RACING CLUB WARWICK 2-0 CENTRAL AJAX: words and images from the game...

 A Warm, Breezy Afternoon & A Decent Workout…

Racing Club Warwick 2-0 Central Ajax

(Pre-season game…)

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

Three cautions, a missed penalty and two goals in a combative 90 minutes at Townsend Meadow ended with a late Mort goal, which denied Midland League 2 newcomers Ajax the opportunity to snatch an equaliser. Perhaps few would deny that they deserved a goal on the day.

An Ebbutt spot-kick had put the Racers ahead by half-time, although Ajax ‘keeper Rowberry got a strong right hand to the hard-hit spot-kick. 

1-0...

At the same end after the interval, there was a bizarre incident when the ball struck a home defender’s hand as he marked Ajax’s O’Connor. The forward had stumbled forwards in an attempt to get to a right flank throw-in and the ball simply bounced up against the helpless defender’s hand…  

Taylor’s spot-kick was well saved though by RCW ‘keeper Pheasey, dropping to his left.

True, after the break the hosts struck the base of the left upright through Jones and the crossbar through Mort’s deflection of a colleague’s shot but Ajax had also forced saves by Pheasey, notably from O’Connor in the first-half and after the recess, one-on-one from Edgington-Furlong.  An Eden free-kick from downtown struck the Racers’ defensive wall and a clipped centre by Eden over the stranded Pheasey was headed from the goal-line by the lunging Templeton. Late shots by the guests were blocked too and both teams drove efforts off target but for details of the best goal action please click HERE to find the video clips...  

Players who showed up strongly…

Racers’ goalie Pheasey did well enough throughout but certainly Ebbutt was the dynamo in midfield for RCW, although to be fair several Racers went down to injuries during the affair and a good number of replacements were inevitably used. Mort was one of those and he added the second goal. 

The Racers were understandably deliberate in possession during this opening pre-season game but they were often harassed by the Ajax forwards and were rarely comfortable, as the tackles and chases intensified. However although the forwards, Parsons and Jones, both had fairly quiet games, as did Carsley on the left-flank, the Racers didn’t concede and the defence, held together strongly by skipper Templeton and backed up by Pheasey between the sticks, did their jobs.

The home replacements were lively though and subsequently the latter stages saw the replacements in the changed Ajax defence stretched more. The second goal stemmed from a lapse in the Ajax defensive possession, the ball was slipped right by replacement 14 to Mort, who beat second period Ajax goalie Tomlin at his near post.  

2-0...

Ajax, who like their hosts liked to pass the ball from defence, were well served at the back by Jeffries, Dyke, Randall and Edgington-Furlong, whilst Foley raced about the midfield areas in a combative manner, like he didn’t want anybody else to play with the new ball he’d been given for his birthday. He was cautioned during the match but his contributions will surely be critical for his team during the new season.

Striker Taylor performed very decently, despite his penalty miss and he could be a real threat at the new level for his team. He has a low centre of gravity, pace and tenacity. Eden and Murphy were occasionally threats from wide, whilst Luke Steer was excellent for Ajax in midfield, using pace whilst moving with the ball and displayed some creativity with several smart feeds. He also gave the penalty away during the first period…

Final words…

Thanks to RCW for their fine welcome as always and to Ajax manager Tom Coles who took time out to provide me with the names and numbers of his squad.

Lasting memories? 

Well, Taylor squaring up to an opponent following a bad challenge, for which both players were booked, the unfortunate but amusing moment when RCW conceded a penalty and after the match, RCW’s Gary Vella made the hair beneath my gel stand to attention…

In the middle of our conversation he suddenly bellowed at some lads kicking balls against the inside rear of the metal shelter behind one of the goals and they were making a hell of a row…

Well, Gary scared me, anyway…

He did. 

He really did…

Images:

LUKE STEER, RIGHT, DEMONSTRATES HIS PROWESS AT VIRTUAL ARCHERY... 

TROUBLE BREWING...

COSSACK DANCING IS A NEW THING IN WARWICK...

ONE OF SEVERAL RCW KNOCKS...

LET'S HOPE FOLEY WASN'T ABOUT TO BE SMACKED FOR TACKLING HARSHLY...

JONES: "BLOODY HELL, WHO GLUED THE BALL TO MY CLEATS..."

GUESS WHO'S AUDITIONING FOR A PART IN A SILENT MOVIE?

ANOTHER BODY RESCUED BY A GOOD SAMARITAN..

YELLOW FOR FOLEY...

YELLOW FOR TAYLOR, THE TINKER...