The following article appeared in the programme for Racing Club Warwick v Malvern Town on 12th March 2005.
Saturday March 5th saw Racing Club extending the cherished unbeaten record to seven with a rain-sodden 3-1 victory against second placed Chasetown to exact full revenge for the 0-1 defeat at The Scholars Ground last September. The match was played in exceptionally poor conditions (horizontal rain and sleet) and I was concerned, with Warwick 3-0 ahead after half an hour, that the match might even be abandoned following another violent downpour.
Chasetown were second best throughout. Their attempted passing game was a poor choice given the conditions. Warwick elected to play in a much more direct style and regularly bore down on the Chasetown net with one-on-one or two-on-two attacking threat. From the off Chasetown seemed to focus on the offensive and this left space at the back that Racing Club exploited to good effect. Although three-nil ahead through goals from Ollie, Mark Magennis and Jam, the match was never quite out-of-sight for Chasetown and they attempted to lay siege to Richard Williams’ goal in the second half, with the driving rain at their backs. It was a case of clearing the lines for the Warwick defensive formation and, in truth, Chasetown never really ruffled the Warwick feathers even when they pulled a goal back after 75 minutes. The referee’s whistle brought much satisfaction with a job well done! As the players trooped off I was amused to note that Jermaine seemed to be wearing a different kit to everybody else – an all brown number which will take considerable washing to restore its former golden glory – an indication of his commitment throughout - well played once again Jam!
Tuesday March 8th heralded our hugely anticipated (by Racing Club supporters at least!) visit to Lye Meadow for the Polymac Services League Cup Semi-Final Second Leg against Alvechurch. It is many a long year since Warwick had a sniff at some silverware so there were nerves aplenty amongst our supporters at least going into this tie. The match commenced in a similar vein to the first leg with the boys coming under heavy early pressure from Alvechurch. Having weathered the storm of the first 10 minutes, Warwick suddenly got their collective act together and proceeded to dominate the rest of the half with a couple of good one-on-one opportunities going begging. The half-time whistle sounded with the score on the night remaining at nil-nil and Racing continuing to hold that precious one-nil lead from the first leg.
My ability to predict the outcome of football matches must be the envy of my fellow supporters (not!). I remember remarking at half-time that it was clear to me that the match was going to be a tense nil-nil draw with long-suffering Warwick fans having bitten their fingernails down to the quick (and beyond!) long before full-time. If you hear me spouting similar nonsense in the future, just leave me alone to my jibberings (I can’t predict lotto numbers either!)! Within 10 minutes of the second half the match was effectively over with Warwick out-of-sight following two quick goals from Tom (bend it like Beckham!) Cudworth and Jermaine (I take the penalties now!) Gordon. Alvechurch were effectively out of it. To their credit they didn’t allow their heads to drop and, despite also losing Redhead, sent off after some touchline GBH on Jam, ’Church did manage to pull one back only to see Robert (pick that one out!) Betts restore Racing’s three goal overall advantage. This was quickly followed by Jam’s second of the night and, with fifteen minutes to go Warwick were 5-1 ahead on aggregate. How wonderful to enjoy the last quarter of an hour of a Cup semi-final relaxed in the knowledge that you’re certain to be appearing in the Final! A late consolation goal by Alvechurch could not dampen Warwick’s high spirits and the away dressing room was soon resounding to a full throated chorus of “Oh when the Boys!”
The Final Countdown? Well there’s no need to reserve a hotel room in Cardiff as I understand our showdown with Oadby Town will be a two-legged affair. But that’s for another time. We need be taking each game as it comes, as the saying goes, if we are to close the seven point gap on Boldmere and Coalville, the teams immediately above us in the table. Racing Club’s eight match unbeaten run seems to have a momentum all of it’s own and we finally appear to have recaptured last season’s form hot-streak that made us one of the pre-season favourites for this League. Today Malvern Town, who slipped to fifth place following Stourbridge’s win over Chasetown on Tuesday night, will present us with another stern challenge following their 3-1 victory over the Boys at the Langland Stadium in January. That was our last defeat in all competitions so today represents an ideal opportunity for revenge. “One over the eight” is the order of the day Boys!
Keep the faith!
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