Solihull Moors 0 Worcester City 0 (From Worcester News)

Solihull Moors 0 Worcester City 0

6:13pm Sunday 19th February 2012

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WHAT has happened to Worcester City in the last month?

They have gone from a free-scoring team that couldn’t defend to a solid unit that can’t score.

Saturday’s dull-as-ditchwater 0-0 draw at Solihull Moors, not helped by a near three-week hiatus since the last game because of the weather, was their second stalemate in three matches.

Added to the 1-1 draw against Histon, it leaves them unbeaten in three Blue Square Bet North matches but also without a win in seven since the turn of the year.

This all coincides with a raft of changes made by manager Carl Heeley in the space of two weeks at the start of January.

Concerned that a porous defence would harm the team’s play-off push, in came Stuart Whitehead, Tyler Weir and Ellis Deeney and out went Martyn Naylor and Neil Cartwright, while Ryan Clarke was dropped to the bench.

Bold decisions by the boss but ones that have been vindicated by Worcester shipping just two goals in their last four matches.

Keeper Matt Sargeant has also played his part since replacing the injured James Dormand against Colwyn Bay last month and again displayed fine handling and agility at a blustery and soggy Damson Park.

Yet, in solving one problem, another has inadvertently been created, with the goals having dried up in the same period.

Tom Thorley’s penalty against Histon is the only time City have found the net in the 406 minutes since Mike Symons struck at Halifax.

Perhaps more worrying, the creativity that has made them so dynamic and pleasing to watch this season has disappeared — certainly on Saturday’s evidence.

Forging opportunities seemed to come naturally to them earlier in the campaign, now it appears hard work.

Personnel changes have also been made up front but, to paraphrase an old adage, why fix something that wasn’t broken?

Prior to this barren spell, City had hit the target in all but two of their league games this season and scored two or more in each of December’s four fixtures.

Since then, Greg Mills and Phil Green have both joined, while Lee Smith was farmed out on loan to Cirencester.

Mills brings an abundance of pace but Cartwright was just as versatile and arguably the best crosser of a ball City possessed from either flank.

Debutant Green was given a go at partnering Symons on Saturday yet, despite promising in patches, the conundrum of complementing the 15-goal marksman remains.

Simon Brown, who has scored five goals this term, was on the bench, while Danny Carey-Bertram didn’t even make the squad.

They will no doubt get their chance during March’s hectic schedule, when squad rotation will be key, but Heeley’s men need to end the drought now.

City are still in the top 10, a position earned largely through their attacking football, and in with a chance of making the play-offs, no matter how slim.

The changes were made to keep that dream alive, let’s hope they don’t have the opposite effect.

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