution was to miss with a header from point-blank range early on.

Although first-half play was fairly even, highly-rated Weymouth carried much more threat.

After 30 minutes Danny McDonnell reacted superbly to turn Ryan Cross' fierce shot over the bar, but he punched the resulting corner against his own post, and in the scramble Alex Browne shot home from close range via a deflection off Andy Ellis.

Five minutes later the same player struck again with a free header from a right-wing cross.

Shell-shocked City did gain a psychological lift in first-half stoppage time when an assistant referee spotted defender Simon Browne handling an Ian Reed cross, Owen scoring with ease from the penalty spot.

But they didn't carry that on after the break, and Michael Dean's stunning 25-yard drive on 76 minutes looked to have given the visitors all three points.

However, a couple of late substitutions livened City up and with a minute left on the clock, Reed's free-kick hit the bar and Owen was on hand to make it 3-2.

Three minutes into stoppage time, Holloway went down under Weymouth player-manager Andy Mason's awkward challenge and Owen showed ice-cool nerves to complete his hat-trick and save a point.