The following article appeared in the programme for Racing Club Warwick v Chasetown on 5th March 2005.
It is very tempting to go overboard about Warwick’s dramatic late win in the Polymac Services League Cup Semi-Final First Leg here on Tuesday night. Genuine dyed-in-the-wool football afficionados will tell you that it’s really only half-time in a two legged affair but it cannot be denied that we have forced our noses in front at the half-way stage and struck a savage psychological blow by the manner of our late win. There was no clue as to the dramatic late twist during the course of the match. Alvechurch had the better of the early exchanges and looked a completely different side to the one that Racing Club beat 6-2 earlier in the season. The pitch was a bit of a pudding and it made close control and neat passing a difficult art. Clear-cut chances were at a premium and, although Racing Club asserted themselves as the match progressed, it did look like a 0-0 from a relatively early stage. When Jermaine Gordon, probably Warwick’s hardest grafter on the night, was replaced with 5 minutes to go by Marcus King, I remarked somewhat sarcastically that it was an obvious like-for-like switch. I was hardly expecting to see Marcus operating as a front-runner! So in the 90th minute we were all astonished to see Marcus bearing down on goal with the ball at his feet. Seconds later our astonishment turned to delight as he slipped the ball past Alvechurch’s Tom Hemmings like an accomplished striker for the all important first leg winner. Marcus King? Striker! Marcus Law? Tactical genius!
It is a long, long time since we were last within a sniff of a trophy and, for both players and supporters, it would be understandable if our thoughts were to be attracted towards next Tuesday’s second leg at Alvechurch’s Lye Meadow. That does a disservice to our unbeaten run that now stretches to six matches (our longest of the season). Confidence, remember, is a very fragile thing and a defeat against Chasetown today is the last thing that we need going into what is probably our most important game of the season.
Chasetown were my pre-season tip for the title (after Racing Club of course!). The 0-0 draw that we fought out towards the end of last season during our long unbeaten run was a particularly tough examination of our credentials and this was closely followed by Chasetown’s early season 1-0 victory over us at The Scholars Ground in September. That game marked the dawning of realisation (for me at least) that we weren’t going to walk away with the title this season. I vividly recall seeing the boss brooding, alone with his thoughts, in the Away dugouts long after that particular match had finished. March 2005 and Chasetown are in the thick of a title challenge with games in hand on Rushall, albeit that The Pics have got the points on the board whereas Chasetown have yet to earn theirs. I’d like to wish the very best of luck to Chasetown in their title quest over the rest of the season (after today’s match is over of course!).
Today’s match marks yet another personal milestone (stop yawning!) as Tuesday night’s match against Alvechurch was my 99th Racing Club fixture attended. That puts me in the ranks of “Junior Novice” compared with some of you Racing Club die-hards here today (has anybody chalked up 1,000 Racing Club matches attended yet?). My first Racing Club match was our away game at Rugby United on Boxing Day 2000. A 2-1 win for the boys and I was hooked. Of course it was nearly all downhill from there! My own personal Racing Club record reads as follows:
- Played 99
- Won 31
- Drawn 23
- Lost 45
- Goals For 124
- Goals Against 166
Thank the lord for the arrival of Marcus Law and the boys to save us from the dreadful sequence of results that marked the end of our Southern League days and did so much to generate to my unfortunate record. As for individual match highlights (and lowlights!) I’m sure that many of you can recall Racing Club match days that can beat this line-up of great days and horror shows:
Biggest Home Wins Midland
Alliance 30 Oct 2004 v. Alvechurch 6-2
Dr
Martens Western 23 Apr 2002 v. Atherstone United 5-1
Biggest Home Defeats Dr
Martens Western 26 Apr 2003 v. Taunton Town 1-7
Dr
Martens Western 02 Nov 2002 v. Evesham United 0-6
Biggest Away Win Midland
Alliance 22 Jan 2005 v. Bridgnorth Town 4-0
Biggest Away Defeat Dr
Martens Western 28 Apr 2001 v. Evesham United 1-5
Ah well. Here’s to the next 100! Come on Racing!
Keep the faith!
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