Saturday, March 4, 2000

WORCESTER City have reversed a trend they set earlier this season.

Back in the days before Graham Allner's departure, they were starting matches like a train before running out of steam.

Now they are starting matches badly before coming into their own as the game goes on.

This was certainly true of Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Dr Martens League Premier Division runaways leaders Boston United.

One had the feeling that if they could have sustained their second-half display throughout the game, they could quite easily have pulled off a shock result against a side almost invincible at their York Street ground.

But in the end, giving Boston a two-goal start in the first half-hour proved too much to make up.

However, with other results going their way their situation, five points clear of the relegation zone, remained unchanged.

Manager John Barton said: "We didn't lay a glove on them for the first 35 minutes and then we started playing.

"You don't play and compete in games when you are two or three goals down - you start when it is 0-0.

"But they didn't look as dominant in the second half, and we had lots of possession without really hurting them. We had a couple of decent situations on the edge of the box which we might have done better with."

City started with just Mark Owen up front, with an extra man in midfield to try and stifle free-scoring Boston.

But it didn't work and Boston were able to drive forward at will from the kick-off, frequently stretching the City defence.

Shaun Keeble had already hit the post before the home side hit the front on 18 minutes.

Peter Costello was given time and space to turn on the edge of the box before curling a fine shot into the top right-hand corner of the net.

On the half-hour City's offside trap was sprung and Keeble sprinted clear to round goalkeeper Danny Watson and make it 2-0.

But a fine block by Watson to deny Paul Raynor a third proved a turning point, and City pushed Steve Lutz up alongside Owen to give them a much more threatening look.

The hard-working Ian Cottrill forced a fine save from Boston keeper Paul Bastock and, from the resulting corner in the 38th minute, the same player smacked a shot against the underside of the crossbar. Boston failed to clear the loose ball and it eventually fell to Owen, who drilled a shot into the roof of the net for his 25th goal of the season.

Buoyed by that goal, City took control in the second half, dominating possession, becoming more solid in defence and having the effect of a large home crowd getting on the backs of their own team.

But for all their good work, they were unable to create a really clear cut chance, with the final ball usually found wanting. Substitute Nathan Jukes might have done better with his shot after collecting a stray clearance from Bastock, while Cottrill hit a 20 yarder not far wide.

Although Boston missed a couple of good chances to stretch their lead, the cheers that greeted the final whistle were more in relief than exultation as they remained 15 points clear at the top.