RACING CLUB WARWICK 7-0 STAPENHILL: MATCH REPORT & IMAGES...

Swans Left Paddling By Clinical Racers

Racing Club Warwick 7-0 Stapenhill

Stapenhill will surely need to forget all about this trip to Townsend Meadow which ended in a very heavy defeat and indeed it could have been by a wider margin. Home forwards Ben Mackey and Trea Bertie both netted hat-tricks whilst the deep lying, ever so effective Luke Cole thumped in a downward header, although left-sider Wade Malley was unable to get his name on the scoresheet. The Swans were overwhelmed by a team fielding a new goalie, Charlie Bannister and on offense, only the lean Harry Austin threatened at all, really. He fired way off target near the start, then at 0-2 he was assisted for a shot by Rich Hanslow which Bannister did well to turn aside, Hanslow being unable to beat Bannister in a melee following the resulting corner. During a second period of rare Stapenhill attacking, Austin drove a shot out for a throw-in following Bannister’s awkward pat down of Russ Wagg’s centre and then in the latter stages, after rounding home right-back Marc Passey who enjoyed a strong game, his angled near post effort flew sadly wide. He then sat on the ground to rue his evening… 

THE TOSS IN THE SUN...

THE SWANS KICK OFF...

TREA BERTIE, LEFT: RAPID...

BEN MACKEY: BULLDOZER IN ATTACK...

Despite some hard work and bags of concentration in defence by Dan Wain and Jacob Yeomans, time and again Warwick’s forwards slipped between them, or the full-backs, Harry Hughes and Wagg, leaving ‘keeper Ryan Larkins badly exposed to the belligerent physicality of Mackey and the extreme pace of Bertie. Mackey would score with 60% of his shots, failing only with an early clipped effort beyond the right angle of crossbar and upright then missing out on a first period trio by firing past a post with the outside of his left boot, one on one with Larkins, following a block and assist by Alex Price. Mackey had opened the scoring with a strong rush, like a buffalo through woodland and a nudge with what might have been his shoulder, before firing a ridiculous near post finish from an angle on the left which zipped into the top corner of the net. After Bertie had rounded Larkins, veering left onto Cole’s head-on and had slotted a very acute, astute finish into the Swans’ net to add a second goal, Mackey was freed at inside-right by Passey, surged past Wain but Larkins hesitated. The goalie had advanced, then retreated, offering Mackey time to compose himself and convert with a simple low shot, off a defender’s despairing boot. 

1-0: MACKEY...

MALLEY UP WITH HUGHES...

LUKE COLE: LURKING...

2-0...

BERTIE THE SCORER...

3-0: MACKEY AGAIN...

Bertie had earlier raced in rapid fashion past Yeomans and Wagg onto a long Price pass but Larkins had done well to advance and save the striker’s low shot with his legs. Malley was quiet throughout the opening half for his team but did miss by heading a Bertie centre wide of the near stick in the opening minute of the game. Subsequently Malley would strike Larkins from an angle on the left in the second-half, he rolled a close range shot onto the left upright during a goalmouth scramble and had a late shot from near the left byeline deflected for a corner. Certainly not Malley’s evening then but the Racer lookalikes Price and Cole influenced this encounter heavily in a variety of ways.

SOME INTERESTING EXPRESSIONS...

HAS THE LINESMAN BROKEN WIND?

LUKE 'SPIDER' COLE: TOTALLY INVOLVED...

ALEX 'THE HUB' PRICE (LEFT)...

Price was the set-piece fellow and he eased through the match with calm passes in an unhurried manner but was surprisingly cautioned by a referee who was often over fussy and rather too eager to whistle for fouls. Cole was also cautioned before being replaced but his misdemeanours were surely abject and overstated by the official. Indeed, Martin Slevin was shoulder-barged in the first-half by a larger opponent and was strangely penalised himself, to his shock and dismay. An assessor was watching the referee and maybe that affected the official’s objectivity which seemed rather imbalanced on occasions. No bookings for Stapenhill then, despite their players being pulled up for a similar number of ‘fouls’ to RCW’s Racers. 

THE LOOKALIKES, RIGHT...

AUSTIN HAS A HEADLIGHT WORKING...

THE REFEREE SPEAKS TO A FRUSTRATED COLE...

The rushing Slevin was superbly challenged by Yeomans in the opening half and the diminutive RCW midfielder shot well wide from distance later on and finally nodded wide from close in during the latter stages but his impish involvement was critical in support of the excellent Cole and Price. Cole had been an aerial threat throughout the contest and had been unfortunate to fire wide when attempting a spectacular volley just after the interval, falling like a spider toppling from a skirting board onto an entangled fly, following Bertie’s delivery. Goal four hadn’t been long in coming though and Cole was involved twice in the making of the opportunity.

MACKEY MUSES...

MACKEY MISSES...

MACKEY MISSING...

Cole was struck by a harsh drive by Swans’ skipper Chris Nettles and home central defender Sean Castleton’s clearance immediately flew straight at Cole, whose reaction was superb, recovering possession to clip a pass through the inside-right channel for Bertie to chase. Larkins had again advanced a long way and Bertie passed him easily but as Yeomans attempted to block him in front of goal, Bertie fooled him, left him on the dry grass and shoved the ball into the empty net.

4-0...

BERTIE HAS A BRACE...

Price’s left-wing corner was met by Cole’s powerful downward header at the near post, leaving his marker Nettles stung and the sixth goal had gone in, before Bertie received an assist from Swans’ goalie Larkins to complete the scoring. Bertie fastened onto a loose ball on the right-side, moved in-field and shot low but without venom. Larkins had the effort covered but his grasp loosened and the ball rolled behind him, across the goal-line and to his sickening disappointment, a goal was signalled.

PRICE IS CAUTIONED...

COLE HAS STRUCK...

6-0...

Price, Slevin and Cole performed more ably than Swans’ Nettles, Sam Grice and Connor Richins, whilst Stapenhill forwards Sam Hankin and Hanslow struggled to make headway with such little creative service, allowing home skipper Scott Turner and Castleton to canter through the evening. Late on, Turner’s low shot through a goalmouth crowd was hacked from the goal-line by a Swans’ defender, Castleton managed a header from a Price corner which was tipped over the crossbar, although a foul had been spotted and substitute Michael Ellis saw a low angled shot blocked by Larkins for a corner as the game wound down.

6-0: MACKEY'S HAT-TRICK...

7-0: BERTIE'S HAT-TRICK...

Replacements for both teams didn’t affect the pattern of play late on, for the Racers seemed to be able to fashion danger at will but with the fully focussed Austin, Wain, Yeomans and Nettles, the Swans simply refused to throw in the towel… Ronee Hendricks replaced the busy Ryan Billington at left-back for the hosts and he made some late surges, even firing in a couple of shots but in reality, the Racers were streets ahead of the Swans on the night…

BANNISTER AND THE SUNSET...

AUSTIN SIMPLY SITS DOWN...

COLE IS CAUTIONED...

Me? I’d hoped to climb a trapeze ladder to access the drab grandstand roof, hurdle its scaffold horizontals and clamber onto the viewing gantry. I ventured behind the seating shed, squeezed between the thorny hedges and the back of the grandstand construction, was then stung by nettles (not the Stapenhill skipper) and found, er, no ladder at all… Nor a stair lift, which had been suggested by RCW’s yodelling manager Scott Easterlow, whose new single, Frank Ifield’s old hit ‘I Remember You’ will be available online soon…

NO SAD LADDER...

TEAMS:

RACING CLUB WARWICK:

CHARLIE BANNISTER, MARC PASSEY, RYAN BILLINGTON, SEAN CASTLETON, SCOTT TURNER (CAPT), ALEX PRICE, LUKE COLE, MARTIN SLEVIN, BEN MACKEY, TREA BERTIE, WADE MALLEY.

SUBS:

GERARD McGAHEY, RONEE HENDRICKS, CALLUM BELL, ROSS QUARTERMANE, MICHAEL ELLIS.

STAPENHILL:

RYAN LARKINS, HARRY HUGHES, DAN WAIN, JACOB YEOMANS, RUSS WAGG, CHRIS NETTLES (CAPT), HARRY AUSTIN, SAM GRICE, RICH HANSLOW, SAM HANKIN, CONNOR RICHINS.

SUBS:

PETER MARTIN, LEWIS CAMPBELL, AARON KENDRICK, JACK WILLARS, PAUL FURNISS.