Saturday, October 12, 2002

ONE question, and one question only will haunt the minds of Worcester City's players this week -- how did we lose to Hucknall Town?

The FA Cup dream may be over, and the club £10,000 poorer, but what will hurt Worcester most is that they didn't even manage to earn a replay, allowing Danny Mayman's 23rd minute strike to settle this third qualifying round tie.

It was nothing short of a travesty that City failed to hit the net -- even allowing for some poor finishing.

But when midfielder David Holmes's 20-yard shot rattled the Hucknall crossbar, bounced down and out to safety, perhaps the Sporting Gods had already sat in judgement on this one.

After producing some of their best football for a month, creating half a dozen clear-cut chances and laying siege to Hucknall's goal for much of the match, City ultimately paid the price for strikers who have lost their route to goal.

Adam Webster worked tirelessly and skilfully to engineer chances, but luck seems to have deserted him, while Mark Owen is still searching for the killer-instinct that made him so deadly.

Both had great chances to equalise for City -- Webster was twice denied by brilliant saves by Hucknall goalkeeper Ryan Young -- but then after superbly working space for himself in the 31st minute fired the best chance over.

Owen, working hard and linking well with Webster, had a snap-shot parried and a curling effort tipped over in the 88th minute, but will reflect most on his missed lob five minutes after the break when with Young stranded, he put his shot over the bar.

Darren Middleton had an early sign that luck wasn't to be on Worceser's side when his stinging volley was spilled by Young only for the ball to loop over the bar for a corner.

Hucknall's player-manager Phil Starbuck had dismissed City as an average side prior to the match but after an abject display at Bath in mid-week, John Barton's team proved far from that with a tremendous performance.

Playing at a fast pace, with Allan Davies having his best game for a long time working the right flank effectively with Pat Lyons, City created opening after opening.

But it was Starbuck, idly strolling around midfield, who struck to devastating effect to break the deadlock.

He spread the ball wide to Mayman whose cross was fired in, eventually reaching Starbuck, who teed it back across the six-yard box for Mayman to volley in.

City responded immediately with Webster's brilliant chip tipped over and then an Holmes' effort hitting the bar.

Danny McDonnell prevented Mark Nangle from extending the lead with a sensational block on 37 minutes after Sean Farrell had pierced the offside trap and squared to the forward.

As the game wore on, there remained that uneasy feeling that Hucknall would hold out and even with six minutes added time, due to Pat Lyons' injury, that proved to be the case.

Dan Jones and Duncan Willetts made their debuts -- Jones replacing Lyons after he was clattered bravely heading off the line -- but the breakthrough proved elusive.

Webster admitted the defeat was hard to accept.

"It was an indifferent game today," he said.

"Having beaten Havant after going a goal behind and not playing well until the last 15 minutes, we came here, played well from the off and got nothing out of the game.

"It's a funny feeling and I don't think we have felt this way before this season.

"We got off to a good start, the tempo was up, but we were unlucky with a breakaway goal. But we didn't sit back took the game to them but it didn't happen and it's very disappointing."