RACING CLUB WARWICK 2-1 BOLDMERE ST MICHAELS: FULL REPORT & IMAGES...

The Gloveman, The Postman & The Forgotten Man Steal An Unlikely Victory From A Seeming Defeat…

Racing Club Warwick 2-1 Boldmere St Michaels

(Polymac Packaging League Cup)

Yes, it’s true that both of these teams were without regular starters and in truth, it was clear which team hadn’t suffered postponements recently, for the Mikes have that all-weather surface to fall back upon. Initially they looked the sharper, quicker and in many areas, the stronger team physically. The Racers took a while to settle and they were missing their usual starters in attack, namely top scorer Sean Kavanagh, the tricky Josh O’Grady and centre-forward Luke Cole. However, Josh Blake was in the team from the start and there was a surprise call-up for Ross Briscoe of Whitnash and Coventry United fame, who engineered the late equaliser for Blake (the fastest postman in the Midlands?) and then scored the even later, dramatic winner himself. Goalkeeper Tom Cross wasn’t unduly troubled throughout this tie but his main contribution was a brilliant save to deny Aaron Ashford a certain goal, from which the resulting corner led to that late Racer break and parity. So, the match became a story of the Gloveman, the Postman and the Forgotten Man…

MARTIN SLEVIN LOOKS UP.
I DO TOO...

Warwick had earlier squandered a penalty opportunity too, for after Alex Forde had fouled Blake and conceded the spot-kick, also receiving his marching orders from the referee, home skipper Martin Slevin rapped a rising penalty against both uprights. No mean feat that, so he should receive some kind of prize perhaps, maybe the opportunity not to take RCW’s next spot-kick… The Mikes were usually dangerous in attack, often benefiting from some exciting wing-play by Ben Usher-Shipway on the right and to a lesser extent, Ashford on the left. Central striker Ryan Nesbitt was a tricky customer too and his set-piece corner during the opening period supplied Joe Lyng with his headed goal. Strangely though, few really close shaves were escaped by the hosts, despite some lusty midfield challenges and smart passes by the chunky Andrew Lewis, who reminded me of a particularly feisty bulldog whose bone had been nicked.

THE MIKES START THE GAME...

The two central defenders chosen by the Sutton Coldfield based outfit, skipper Harry Craven and Lyng were like pillars either side of Postie Blake, who at times appeared to be doing an impression of Sampson being unable to bring the temple down but with Ryan Shaw working hard in the Mikes’ midfield, the home trenchmen Henry Leaver, Luke Church and Rich Powell found getting a grip on the game somewhat more challenging until the second period. Slevin was always involved though and he generally seems to be the kind of all-action fellow a team would relish having on their side in a battle. Warwick’s other forward was Trea Bertie, who I have not seen play before but he was rapid, very rapid…

STRANGE COLOURS IN THE DRIFTING DRIZZLE...

Following an early free-kick, Nesbitt slung over a centre from the right for the guests and a deflection took it onto Usher-Shipway’s forehead but the ball flew beyond the far stick. A quick free-kick involving Slevin and Blake conjured up the Racers’ first threat but Jack Taylor’s delivery from the right soared disappointingly over the goal-frame. Nesbitt fired an acute shot into the side-netting from a good position, before Bertie’s pace took him away from the Boldmere Pillars, only for the chance to be snuffed out by the recovering Mikes, although Postman Blake was unmarked to the young striker’s left. Fair play to the Postie though, he didn’t remonstrate with his colleague. Refreshing that…  

WARWICK'S SURVIVING VIKING:
RICHARD WETBEARD...

A sleek Usher-Shipway run ended with a decent, if too well struck, centre then the Saints won a right-flank corner which Nesbitt took. The trajectory was perfect for the strapping Lyng to out-jump Martin Hutchcox and ram a downward header goalwards which bounced up and over Slevin, who had been posted (get it, Blakey?) on the goal-line. The ball entered the net just beneath the crossbar. 

GOALSCORER LYNG...

On a smooth break, Nesbitt’s clever flick released Ashford along the left flank but his progress was unluckily halted by a slip as he attempted a cut inside to maybe take a shot at goal. Lyng won a header from a J’Cee Abraham free-kick but the ball drifted well off target, a desperate attempted shot by Leaver rose a good way off target at the opposite end and Usher-Shipway shot at Cross, after the Racers had squandered possession, not for the first time. A Blake strike was deflected upwards into ‘keeper Reiss Wagstaff’s waiting mittens, Slevin was cautioned for a foul (not a rarity, eh, Martin?) but Abraham’s free-kick struck Leaver in Warwick’s defensive wall. Shame Leaver wasn’t John, so that Abraham took the kick, Martin committed the foul and the Marvin Gaye song title could have been completed with a John… 

DOWN GOES BERTIE...

...UP GETS LYNG...

As the hosts mounted a couple of more penetrating attacks before the interval, Church rattled a low shot wide, following another free-kick ruse by Hutchcox and Taylor but in all honesty, despite RCW’s efforts, the Mikes had deserved their half-time lead. I spent the break chatting to the secretary and manager of Shipston Excelsior FC, where I hope to visit next Saturday for the first time and decent folks they were… 

THE MAN OF LETTERS BEGINS THE SECOND PERIOD...

...AFTER THE REFEREE HAS PRAISED GOD...

Immediately after the restart, Blake won an offensive header but some rather hesitant Mikes defending sent Bertie ‘Woosting’ through for a one-on-one with Wagstaff and the goalie’s rush from goal did its job, as Bertie opened out his slim frame to fire a deliberate shot with the inside of his right boot but his miscue caused the spinning ball to bobble past the right upright. Lyng was booked for a pull back on the Postman’s arm and then from a Slevin free-kick, Powell nodded well wide. At least the Racers were more, er, at the races by this juncture and after Nesbitt’s right-side near post corner was nodded upwards into the sweaty gloves of Cross and then a fine run by Usher-Shipway had culminated in a low centre which fizzed across the goalmouth and had seen Cross slithering boot-first, the hosts began to force the game more.

"LEAP-FROG? BUGGER OFF..."

The catalyst was certainly the replacement of Church by Briscoe, that lean, frowning, angular forward who can be devastating on his day. Powell fed Taylor on the right and the right-back scorched a cross-cum-shot across the face of goal and then Blake fell inside the 18 yard box under a challenge by Forde, who was exiled to the racecourse by the official. Slevin’s subsequent penalty, hard struck and rising, whacked the left post, then the right, evading the follow-up run of Slevin and thus allowing the Mikes to clear. Yet another fine rush by Usher-Shipway ended with a low centre but this time Hutchcox was down to the turf to clear, before a 27 yard Leaver shot for RCW again drifted well off target.

SLEVIN STRIDES FORTH TO KICK A TRICK-SHOT AGAINST TWO POSTS...

Liam Naven-Jones replaced Ryan Billington for the hosts and his pace would go on to worry the Mikes, before Craven hauled back Bertie to earn a caution but the referee maybe could have played an advantage there, for the forward had still made his break over the half-way line. Blake’s delivery (get it, Postie?) from right to left allowed Naven-Jones to clip in a centre but first Slevin’s low header was blocked, then Briscoe’s low 15 yarder was too, although the resulting corner came to nought. Warwick were pressing against the ten men and Leaver was retired for the introduction of Paul Holland. Naven-Jones was unable to reach a long Taylor centre, Postman Blake shot an acute effort into the side-netting following a long Powell feed, Lewis was replaced by Mikes’ substitute Curvin Ellis and then the drama began.

BLAKE: LOST MINUS HIS BAG...

Usher-Shipway took possession on the right, shoved a fine low centre onto the left boot of the unmarked, supporting Ashford and it really did seem that the match was going to be settled but Cross plunged, dived, threw himself and as Ashford’s 7 yard strike left his boot, somehow the ball deflected off the ‘keeper and looped just over the cross-beam: a superb save and one that was the catalyst for the Racers’ late revival. The ensuing left-side corner was dealt with by Hutchcox’s header then Briscoe won possession, shrugged off a defender inside his own half, kept his balance and launched a fine pass for the speedy Naven-Jones to chase, leaving Brandon Williams and Craven in his wake. However, as Wagstaff advanced to the edge of his penalty-box, Naven-Jones was thwarted. The ball flipped towards Postman Blake though and his falling, off-balance attempt to get something on the bouncing ball saw his shot bounce into the empty net from 17 yards. Remarkable…

1-1...

BLAKE IS MUGGED, SORRY, HUGGED...

And then Warwick won it. The ball was taken at 18 yards, centrally, by Briscoe and he leaned, bent, attempted to control it under pressure and turned into the penalty-box, making a determined and hunched rush past defenders who seemed reluctant to challenge fully, in case they conceded another spot-kick, but on the Forgotten Man forged and from an angle he smacked a cross-shot past the helpless Wagstaff and deep into the far corner of the net. What a finish! Someone to my left said: “A goal fit to win any game…” And it was.

2-1...

BRISCOE HAS SCORED...

...& THE FORGOTTEN MAN IS REMEMBERED...

Powell nearly got to a late Bertie cross but the Mikes were beaten, shocked but beaten and RCW would celebrate the dramatic victory raucously…

POWELL TAKES A PINCH OF SNUFF...

WARWICK WIN- SURPRISINGLY...

I felt sympathy for Boldmere’s Ashford, Lewis, Nesbitt and especially Usher-Shipway, for they had done their bits. Williams had shown real promise at right-back but the relentless stubbornness not to be beaten had won its reward for the Racers, whose skipper Slevin never, ever, ever stopped working. Marc Passey held steady alongside Hutchcox when the Mikes attacked during that anxious first period but in the end it was down to Cross, Blake and Briscoe to rescue the match…

The Gloveman, The Postman and The Forgotten Man…

It’s what they do…

TEAMS:

RACING CLUB WARWICK:

TOM CROSS, JACK TAYLOR, RYAN BILLINGTON, MARTIN HUTCHCOX, MARC PASSEY, HENRY LEAVER, MARTIN SLEVIN (CAPT), RICH POWELL, JOSH BLAKE, TREA BERTIE, LUKE CHURCH.

SUBS:

ROSS BRISCOE, PAUL HOLLAND, LIAM NAVEN-JONES.

BOLDMERE ST MICHAELS:

REISS WAGSTAFF, BRANDON WILLIAMS, J’CEE ABRAHAM, RYAN SHAW, HARRY CRAVEN (CAPT), BEN USHER-SHIPWAY, ALEX FORDE, RYAN NESBITT, ANDREW LEWIS, AARON ASHFORD.

SUBS:

LOUIS CONWAY, EFE UNUARHEMHEN, SAM JEEVES, RIO BLAKE-HINDS, CURVIN ELLIS.

       

RACING CLUB WARWICK 2-1 BOLDMERE ST MICHAELS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS...

CLICK THIS MESSAGE TO GO TO THE MATCH HIGHLIGHTS...

THAT GANTRY WOULD HAVE BEEN RATHER EXPOSED...

NO GOAL IN THIS NET...

LOOKS A LITTLE BLEAK...

HUDDLING WITHIN REACH OF THE BAR...

WE DO LIKE SOME OLD MACHINERY...

COMFORT...

THE BODGING LOOKS CONCERNED THAT BRISCOE IS AROUND...

TOWNSEND MEADOW...

THE GNP SPORTS MANAGER, SHAMIR ALAM WRITES ABOUT HIS TEAM'S 0-5 WIN @ AFC SOLIHULL...

SHAMIR ALAM: HAS THE BALLS TO BE FORTHRIGHT...

"We changed the system to exploit Solihull and we were able to do that with ease because we have a group of players who are tactically advanced.”

"Going into the game we knew we had to be better all across the pitch compared to how we performed v Continental Star. 

The players had a running session in the week and we got the reaction we wanted. Today we showed how good we can play when we are focused and on the same wavelength with each other.

What impressed me the most was our work-rate for one another and our defensive structure; we knew going into the game we would be a man short in the middle of the park but that didn’t make a difference to the state of the game. 

We changed the system to exploit Solihull and we were able to do that with ease because we have a group of players who are tactically advanced. Scoring 5 first-half goals against one of the league's strongest teams and not to mention one of the best defensive displays we have put on this season, was special. 

MATTY COMPTON: WORRYING INJURY...

It’s another fixture crossed off and its three more points which keeps the distance from the rest."

 

DHALIWAL, BRYSON & LAWRENCE...

The M.O.M. award against AFC Solihull is a tough one this week, as any of the 4 players who played at the back and either of the central midfielders would not have been out of place to claim the prize due to their commitment and work-rate without the ball. And one of our players even claimed 4 assists. 

RAWLINGS HITCHES A LIFT TO DIVISION 2...

With that said, the M.O.M. is awarded to Joss Holford. 

NUMBER 10 JOSS HOLFORD: MAN OF THE MATCH...

Joss is very intelligent: you give him one instruction and he gets it. He’s now enjoying his football and I’ve been happy with his performances the last two weeks, on and off the pitch. 

Hopefully he can stabilise his mood, for when he is positive you can see the difference in his game. Joss' challenge is now to continue this rich vein of form he is in and he knows he can’t afford to drop his level, as we have players waiting patiently to take his spot. 

DHALIWAL: CALM; LINDLEY: DEPENDABLE; FARRELL: SMART GOAL...

10 starts, 8 Goals and 4 assists is only scratching the surface, so just wait until he’s able to break the 70 minute mark with the intensity with and without the ball that I expect from him!

 

"WOULD YOU MIND PLAYING THE BALL TO MY FEET, YEAH?"

STOUTE: REPLACED SKIPPER COMPTON...

Yours in football..."

SHAMIR ALAM, MANAGER, GNP SPORTS...

PHILLIPS & HAMMOND FIND DIFFERENT THINGS TO DO WITH THEIR HANDS...

AFC SOLIHULL 0-5 GNP SPORTS: FULL MATCH REPORT & IMAGES...

Athletic GNP Climb Hurdles To Win In the Tudor Grange Mud…

AFC Solihull 0-5 GNP Sports

League leaders GNP dominated the opening period in the dull, drizzly surroundings of Solihull’s Tudor Grange Park and its athletics stadium, to lead by five clear goals at the interval. AFC Solihull limited the damage and their embarrassment with a livelier second-half showing on a muddy, heavy surface which the Solihull staff members felt was unplayable. The referee told me he was totally happy with the conditions though. After all, he indicated, he was “…from the north-east…” to which I replied, “Yeah, this must be like summer for you…” Solihull conceded early, then again immediately after a lengthy delay for an injury, certainly not caused by the heavy pitch, to visiting skipper Matty Compton. He was later treated by medics and was driven off to hospital, I understand. All the best to him… Those two strikes were added to three more times by GNP during a ridiculously one-sided first period, the last goal being a very unfortunate header into his own net by home skipper Steven Mason.

NEARLY READY FOR KICK-OFF BUT IS DELE ADEBOLA WISHING HE WAS DRINKING COFFEE IN TOUCHWOOD?

"REF! THAT BLOKE USED TO PLAY FOR THE SKY BLUES! "

Even the inclusion in the AFC attack of ex-Bluenose, Crewe and Coventry City striker Bamberdele Olusegun Adebola couldn’t influence his team’s offensive play, although in truth visiting defender James Bryson’s ‘playful’ attentions caused the ex-pro some physical and mental discomfort during the first 45 minutes. Adebola was subsequently shoved back to help shore up the home defence during the second period, a ploy which worked. GNP goalie Paul Lawrence, no doubt to his own surprise, was rarely troubled throughout this match and when he was, with a rare cross, his handling was firm. The hosts failed to get to grips with Sports’ two wing-back-types, Scott Hammond and Leigh Phillips, who were heavily influential throughout, although a number of their deliveries went astray. That is no criticism, for the pitch wasn’t conducive to accuracy but both of these fellows were very effective and sharp thorns in the AFC rear-end. Scott Lindley did the spadework for Sports, like a stoker on an old steam train, for he kept the GNP engine fired up and did that unglamorous job with no qualms at all.

BRYSON, RIGHT, HAVING A LAUGH...

"DELE, HE'S WINDIN' YA UP MAN..."

Lindley’s efforts meant that fellow midfielder Corey Jack Brookes and the forwards, Connoll Farrell (he keeps turning up at different clubs when I cover games, probably hoping to build up a collection of filmed goals by me…), Joss Holford and Tom Rawlings were able to shift about and rush into a variety of offensive channels. AFC could not get to grips with their guests and soon after both Adebola and Bryson had been warned like two naughty Year 9 pupils by the down-to-earth referee for their squabbling, GNP snatched the lead. A right-side throw led to the alert Holford chesting the ball down at inside-right, 12 yards out, directly onto his right boot and the ball fizzed low past the helpless AFC ‘keeper Dan Wright and into the net. Clinical? Er, yes, like the whipping out of a troublesome appendix…

HOLFORD (10): HARSH FINISH, MATCHING HIS HAIRCUT...

Phillips drove a shot too high, before the injury to Compton occurred and then when play restarted, a left-side throw caused a problem for Solihull and when the ball bounced towards the near post, the switched-on Hammond nipped in to get a touch. Wright couldn’t grasp it and as home defender Eddy Pitt saw the ball roll off his goalie’s foot towards the net, his attempted clearance was marginally too late and the nearby linesman signalled a goal. Two throws, two assists, two goals…

COMPTON IS REMOVED...

"DELE, YOU'RE NOT FROM THE NORTH-EAST LIKE ME, MAN, & I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKIN' ABOOT, MAN, JUST LIKE YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M SAYIN'..."

Nathan Stoute had replaced the injured Compton for GNP and he played with some authority in defence but before any rally by Solihull could even materialise, Farrell did what Farrell does; he nipped in to score skilfully. Following interplay between Phillips and Brookes, Rawlings had been crowded out, 20 yards from goal but he had the nous to poke a smart pass through a copse of legs for the vigilant Farrell to wriggle onto and he veered left past the large frame of Wright and squeezed his left-booter into the net from a very acute angle near the byeline. 0-3 and really, Solihull looked a sorry bunch indeed at this juncture.

ANOTHER FILMED GOAL FOR FARRELL...

0-3 NOW...

Hammond drove wide of the right upright, a long Phillips throw caused mayhem and Stoute fed the ball back for Hammond to shoot over the target from 19 yards, before Wright made a fine save for AFC. Farrell’s assist was splendid and Rawlings fastened onto the striker’s astute pass but Wright raced from goal to save well as the slim GNP forward shot. Phillips delivered a really nasty centre with his right boot from deep on the left and the ball curled and dropped beyond Wright onto the crossbar, although Holford’s shot from the rebound flew wide of the near, right post. And then AFC had a shot…

CONNOLL FARRELL TAKES HIS MINDERS EVERYWHERE:
HE'S A CAPTAIN IN THE COVMAFIA...

"RATHER STOUTE CHALLENGE THAT, NATHAN..."

A half-volley from dead-ball man James Parker fizzed over the target but it was well struck… GNP? Well, they simply went back to the opposite end and netted a fourth goal. Hammond fed Phillips on the right, his cross flew to Holford, 22 yards out and with a couple of defenders before him, he took control and seemed to abandon any semblance of backlift as his shovelled 20 yarder rose high into the right side of the net and left the shocked Wright unsighted and motionless, as if his boots had been super-glued to the already super-gluey, super-mucky goalmouth. 

ANOTHER GOAL FOR HOLFORD...

Phillips quite liked that and so produced another deep right-flank delivery which saw Mason crane (the England leg-break bowler? Surely not…) his neck and divert the ball towards the near post from 12 yards and when a goalie’s luck is out, it really is out, so that Wright was unable to prevent the ball from skidding inside his left stick… Oh dear…

OWN-GOALS ARE RARELY CELEBRATED BY THE SCORERS...

A Hammond shot was deflected too high, then a right-side Holford corner was nodded back inside by Brookes, took a touch off Wright’s muddy left glove and two visitors, Rawlings and Bryson, attempted to score from close range but neither really got hold of their shots and a deflection meant they had to settle for the first of a bunch of late first-half corners. These gave Holford a workout, having to jog from side-to-side to take them, although none of the flag-kicks forced a save from Wright, as the AFC defenders battled to clear the ball. However, as the break neared, a right-side cross by Rawlings saw Farrell get in front of his marker at the near post but he steered his close range effort into the side-netting.

ADEBOLA: RARELY A THREAT BEFORE THE BREAK...

CHARLIE COOK LIKES TO WARM UP WITH A SPOT OF RIVER DANCING...

The interval had arrived, the grim drizzle had stopped and the breeze had become colder but it was no surprise that AFC replaced two players for the resumption and introduced Ollie Gee and Matt Pemberton, the latter of whom did provide some rushes towards the GNP goal. Indeed, both substitutes had shots blocked, albeit comfortably, by Sports in the opening moments of half-two. Following a GNP free-kick, Hammond was denied by a good AFC block at inside-right, then at the opposite end a Parker free-kick struck the GNP defensive wall and then Rawlings struck the outside of the right upright from an offside position, before he made a run to the right byeline only to drift his delivery behind the goal-frame.

A STOUTE RENDITION OF SCOTTISH DANCING...

DAMAGE LIMITATION?
PROBABLY...

Jake Whitehouse was replaced by Solihull’s Ben Whitmarsh, Luke Swinnerton had already given Holford a break for the guests and then Charlie Cook replaced Lindley, whose stoking work was done, leaving him to languish in the station waiting room for his train home. Lively but not well supported home winger Jack Shields was then taken off injured, as the second period continued to lack pattern, as passes went astray and the fare became more untidy and careless, as if both teams simply wanted to bugger off to the pub. A right-side GNP throw-in then nearly made a hat-trick of chuck-in assists, for when Phillips’ sling fell for Hammond, 15 yards out, his stinging drive scorched over the left angle.

"BUGGER THIS, I'M GONNA DO A FEW 400M LAPS..."
DELE CAN'T COPE ANY LONGER...

Farrell worked an opening near the left byeline, then was tugged back by Mason as he raced past with the AFC skipper and Adebola onto a pass but incredibly neither the referee nor the accompanying linesman spotted it. Mason knew though, as he hung his head, awaiting the expected yellow card which never materialised…  A fine piece of play by Hammond ended with a thrash of a shot from 17 yards which was beaten away by the wet gloves of Wright as if he was swatting a particularly annoying bee away his vulnerable nose and the only remaining action was when the referee looked aggrieved at something home defender Jamie Hyland had said, or intimated and a caution was issued. Mason wasn’t best pleased either because he was called forth to witness the admonishment, when he would rather have stayed in his defensive position ready for the next GNP attack…

TIME FOR A YELLOW CARD...

And the match ended, much to most people’s relief, for the damage was done both to Solihull and the pitch, the points had been won by GNP, whose drive towards promotion had been kept very much on course. 

  

MY RESPONSE TO THE YELLING OF "MOWDOG!" BY THE GNP PLAYERS...

Me? Walked the 45 minutes home in the north-east-like summery conditions and pondered on Dele Adebola, whose involvement had impressed me, for he had worked hard at the back during the second phase of this game. So good to see a player of his renown bothering to turn out in this manner… Credit. And Bryson? His smirk, his mischievous smile and his aggression were all in direct contrast to the calm and unhurried defending of colleague Manjinder Dhaliwal… 

It is, after all, what he does…  

TEAMS:

AFC SOLIHULL:

DAN WRIGHT, DELE ADEBOLA, JAMIE HYLAND, STEVEN MASON (CAPT), EDDY PITT, TONY FURNESS, JAKE WHITEHOUSE, ELLIOT PRICE, ANDY MATTHEWS, JAMES PARKER, JACK SHIELDS.

SUBS:

LEE SAVINGS, OLLIE GEE, MATT PEMBERTON, BEN WHITMARSH, MARK FITZSIMMONS.

GNP SPORTS:

PAUL LAWRENCE, LEIGH PHILLIPS, SCOTT HAMMOND, MANJINDER DHALIWAL, JAMES BRYSON, MATTY COMPTON (CAPT), TOM RAWLINGS, COREY JACK BROOKES, CONNOLL FARRELL, JOSS HOLFORD, SCOTT LINDLEY.

SUBS:

LUKE SWINNERTON, NATHAN STOUTE, CHARLIE COOK, JASON EVANS.