Saturday, November 17, 2001

HEROIC Worcester City's FA Cup dreams were shattered by a brilliant Richie Hanlon free kick that sent Rushden & Diamonds into the second round.

But Brian Talbot's men were pushed all the way by an inspired City side that simply refused to read the script.

John Barton's injury-depleted team battled and scrapped for every ball -- four bookings testimony to their tenacity -- and in effort alone richly deserved a replay.

After the match City captain Carl Heeley, appearing in his first FA Cup first round tie, said he was proud of his team but admitted a replay had been in their grasp.

"Before the kick-off I didn't want us to get a good belting and just wanted us to do ourselves justice but after the way we played I think we deserved another crack," he said.

"We had a lot of experience in the side and we knew we had to lift our game and we did that and we competed and pushed them all the way and they knew they'd been in a game.

"It was a match of very few chances really but the possession was as close as it could have been.

"We've done ourselves justice which is the main thing and now we've got to transfer that into the league because if we perform like that week in, week out we are going to be a damn sight higher than we are now.

"They work hard but we've dealt with everything they've thrown at us. It would have been interesting if we'd had a little bit more firepower because I think we would have caused them problems.

"We were looking for a replay but we gave away about five free-kicks in a minute and they're full-time pros for a reason and that was the reason it went into the top corner. It was a great strike."

Heeley praised Paul Carty, Andy Ellis and Martin Weir who rolled back the years to put in impressive displays.

"Andy and Paul, along with Martin, have been our most successful players in the FA Cup with other clubs and they were magnificent today.

"Paul Carty does it week in-week out and we've missed him.

"The whole tie surpassed my expectations but I'm just a little bit disappointed we didn't get a replay.

"John said he was proud of us but we felt we should have grasped another chance so there was a tinge of disappointment afterwards."

If the Third Division high-flyers, unbeaten in 11 league games, had arrived anticipating an easy ride to the next round they were brought clattering down to earth as City snapped and harried at their heels.

City fielded Phil Stant up front on his own supported by a five-man midfield including Carty, back after a lengthy absence, and enjoyed decent possession.

Carty and Ellis, with easily his best game of the season, prompted and pushed City but were just unable to unlock Diamonds' defence.

But at the other end central defenders Heeley and Weir were successfully marshalling the menacing-looking Duane Darby and Scott Partridge, restricting them to a few innocuous strikes in the first 45 minutes.

Indeed the best chance of the opening period fell to Stant but his shot on the turn was just wide following good work by Nathan Jukes.

Diamonds created better chances in the second half brightly and in the 48th minute Danny McDonnell pulled off a brilliant block from a Partridge shot from eight yards out.

Clear-cut chances still remained few and far between but the visitors eventually breached the City defences from Hanlon's fine strike.

Two minutes later McDonnell parried away another Partridge drive as gaps appeared in the City back lines as they pushed for an equaliser.

But City lacked bite and a 25-yard shot by Carty straight into the arms of Billy Turley was the only effort of note.

In a last throw of the dice Barton brought on Marc Burrow and Dwaine McFarlane in a desperate bid to force the replay but Rushden held firm as City's supporters urged them forward.