RACING CLUB WARWICK 0-1 COVENTRY UNITED: THE INDEPENDENT MATCH REPORT...

The Cagemen Finally Unlock The Starting Gate To Take Away The Three Points

Racing Club Warwick 0-1 Coventry United

I hadn’t been to Townsend Meadow for a while and Coventry’s Josh O’Grady had recently asked me to cover a United game sometime and so I was able to kill two birds with one stone by attending this clash, which Coventry dared not lose. They needed the victory, however gained, to remain in contention for the league title but it must have been disheartening for the visiting Cagemen when they warmed up on a pitch which was soft and uneven, if rolling balls were anything to go by, especially as their Butts Park Arena has a smooth artificial surface… It was good to see Martin Hutchcox (ex-Coventry United) back as a Racer and Muzi Nduna was named on the Warwick bench, who was once a Cageman too. Ex-Racer Lewis Hudson was in the Coventry line-up and substitute Ben Valance chatted with me at half-time and he has been at Coventry United since Victorian times. The gantry had been reinstated for the RCW film-maker to view from, so I slipped across to the opposite touchline, just to the left of the dugouts to video with my hand-held camera, behind the perimeter fence.

BEGINNING WITH A TOSS...

The game was not one to remain in the memory for long, although the dramatic late winner for the guests, shot in by skipper Michael Quirke will be remembered, not so much for the strike, but more for the celebrations afterwards when the squad leapt upon each other to form a hillock upon which I could have videoed with some useful elevation. Goalkeeper Reece Francis, who I saw perform for Bromsgrove Sporting several times, suddenly appeared too, bombing onto the grass, like it was a swimming pool in Ibiza and he too slid into the heap of players. Even the management trio was involved, their frustrations, their angry gestures, their unusual language (“Oh, come now referee, surely you might just have made a very slight error on that occasion?”) and their pent up emotion all suddenly forgotten as the three points were assured, following a match which they dominated without finding the necessary clinical finishing to kill off Warwick’s stubborn defensive stance.  

"IT WAS THAT CHIP BUTTY..."

Certainly home skipper Scott Turner and fellow defenders Adam Miles and Luke Edwards each endured a tough but successful evening, making no end of blocks and headed clearances and when Coventry’s shots were not charged down, they were either dealt with comfortably by home goalie James Wardle or fired well off target. Hutchcox appeared to be drawn towards his mate O’Grady and the clear intention was to limit Tricky’s possession on the, er, tricky surface, where he was forced to watch the ball safely onto his boot before making his moves, which he does not need to do on an artificial pitch of course. Consequently, O’Grady was dispossessed several times during the match but subsequently it would be his surge and his shot which led to the melee from which Quirke netted the all important goal. 

O'GRADY RECEIVES THE INFORMATION AND HIS MIND LIGHTS UP...

During the opening half, the hosts managed only three goal attempts but it was sad to witness the frustrations of central striker Daniel Dubidat, who was offered scant service. The nippy Ty Knight shot wide from 25 yards, Francis plucked a Tom Smith effort like he was lifting a vase from a shelf and from a good position, lively left-back Danny Fraser shot horribly over the target with a free-kick. The Cagemen had relied on the speed of Joe Cairns and the sheer hard work of Riley-Cole Matthew O’Sullivan, who had two early shots from inside-left blocked by Turner and then Edwards. Cairns forced Wardle into a simple low save, aided by a deflection but also hit a decent rising shot which Wardle caught and then a bobbling low drive which the gloveman just about got a right hand to and conceded a corner.

COLD LEGS, SHAME ABOUT THE HANDS...

Generally impressive was midfielder Aaron Williams, who marauded about the pitch like someone had nicked his new trainers and he glanced one header off target for the visitors. O’Grady has often scored when I have been watching and he was offered a great chance to shoot a free-kick goalwards before the interval. Sadly for him but pleasingly for the Racers he lifted his effort much too high… So, all in all there had been desperately few goalmouth thrills during the opening 45 minutes and it was no wonder that the Coventry coaching staff were becoming audibly and visibly angry, often really berating the referee, who was probably only doing his best under heavy pressure from players, staff and spectators alike. After all, he wasn’t the only fellow on the pitch who was likely to make an error or two…

THESE GUYS LOOK LIKE THEY'RE HEADING FOR A CATWALK...

O'GRADY WOULD LIFT HIS FREE-KICK BEYOND THE FACILITES...

The players trotted off for sausage rolls, sweet potato fries and  a Bailey’s each, before the contestants reappeared to continue the struggle. It was more of the same really, except that RCW managed only two goal attempts this time, first from Dubidat, whose lobbed effort was simple for Francis to gather and secondly from Knight, who drove well over the target from inside-left but in truth, it seemed just a matter of time for Coventry to grab the goal they needed. Yet time so nearly ran out…

BATES: "HEY, TERRY, MAYBE WE WON'T INVITE THE REFEREE TO OUR END OF SEASON GARDEN PARTY..."
TERRY: "I AGREE, MY GOOD CHAP. HE'S SIMPLY NOT OUR SORT..."

THIS FREE-KICK WOULD ALSO GO TOO HIGH, VIA CAMWELL'S LEFT BOOT...

A close range effort by effective right-back Harrison Sawyer was stopped by Wardle, before a fine power-drive from 27 yards by dependable midfielder Jake Holt was well watched, parried and grabbed by Wardle. The speedy and wily United forward Tyler Haddow forced another low stop from Wardle as he raced towards goal but replacement Chris Camwell would know he should have done much better with the rebound, which he screwed past the left upright. He then shot just over the target from both open play and then from a free-kick, both from 25 yards or so, before another substitute, Matty Gardner saw an angled effort deflected over the crossbeam. However, a corner was won on the right-flank, as added time seemed to have begun and O’Grady made his mark…

GARDNER SIMPLY WANTED A MENTION IN MY REPORT, SO HE CONTRIVED A CAUTION...

THE REF SORTS OUT THE CAGEMEN...

DUBIDAT REFUSES TO CLOSE THE GAP...

A short corner was taken, the ball was returned to him and he went for the right byeline, tricking his way past Fraser but O’Grady’s angled delivery was cleared from the goal-line by the head of home forward Nick Seabourne. The ball flew out towards O’Sullivan, who was challenged and suddenly Quirke was able to strike a 10 yard shot, not with the greatest of connections but as Wardle fell to try and save it, a defender slid in front of him and the ball beat them both… Cue the madness…

THE COVENTRY PILE...
(I DON'T MEAN O'GRADY'S HOUSE, EITHER...)

More time was added, probably because of the celebratory group-pile formation but a few moments of time-wasting in a corner (possibly unnecessary, for Warwick were no threat at all anyway) finally took the Cagemen to the victory they craved… Another last-gasp victory, following on from the one against Walsall Wood a few days previously and there was understandable relief, lots of noise, raucous team-bonding and a real sense of anticipation in the slightly chilly surroundings of Warwick’s Racecourse.

A confident defence in which Quirke and Lewis Ison were solid, a midfield with individuals who possessed different but very useful attributes, plus eager, quick forwards who worked the channels well and a goalkeeper who could actually be heard bellowing back in Bromsgrove, all added up to a strong team performance. However, to lose 0-1 was no shame on the Racers, who were dour in defence, albeit not creative enough in midfield and therefore the players offered Knight, Seabourne, Dubidat and later Nduna in attack little to work with… 

On the administrative side, it appeared that both Camwell and Gardner were cautioned for Coventry and possibly the effective Edwards for the Racers…

TEAMS:

RACING CLUB WARWICK:

JAMES WARDLE, ADAM MILES, DANNY FRASER, LUKE EDWARDS, SCOTT TURNER (CAPT), MARTIN HUTCHCOX, TY KNIGHT, TOM SMITH, DANIEL DUBIDAT, CIARON HOUSTON, NICK SEABOURNE.

SUBS:

MUZI NDUNA, ANT SMITH, DALE WIGMORE, NKOSILATHI MZUNGWANA, SAM JACKSON.

COVENTRY UNITED:

REECE FRANCIS, HARRISON SAWYER, LEWIS HUDSON, JAKE HOLT, LEWIS ISON, MICHAEL QUIRKE (CAPT), JOSH O’GRADY, AARON WILLIAMS, RILEY-COLE MATTHEW O’SULLIVAN, JOE CAIRNS, TYLER HADDOW.

SUBS:

BEN VALLANCE, CALLUM CARSLEY, LUKE DOWNES, CHRIS CAMWELL, MATTY GARDNER.