RACING CLUB WARWICK 6-0 NUNEATON GRIFF: FULL MATCH REPORT...

Unfortunate Griff Hit For Six At Townsend Meadow

Racing Club Warwick 6-0 Nuneaton Griff

As dusk dragged gloom over Townsend Meadow’s pale orange stained sky, a much changed Griff team arrived to tackle the in-form Racers. A new manager and different players had been introduced at the Pingles, currently being plagued by Travellers and their caravans but some confidence had surely been gained from a victory on Saturday. Warwick had beaten the league leaders on their own patch at the weekend however and in truth, Griff were handed a real lesson in clinical finishing by six different Racers. Nuneaton certainly took the game to their hosts and won several corners, whilst grabbing a share of possession too but an early goal by RCW and two more before the interval didn’t help the guests’ cause. At 1-0, central striker Ash Wilks was denied by home goalie Charlie Bannister’s low diving save and Kyle King not only drove a shot too high but miscued a left-booter also and those three opportunities were all that the visitors could manage before the break.

THE TOSS...

Tough defending by Griff skipper Adam Sullivan and sidekick Bobby Robinson, supported spiritedly by full-backs Matt Alton (later cautioned for a desperate foul) and Frazer Mullis, generally protected ‘keeper George Woodward successfully but once again Racer Martin Slevin’s influence was crucial. Two defensive headers from early Griff corners and an offensive nod at goal from Jak Jey’s flag-kick which flew over the crossbar belied his stature in crowded penalty-boxes of taller fellows. He scrapped for possession in the opening moments, won the ball for Luke Cole to feed Ben Mackey at inside-left and he bullishly beat Woodward with a low drive between the goalie’s socks. Mackey reminds me of an NFL full-back whose remit is to barge through gaps in defensive lines, hands clawing at enemy body parts to gain any advantage. Ebullient and brusque, that’s Mackey…

WATCH OUT KYLE, HE'S BEHIND YOU...

MILLING ABOUT...

1-0: MACKEY FOR THE RACERS...

The second goal was superbly taken by Marc Passey, who took possession from Joe Smith following a period of Racer possession. The defender burst into the right side of the 18 yard box and lashed a fine cross-shot high into the left corner of the net from 16 yards. Mackey saw a strike ruled out for offside, Ryan Billington nearly netted at the near post, following a right-side run by Cole, although a corner was won. Cole himself headed a corner wide via a defender’s shoulder and then aided Griff’s defence after his own shot had been blocked, by diverting and looping Slevin’s rebound over the crossbeam. 

2-0: PASSEY FOR RCW...

ALTON IS CAUTIONED LATE IN THE GAME...

The third Racer strike was set up by Jeys’ near post, left-flank corner and Cole judged his run to perfection, flicking his header just under the angle of crossbar and upright. Jeys was denied twice by desperate defending as he lurked at the near post, first from Rich Powell’s low centre, then from Billington’s, following a brilliant rush along the left byeline, leaving Alton a-slippin’ and a-slidin’.

JEYS: FLUID...

Cole frowns a lot. When he scored, it seemed like he had lifted his sinewy torso from a dark place, slime dripping from long clinging fingers like a wraith or a spook, ghosting forth to punish the unsuspecting Griffs… He scares me, anyway…

3-0: GOAL AND FEAR BY COLE...

So, half-time was reached and I guess that Griff needed to limit the damage but actually, they contrived to scorn three decent chances after the break, which fell to Reece Williams, King and Jake Warmington. Williams moved at Bannister from the right but the ‘keeper’s leg deflected his effort wide for a corner. A melee, when replacement Jordan Gardiner’s right-side cross was headed down at the far post by Wilks, saw Passey unwittingly baulk his own goalie but King’s nudge at goal was knocked away by Bannister and then finally King pushed the ball left for Warmington, as the Racers were caught napping on the break but the winger’s low, first-time, unhindered shot flew wide of the near post from a good position.

END OF PART ONE...

PART TWO...

Before the last three goals punished Nuneaton further, Jeys drove wide for Warwick, then was tackled brilliantly by Sullivan on the right byeline, Mackey was unable to direct a header from a Slevin corner onto the target, Billington was stopped by a fine Mullis tackle and when Woodward totally missed his kick and Mackey looked sure to score, he was miraculously denied from behind by the trusty Sullivan. Home defender Sean Castleton, blessed in the art of ‘unsmiling’, was also unfortunate on offense when another Slevin corner from the right took a touch probably from his skipper Scott Turner’s head and bounced off Castleton’s foot inside the 6 yard box. The ball looped towards the top right corner of goal but another Griff substitute, the lively Eddy Moore, did well to leap and nod the ball away.

THE GRIFF COACH ENCOURAGES.
AND CONTINUED TO DO SO...

A 21 yard free-kick by Jeys was whipped over the heads of the defensive wall’s bricks and dipped over Woodward but under the crossbar, shoving the Racers 4-0 ahead, before replacement Alex Price passed short to Jeys, whose flick at inside-left released another substitute, Adam Knight. Knight subsequently beat the goalie low from an angle on the left to add goal five and then finally, after a Powell centre had been spectacularly tipped away for a right-side corner by Woodward, Knight gathered Slevin’s flag-kick at the near post, poked it across the 6 yard box and Turner rattled it deep into the net from 2 yards to complete the scoring.  

4-0: JEYS...

5-0: KNIGHT...

6-0: TURNER...

An emphatic scoreline but reasons to be optimistic for Griff, who were often expansive but when the likes of Henry Leaver, Knight and Price were on the Warwick bench, there would not be any let up by their hosts. Price in particular was so effectively calm in possession and attempted to pick out the simple pass whilst being damned difficult to shake off the ball. And he’s now a married man… Passey and Powell were always like racehorses in the starting gates, so eager to attack on the flanks but Cole’s overall influence was palpable and Slevin’s contribution was huge. Warmington made a couple of smart runs for Griff, as did Gardiner but Sullivan was a rock in defence and midfielder Hossein Mehdi was Nuneaton’s most successful playmaker, even though Wilks and King lacked efficient offensive service.

THE BANNISTER & THE TURNER....

Townsend Meadow became slightly misty and a little damp as the players left the arena but I’m sure I noticed Cole slink away into the darkness and undergrowth to regenerate ready for another haunting…

ALEX PRICE IN HIS WEDDING OUTFIT...

TEAMS:

RACING CLUB WARWICK:

CHARLIE BANNISTER, MARC PASSEY, RICH POWELL, SEAN CASTLETON, SCOTT TURNER (CAPT), JOE SMITH, LUKE COLE, MARTIN SLEVIN, BEN MACKEY, JAK JEYS, RYAN BILLINGTON.

SUBS:

HENRY LEAVER, ALEX PRICE, ROSS QUARTERMAINE, ADAM KNIGHT, NEIL STACEY.

NUNEATON GRIFF:

GEORGE WOODWARD, MATT ALTON, FRAZER MULLIS, BOBBY ROBINSON, ADAM SULLIVAN (CAPT), ELLIOTT PALMER, REECE WILLIAMS, HOSSEIN MEHDI, ASH WILKS, KYLE KING, JAKE WARMINGTON.

SUBS:

MATT BRENNAN, EDDY MOORE, JORDAN GARDINER, TOM STRINGER, JACK TREGARTHA.