Worcester City 2 Kettering Town 1
10:20pm Tuesday 22nd July 2008
MARK Owen celebrated his return to Worcester City with a goal as Richard Dryden’s side recorded their first pre-season victory.
Owen, who played for 56 minutes before being replaced by Craig Wilding, turned the ball home to bring City level after Darren Wrack’s deflected shot had given the visitors the lead.
Graham Ward seized his chance to make it 2-1 after Jamie Price’s free-kick cannoned off the wall three minutes past the hour and City held out against last season’s Blue Square North champions.
It was a disciplined display from the St George’s Lane side and the signs are there of a team beginning to knit together with the new season a little over two weeks away.
Dryden made one change in defence, pairing Jon Richardson with Jemiah Richards instead of Ollie Barnes, while Dave Bampton was again missing from midfield with an ankle injury.
Anthony Robinson joined Owen up front as Wilding, who will be suspended for the first two games of the season proper, dropped to the bench.
Owen might have made a dream start to his second coming when he was set clear with just two minutes on the clock but keeper Nick Bussey got to the ball first.
Sean Evans headed Kettering’s first chance wide on six minutes and John Dempster sent an effort narrowly wide of Danny McDonnell’s left-hand post eight minutes later.
Owen was involved with most of City’s moves going forward in the first-half and was always looking to bring players in around him. One such occasion, which set Shabir Khan free down the left, ended with Price firing over the top of Bussey’s goal.
Matt Dinsmore, coached by Owen while in the Blue Square South club’s academy, then linked with his former tutor to release Robinson but his cross was wasted.
The Poppies took a fortuitous lead against the run of play on 22 minutes, former Walsall midfielder Wrack’s 25-yard strike sending McDonnell the wrong way via a deflection.
But Mark Cooper’s side were ahead for just five minutes as City worked the ball to the edge of the area, captain-for-the-night Richardson hooked it goalwards and Owen pounced to beat Bussey close in.
The substitution merry-go-round began in the second-half, four for the visitors and two for City, and the game briefly stagnated. However, Worcester went ahead on 63 minutes when Price’s free-kick crashed into the wall and fell for the hard-working Ward to beat Bussey from 12 yards.
Kettering tried to threaten but let themselves down with a poor final ball or wayward shooting.
City regrouped following several more replacements and Robinson almost added a third when he turned the ball beyond Bussey only for a defender to clear off the line.
Robinson then twisted himself free of two defenders before firing at Bussey late on.
City: McDonnell, Ward (Barnes 68), Shabir, Richardson, Richards (Brown 80), Walker (Tyack 71), Dodd (Gill 80), Price, Owen (Wilding 56), Robinson (Heeley 90), Dinsmore (Wood 46).
Kettering: Bussey, Eaden (Lawrence 82), Graham (Kemp 46), Wrack (Lee 82), Branston, Dempster, Evans (Brady 51), Solkhon (Spencer 68), Beardsley (Jean-Paul Marna 56), Seddon (Hanna 51), Galbraith (Collis 82).
Attendance: 255.