STUDLEY FC 2-2 WORCESTER RAIDERS: THE INDEPENDENT, UNBIASED, HONEST, LIGHTHEARTED MATCH REPORT...

 Nine-man Bees Sting Raiders At The Disturbing Hive…

Studley FC 2-2 Worcester Raiders

The Mowdog’s thoughts, albeit ‘unbiased’…

First against second in the Hellenic League’s Division 1 was always going to be a close, intense and possibly unpleasant affair. Actually it proved to be very close, rather intense and decidedly unpleasant…

GOOD FUN, THIS WRITING OF NAMES DOWN.

Certainly the wind caused trouble for the teams, though not when they were playing against it, strangely… Studley hadn’t used it effectively before the break and one Worcester supporter who had arrived late into the grandstand declared: “ We’ll kill ‘em in the second-half…” Raiders didn’t. In fact the visitors seemed to drop back and attempt to protect their 1-2 interval lead, which I’m sure they hadn’t been told to do.

TOSSING TO SEE WHICH TEAM WANTS TO PLAY BADLY WITH THE WIND BEHIND IT FIRST...

In the second period however, after Studley had displayed a penchant for keeping possession without really penetrating the uncompromising Worcester defence, home midfielder and playmaker Jack Creswell received a second yellow card for fouling Raiders’ replacement Jaber Ahmed. He was not happy, for his team had felt that it was defender Ben Birch’s foul which Creswell had received his first caution for. But who really knows what the official saw? I couldn’t honestly tell from the video footage although the referee looks straight at Creswell with a card in hand, not Birch…  

"I GOT MY HAND STUCK IN THE FOOD MIXER..."

So, ten against eleven, yet still Worcester held their shape and offered no offense but they eventually conceded a free-kick 23 yards out, which home skipper Dan Carter lashed through the Raiders’ defensive wall to regain parity for his team. His celebration was emotional as he ran past the visiting supporters, for they had been chanting abusively at him for some time beforehand.

CARTER: RECEIVED NASTY ABUSIVE CHANTS...

However, Carter soon went into an unwise and crushing challenge for a loose ball with Raiders’ Harry Stratford, which the referee decided was worthy of a straight red card for Carter. The Bees’ skipper was the only player punished, despite the subsequent scuffles which was surprising… However, I can’t comment on any of those decisions, for despite the chap in front of me turning his head slightly and mumbling in my direction the word ‘biased’ at the start of the match, my independent commentary certainly wasn’t biased and my match report certainly isn’t biased. I can only write what I witnessed… The chap then disappeared though and two more people replaced him, one of whom broke wind loudly twice, perhaps hoping to add some percussion to my commentary…

CARTER'S DAY IS ABOUT TO END...

So, how the afternoon developed…

As I arrived at the Beehive, a loud chanting sound was suddenly heard,  emanating from a minibus which swung into the car-park. Good to hear some lively support was my first thought, although as the vehicle emptied, the occupants seemed to be consuming a large quantity of beer as they stood about. A good day out for the fans, I thought…

The bar was quiet enough but I left it early to claim a place to video from at the back of the meagre shelter provided for Studley by incumbents Solihull Moors. The advertising hoardings on the shelter side of the pitch are made of a metallic substance and naturally became drummers’ foot-pedals for a number of aspiring musicians along the touchline. The Beehive is surely not quite the ‘piss-hole’ they wanted to ‘go home’ from, though, surely…

THOSE HOARDINGS TOOK A BATTERING...

The atmosphere was tense, beer was swilling but Studley’s followers were few and far between and the Raiders’ fans might well have sung a song for them, as they kindly offered to do several times…

Certainly the crowd was noisy and the feeling about the place was disturbing but having to film with a large chap leaping to his feet whenever his team was attempting a shot wasn’t easy.

RED FOR CRESWELL...

Against nine men and tied with their hosts, Raiders finally decided to attack and they went close from a corner with a header by combative midfielder Joe Billingham and then substitute Connor Deards was tripped just 21 yards from goal as time ran out. The Worcester fans gathered directly in front of the shelter, probably to celebrate a free-kick winner by Isaac Cooper who had scored a penalty earlier in the match, rather than block the view of any spectator seated at the front of the ‘grandstand’…

Cooper shot too high however, the Worcester fans groaned and slouched away, and Studley claimed the point which they were certainly happy to salvage. 

EARLY CAUTION FOR COOPER...

Ryan Young…  

Good handling by the Worcester goalie was evident throughout and his efforts to prevent Studley’s opening goal were impressive, although Dale Edwards finally thumped the ball past him.

One thing I need to mention though was when Young went down to grab a through-pass and home left-back Kieron Donnelly skidded into him feet first, a challenge which looked nasty from a distance. Once again other players crowded round in poses of accusation but Young was up and signalling that he was OK which diffused the anger somewhat. Donnelly was rightly cautioned for his reckless slide-in.

SENSIBLE REACTION BY YOUNG...

Neatly done, Ryan Young…

Not many chances created on the day…

A couple of weak low shots by Ricardo Richards then Ryan Murphy were picked up before the break by home goalie Brendan Bunn and when a Kai Mahon free-kick was blocked, Billingham awkwardly lifted the ball too high from 6 yards with his right boot at a stretch. 

RICHARDS & MURPHY: HARDLY ANY SHOTS AT GOAL...

However, Richards was tripped by Birch to earn a spot-kick, which Cooper fired low and right of centre into the net, as Bunn dived the opposite way.

Goal two came from a pass across the 18 yard line from right to left by Murphy. Mahon looked to shoot right-booted and fooled Donnelly, before shifting left and clipping a low left-footed 18 yarder into the left corner of the net with Bunn rooted to the spot.

THE SHEEP SEEM TO HAVE HOOFED THE BALL BACK...

Cooper had been booked early after a tangle with Dale Edwards and it did appear that the Raider had chucked the ball at the Bee. Murphy was also cautioned but he wasn’t impressed with the decision, walking away from the official and having to be called back to be shown a yellow card. 

MURPHY: THE ASSIST FOR MAHON'S GOAL...

It appeared that Jordan Stoddart, the powerful Raiders’ defender was booked in the act of giving away the free-kick which allowed Carter to grab a point for Studley, although I might have been mistaken about that and another late booking for Billingham occurred, apparently.

The Bees as an attacking force…

With the wind at their backs in the first 45, surprisingly little transpired in an attacking sense for the Bees, only a wayward low left-footer by Robbie Bunn and the missed diving header by Carter as described above worrying Young at all. However a goal did come Studley’s way. The ball fell kindly for Carter, whose two efforts to score were well saved by the plunging Young but the second rebound was struck smartly into the net by Dale Edwards. 

DALE EDWARDS, LEFT: HIS GOAL-CLIP FOGGED INTO THE THE REALMS OF UNWATCHABLE...

After the  recess, Dale Edwards moved across to the right, presumably allowing him to cut inside onto his left foot but his first centre was a right-booted one which the unmarked Carter headed wide at the near post. He would have been disappointed, the Raiders relieved. 

WELSH & BIRCH DO THE MARKING...

The replacement for the quiet Sean Brain, Sam Jackson slid a Carter cross wide too and a power-drive from downtown by Donnelly flew off target, before a low Carter effort lacked power and was picked up like a piece of litter by Young.

Finally though, Carter’s well struck free-kick penetrated the Raiders’ defensive wall and beat Young to the goalie’s right and 2-2 was thus achieved with ten men. 

The final words…

A strange match certainly, one which neither team deserved to win. Bad humour between players was constantly evident, yet at the final whistle, it was as if all 22 players had been awoken from being hypnotically hostile towards their opponents. They were all friends again…

Twice the hosts hogged the ball for some time in the second period with passes abounding from Creswell, Matt Edwards and Robbie Bunn, who all played decently but each time the ball reached right-footed central defender Ben Welsh who was playing on the left of a back three at that time, he was forced into passing the ball on with that favoured boot and the movements broke down. 

Both defences were mostly on top, both pairs of full-backs, Max Loveridge and Donnelly for the Bees and skipper Logan Stoddart and the positive Sam Carey for the Raiders supported their central defenders and midfielders industrially. 

Sam Stratford and Joe Billingham really battled for the visitors in the trenches but just like Brain and Dale Edwards for the hosts, Cooper, Richards and Mahon for the guests often found themselves short of decent service.

The advertising hoardings might have survived their beatings, Studley probably no longer echoes to chants of inebriation but with Raiders still in the hunt, it remains to be seen how impending suspensions will affect the Bees… 

TEAMS:

STUDLEY FC:

BREN BUNN, MAX LOVERIDGE, KIERON DONNELLY, BEN BIRCH, BEN WELSH, JACK CRESWELL, MATT EDWARDS, ROBBIE BUNN, DAN CARTER (CAPT), SEAN BRAIN, DALE EDWARDS.

SUBS:

MARK MAGEE, JOSH WESTWOOD, AARON BUNN, SAM JACKSON, ODANE BARNES.

WORCESTER RAIDERS:

RYAN YOUNG, LOGAN STODDART (CAPT), SAM CAREY, HARRISON YATES, JORDAN STODDART, HARRY STRATFORD, ISAAC COOPER, JOE BILLINGHAM, JORDAN MURPHY, RICARDO RICHARDS, KAI MAHON.

SUBS:

CONNOR DEARDS, JABER AHMED, OLI MULDERS, ANT MILLER, JOSH WILLIS.