Monday, November 12, 2001

MANAGER John Barton's Worcester City banished the blues last night with a bright and breezy start to their defence of the Dr Martens League Cup.

After a depressing run of form Barton revamped his injury-hit side to play a 4-3-3 formation and reaped the benefits with a comfortable 2-0 win at home to Rocester.

Wingers Jamie Hyde and Dwaine McFarlane played either side of Mark Shepherd, offering plenty of width and pace which the Romans struggled to contain.

A rampaging Jon Holloway performance, which saw him claim his first goal for the club, set the tone for the match and the suspended midfielder will be sorely missed at the weekend.

One blot on the landscape was McFarlane's 57th minute withdrawal with a pulled thigh muscle, but it was not bad enough for the teenager to rule himself out for the Rusden & Diamonds match.

Up until then McFarlane's dribbling skills had been a constant threat and he saw plenty of the ball as City sprayed the ball around, keeping possession well.

The opening goal came in the seventh minute when Holloway pounced on a Shepherd flick to strike a deflected shot past John Edensor.

Earlier in the season Holloway had promised jubilant celebrations if he got on the scoresheet, but a solitary clenched fist probably reflected his disappointment at missing the 'Big One' on Saturday.

The home side's second goal came from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute when Holloway was upended by Andy Bostock as he raced onto a Darren Bullock pass, who converted the spot kick.

The hardworking Shepherd had several chances and Barton felt his outstanding contribution merited a hat-trick, but his shooting was awry.

He shot wide when through on the stroke of half-time and in the 59th minute was put through by a clever Marc Burrow pass but screwed his effort across goal.

Lee Goodman made an energetic contribution after replacing McFarlane while Paul Carty had a 30 minute run out -- his first action for seven games.

Barton was happier with his side's performance against the Dr Martens Western Division side but was still striving for consistency.

"There were pockets of decent football and after the disappointment of the Mangotsfield we have improved in both the Cambridge game and this one," he said.

"We kept the ball better but we were still inconsistent and lacked real conviction in the final third."

Worcester: McDonnell 6, Davies 7, Jukes 7, Heeley 7, Weir 6, Holloway 9, McFarlane 8 (Goodman 57, 7), Burrow 6, (Carty 61, 6), Shepherd 8, Bullock 7, Hyde 7. Sub not used: Andy Ellis.

Attendance: 349.

Tickets have been selling well for the Rushden FA Cup match and there are now only few available. They are on sale at St George's Lane from 10am-5pm or in the Social Club 8pm-10pm.