BEDWORTH UNITED 0 COALVILLE TOWN 3: match report by The Mowdog...

Wren Harassed By Scavenging Ravens

Bedworth United 0 Coalville Town 3

Cameron Stuart: another free-kick goal for the Ravens...

The Greenbacks’ club badge motto is ‘We Grow By Industry’ and driven on by the belligerent Chris Tullin, who chatted so pleasantly with me before the game, United were certainly industrious. They also lacked creativity though, leaving strikers Mitch Piggon, who also spoke to me, and Daniel Dubidat feeding like crows on very few scraps. The Ravens however, despite failing to produce much in the way of a passing game themselves, caused home ‘keeper James Wren more problems than his team-mates managed to conjure up for the visiting goalie Sean Bowles. Bowles caught every single cross he jumped for with an impeccable display of handling, even under pressure, but those moments were not regular. And Bowles didn’t have to make one actual save. Ant Carney, after a frustrating time, finally netted a late third goal for the visitors, who had led from the omnipresent Callum Woodward’s low 19^th minute centre, which found the target, later to be added to by Cam Stuart’s curling free-kick. Wren might just have been unsighted for that one and appeared to react too late but with the ball seemingly in the air throughout the game, the Ravens’ back-three were in their element throughout, heading the ball away with aplomb, also generally employing the willing Ben Saunders in attack to hold up their clearances.

A Dubidat opportunity at inside-left was muffed into the side-netting, Carney struck a low shot from inside-right straight at Wren, who didn’t even have to er, swoop for it, before Carney again popped up in the inside-left channel this time, only to be crowded out and the ball squirmed across the penalty-box, untouched. Incidents were rare however, for this proved to be a very physical, highly contested affair, with the ball being flung back and forth, making people angry, like Lee Miveld of the guests and Marlon Walters of the hosts, who was indeed fortunate to escape a caution for his antics. Wren did really well to get a hand to and deflect on a hard Reece Lester centre from the Coalville left but Woodward’s header from Miveld’s subsequent centre from the right was lobbed too high.

Callum Woodward, a real busybody in midfield for Town...

Greenbacks’ skipper Tullin had psyched himself up and twice bludgeoned into Carney, who didn’t react, wisely, but Tullin was displaying a real passion for the match. Unfortunately for the hosts, when Jamie McAteer knocked a ball forward and left, Woodward collected it and cut inside, yet with seemingly no danger promised at all, he side-footed a low right-foot centre towards Carney and Saunders in the middle of the penalty-area; nobody touched the ball, not even the scrabbling Mark Albrighton, Wren was thus wrong-footed, fell too late and the ball rolled just inside the right upright. The Greenbacks were that colour with envy and anger but in truth Town had looked slightly the stronger outfit by this juncture.

Woodward is congratulated: 0-1 to Coalville...

The really quiet Glyn Cotton drove wide of the left upright for the Ravens, after Ben Saunders, offside, had been forced to ignore a pass, then after a few decent passes from the Ravens, Danny Jenno drove wastefully too high, towards the creamy sunset. A brilliant clearing header by home defender Dan Spencer helped his team to survive Woodward’s dangerous left-wing centre then Carney netted, latching onto Saunders’ header and beating the advancing Wren. But an assistant had flagged, possibly for an offside decision, maybe for a foul but in truth Carney had moved onto the ball from an ONside position, so perhaps a foul HAD been committed, or the linesman had erred and would endure bad dreams after his late night mug of cocoa.

Woodward then made a fine sliding tackle in front of the dugouts but was tripped by one of the Bedworth coaches as he stood up! Inexcusable behaviour, for the players reacted to the stupid incident and tensions ran even higher. A caution should have been issued. It wasn’t. And why were the coaches allowed to stand beyond their ‘technical areas’? Spectators were unable to see along the touchlines throughout the game and the officials failed miserably in their duties. Lester made a run for Coalville and Carney nearly put Saunders in with a chance of a shot then Carney himself, ONside this time, lifted a poor angled lob not only over Wren but also way over the crows’ nests on the vertical masts. Liam Kay produced a fine tackle for the Ravens but the hosts had failed to threaten the visitors’ goal, to be fair, apart from crosses into Bowles’ huge gloves. Carney nearly got clear, before Saunders lost possession and grasped a defender’s arm; he was booked for that, despite the fact that the offence took place near a touchline, but other, angry players from both teams, particularly United’s Dubidat and Walters, had simply been finger-wagged by the Headteacher.

Half-time, the evening cooled and the after the interval, the game began like a jumble of hurried hacks forward by both teams; Saunders found the side-netting from a good position at inside-left for the guests, as the home back-three of Mark Albrighton, Tullin and Spencer became stretched and then a melee formed, 25 yards from the Bedworth goal, after which Coalville were awarded a free-kick and Stuart scored from his resulting shot. Carney was spoken to, certainly but Stuart’s free-kick, left-footed and chest-high, curled round the Bedworth defensive wall, beating the scrambling Wren, who fell right too late, as if he had been badly unsighted. 0-2 and really, Coalville were home and dry, for although Piggon was replaced by David Blenkinsopp, United still huffed and puffed, despite the quick feet of winger Chad Degville-Cross and the efforts in midfield of Andrew Westwood.

The playground argument which led to the free-kick and the second Raven goal...

Stuart lines up his free-kick...

...and enjoys the scoring feeling...

The Ravens like a bit of scavenging...

Blenkinsopp nudged a low ball across the goal-area and Degville-Cross fired too high from 20 yards but Dubidat was cautioned for a late challenge, finally, before Carney was shovelled down by Albrighton, who was also rightly booked. A fine and incisive deep run by Dubidat led to a pass left to Luke Rowe but he was robbed by Jenno’s magnificent tackle, 19 yards from goal then after Wren had dropped onto the ball before Cotton could reach it, Coalville moved the ball forward at inside-left for Saunders to chase. He tussled with Spencer and Saunders leaned on the defender, seemingly fairly, who fell too easily and the striker simply passed the ball across to Carney at the edge of the ‘D’, faced by the ubiquitous Tullin, who held off, forcing Carney to make his move: he did so, to the right but then tucked a low bobbling 16 yard shot between the unlucky Tullin’s legs, against the foot of the left post beyond Wren and into the net.

Carney displays abject relief after scoring the 3rd Raven goal...

Bedworth withdrew Westwood and Ben Steane, introducing Anthony Bevas and Mark Branch, before Jordan Nadat replaced Stuart for Coalville. Soon, Saunders fed the fresh Raven at inside-right, Nadat turned inside and poked a measured low shot, which might well have beaten Wren but Bevas deflected the ball away from goal. Wren got away with a really poor kick-out as the game thrashed its ugly way to a definitive end and United were left to rue their shortcomings. Tullin was a rock for much of the game for United but the three defensive Ravens and their handler Bowles were the real winners in this game. These teams have differing aspirations but maybe the motto for Bedworth should be altered to ‘We Survive With Industry’. I hope they do.

I chatted to Ashley and Andy Spencer after the match; these guys would star in many teams… Coalville and Daventry take note...

Teams:

Bedworth:  James Wren, Chris Tullin (Capt), Luke Rowe; Andrew Westwood, Mark Albrighton, Dan Spencer; Ben Steane, Marlon Walters, Mitch Piggon, Daniel Dubidat, Chad Degville-Cross.

Subs: Ben Thackeray, David Blenkinsopp, Anthony Bevas, Mark Branch, Denham Hinds.

Coalville:  Sean Bowles, Danny Jenno, Cam Stuart; Glyn Cotton, Jamie McAteer, Liam 
Kay; Ant Carney, Reece Lester, Callum Woodward, Ben Saunders, Lee Miveld (Capt).

Subs: Jed Davies, Jordan Nadat, Andy Hutchinson, Sam Moore, Sam Saunders.