RACING CLUB WARWICK 0-2 WISBECH TOWN: FULL REPORT & IMAGES...

Fenmen Drain Warwick Hopes With Deserved Victory

Racing Club Warwick 0-2 Wisbech Town

(FA Vase Round 3)

To the independent observer, this game was won by the stronger, better equipped and more offensive team, despite the fact that Racer Sean Kavanagh had headed wide from a good position early on and the hosts made a concerted effort immediately following the interval. In truth though, visiting striker Michael Frew struck the upper reaches of the same right upright twice during the opening period and only a superb Martin Slevin tackle prevented the Fenman number 9 from netting another, also before the break. In fact, goal chances were hard to come by in this game and both defences protected their goal-minders rather well. Martin Hutchcox was prominent for the Racers, supported admirably by Marc Passey and visiting skipper Jon Fairweather and sidekick Jamie Stevens were solid for the Fenmen but the difference between the two pairs of forwards was integral. Frew and Alex Beck were offered better midfield service from their colleagues and displayed good movement in wider channels whilst Kavanagh, but more especially Luke Cole were heavily marked and neither was particularly well assisted from midfield.

FAIRWEATHER: "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG, LINO?"

It became clear that Town were playing Step 5 football, whilst Warwick looked less cohesive as the Step 6 underdogs. A refereeing decision went against the Racers during the second period, Josh Blake appeared as a substitute but was dismissed within a minute of removing his tracksuit, a very late penalty settled the tie and to add insult to injury, the two goals stemmed from defensive misfortunes suffered by the otherwise strong Hutchcox and Passey. The pitch was very soft and passes were never slick, as drizzle fell on and off throughout the match but decent vocal support from the keen spectators made for a decent atmosphere at Townsend Meadow.

LUKE COLE TRIES TO IGNORE THE KAVANAGHSAURUS REX NEXT TO HIM...

Wisbech is famous for Jesse Pye who netted a brace in the 1949 FA Cup Final and played for England, also for the fact that Gunpowder Plotter Robert Catesby was held in the castle there built by King William I. Intriguingly though, the town is renowned for the ‘Fen Tigers’, a bunch of 17th Century chaps who resisted the draining of the Fens. Racing’s pitch was just about drained too, despite its resemblance to a pudding at times, thus these Tigers certainly harboured a real determination to win this tie… Me? I clambered up a metal ladder, angled at 80 degrees or so to reach a gantry, having fought my way through abusive tree branches near the top rungs, scrambled over wet and dirty scaffolding sections and onto slippery, moss covered planks, from which my hands picked up a sticky green goo… Great view though… 

HE WANTED A FAIRLY CALM AFTERNOON.
HE GOT ONE...

Warwick nerves jangled from the start when a Jack Taylor pass-back to Tom Cross bobbled over the ‘keeper’s boot and rolled for a corner which Cross gloved but could only knock down for a defender to clear, despite feeling that he had been baulked by a Fenman. From the resulting clearance, Luke Church broke right for the hosts and crossed accurately to the far post where Kavanagh loitered unmarked but the forward headed a really fine opportunity a foot wide of the upright. Offsides plagued Kavanagh and Luke Cole in the opening half, to the chagrin of the RCW coaching staff but Church nearly fastened onto a head-on by Luke Cole from a long Cross punt before Frew threw the hosts off balance by threatening with menace.

TAYLOR WEEPS AT THE LOSS OF THE CUP-TIED TRICKY O'GRADY...

A long hit by defender Luke Wilson saw Frew get the better of Passey at inside-right and the forward’s angled drive pummelled the outside of the near stick. Soon Frew was in a great position to fire a shot on goal but a brilliant Slevin challenge rescued his team. All the hosts could manage, when not straying offside was a low, if weak Taylor shot, although Kavanagh was waved offside anyway as he ran across  goalie Bastock which forced a bit of a fumble by the experienced custodian. Both Kavanagh and Luke Cole were again trapped offside, before a neat pass by the effective Sam Murphy freed Frew at inside-right again and this time he clipped a cute angled shot over Cross but saw his effort strike the near post again, although at first I had thought wrongly that the retreating Passey had hooked the shot from his goal-line. Left-back Fenman Jordan Yong had found a lot of space on the left-flank and had combined a few times with Will Smith (is that right?) but when a shot was offered to Yong, he drove off target, before Smith was replaced by the splendidly named James Tricks…

SMITH (11): UNIMPRESSED...

DAMP LEAVES ON THE PITCH...

IT'S LIKE A CHURCH WEDDING HAS JUST HAPPENED...

LUKE COLE, FOREGROUND: LACKED SERVICE...

The Racers survived a couple of corners as the first 45 minutes ended but it seemed that Warwick were missing Rich Powell in their ranks and of course the cup-tied Jamie Coleman and Josh O’Grady. Right-back Taylor had been restricted to defending, whereas his forte is overlapping and with Slevin dropping deeper too, perhaps the demands on Church and Josh Cole in the workhouse were too high. Fenmen Murphy, the ebullient Adam Millson and the impressive set-piece man Danny Setchell were more creative than their counterparts and in all honesty, the Racers were finding shaking off their offensive malaise too demanding. 

KAVANAGH CONSIDERS LEAP-FROGGING...

I stayed on my gantry at half-time, wondering how I would get down at the end of the match… I guess others refuelled with beer, or cups of tea but soon after the restart, Yong was cautioned for a foul on Kavanagh and from the free-kick, Josh Cole rose above Tricks to head Slevin’s right-flank free-kick past the near upright. A flashpoint at the start of the second-half involved Kavanagh again, just like at the beginning of the first period when his header had flown wide. This time, he chased a defender at inside-right, who slipped down, allowing the Racer a free rush at Bastock but although the close-by linesman flagged not at all, the referee judged that Kavanagh had committed a foul. He clearly hadn’t and subsequently Luke Cole was cautioned for complaining.

THE PRICE OF A VASE LOSS...

Kavanagh set up Josh Cole for a 25 yard shot straight at Bastock but Church conspired to miss from an angle on the right for the Racers, shooting too high after Josh Cole had flicked a centre on. This spirited offense by the hosts was soon counteracted by the guests and after Beck was unable to get in a shot, skipper Fairweather broke up a Josh Cole pass and plundered the ball forward but under pressure from Frew, Hutchcox dived to head the ball back towards Cross. Frew was alive to the situation however and got there before the goalie on the right side of the penalty-box and then, faced by Cross passed left to Beck, who managed to poke a low shot past a couple of retreating Racers and low into the net.

0-1...

JOY FOR THE FENMEN...

Bastock fell to his knees to scoop up a free-kick from inside-left by home skipper Alex Price, he of the long throw, then Hutchcox made a fine tackle on Beck to concede a corner and following a foul on Josh Cole, Slevin’s 27 yard left-boot free-kick from inside-right bounced past the right upright. Taylor tugged back an opponent and was cautioned, having received a warning for an earlier misdemeanour, Josh Cole and Price made way for Lewis Hudson and Josh Blake and immediately there was trouble at the Meadow…  

CAUTION FOR TAYLOR...

Blake, a forward, raced into a challenge on Tricks and the ‘tackle’ wasn’t pretty, earning the ex-Coventry United striker an instant red card. I cannot comment on that one, for it happened on the far side of the pitch but it looked an unwise and awkward challenge. A Slevin free-kick was knocked back to Kavanagh, 18 yards out but his lofted effort rose too high. And then higher… Joe Carter replaced Ryan Billington, the Racer left-back who was less of an attacking threat than I’ve seen him before, then Town withdrew the hardworking Setchell, no doubt because he was on the far side of the field from the dugouts and would take a while to get off the pitch! Tricks then shoved a low pass though the inside-left channel, Frew twisted on the ball at the left corner of the penalty-box and he was fouled by Passey, allowing Murphy to ram a waist-high penalty into the middle of the goal as Cross fell to his right. 0-2, game over…

PLAYGROUND SCUFFLE...

BLAKE IS EXILED...

...HIS TRACK-TOP IS STILL WARM...

STILL ARGUING...

...AND STILL...

THE RACER BENCH GETS A WARNING TOO...

FREW WINS A PENALTY...

0-2 NOW...

...& INTO ROUND 4...

SATISFIED SMILES...

However, a clipped delivery by Hudson was challenged for near the right post by Church, offering Kavanagh a great chance to nick a consolation goal but from point-blank range, Bastock threw himself down to deflect the striker’s effort off target superbly. Paul Cousins replaced Frew for the final moments and the Fen Tigers relished their victory, as witnessed by the noise emanating from their changing-room after they had exited the pitch…    

Certainly Wisbech were more dynamic and accurate than their hosts, who really didn’t get going with any consistency at all. Hutchcox, Passey and Slevin slogged for 90 minutes for little real reward but Fenmen Murphy, Setchell and Millson showed more rthlessness and speed than their counterparts in midfield all told and there was no doubting that Frew and Beck were the most effective forwards on display. 

Me? Ah, the climbing down… Well, I thrust the branches apart, curled into a tight ball, twisted, turned and found the ladder’s rungs to descend, my hands filthy and stickier, so that I drove home dishevelled instead of remaining to take a drink in the bar…

It’s what I do…

TEAMS:

RACING CLUB WARWICK:

TOM CROSS, JACK TAYLOR, RYAN BILLINGTON, MARTIN HUTCHCOX, MARC PASSEY, ALEX PRICE (CAPT), MARTIN SLEVIN, JOSH COLE, LUKE COLE, LUKE CHURCH, SEAN KAVANAGH.

SUBS:

MICHAEL ELLIS, JOE CARTER, LEWIS HUDSON, JOSH BLAKE, PAUL HOLLAND.

WISBECH TOWN:

PAUL BASTOCK, LUKE WILSON, JORDAN YONG, JON FAIRWEATHER (CAPT), JAMIE STEVENS, ADAM MILLSON, SAM MURPHY, DANNY SETCHELL, MICHAEL FREW, ALEX BECK, WILL SMITH.

SUBS:

JAMES TRICKS, KIERAN HAMILTON, PAUL COUSINS, LUKE HIPWELL.