5:10pm Sunday 21st February 2010
By Steve Carley
THE fans who gave up their time to help clear the St George’s Lane pitch of snow must have wondered why they had bothered.
Around 20 volunteers turned up at 8.30am with shovels and brooms to ensure Worcester City could take on Havant and Waterlooville.
Yet, when kick-off arrived, the players failed to hold up their side of the bargain as they capitulated to a 2-0 defeat.
Havant comprehensively outplayed the hosts from start to finish to complete the double over City following the 3-2 win a fortnight ago.
Goals either side of half-time from Gary MacDonald and Paul Hinshelwood, both the result of errors from keeper Jake Meredith, did the damage and stretched the Hampshire side’s unbeaten run to seven matches.
Shaun Gale’s team now have their sights set on a late surge for the Blue Square South play-offs, while City continue to look over their shoulders at the relegation zone.
Hoping that third-bottom Lewes, who Worcester still have to play twice, will continue to lose, as they did against Chelmsford on Saturday, is a risky ploy.
Caretaker manager Carl Heeley named an unchanged team for third match running and this was easily the worst display they have served up.
Rob Elvins and Alfie Carter were not firing up front, Cheltenham duo Jack Durrant and Josh Emery struggled in midfield and former Kidderminster Harriers forward Aaron Farrell was non-existent on the right wing.
Mark Clyde must have felt he was carrying the fight on his own at times with a typically dogged display as his fellow defenders faltered.
Maybe it was a saving gracing that only a paltry 543, which included a couple of bus loads of visiting fans, were at the Lane to see this disappointing display from Heeley’s men.
After scoring nine goals in their last four games, City lacked invention and Elvins’ first-half shot against the post was the only time they troubled visiting keeper Aaron Howe.
The defensive frailties that have seen 11 goals conceded in the same period were once again exposed as the Hawks swooped to take advantage.
Heeley, among the subs, had demanded his team cut out their costly errors but only two minutes had elapsed when Wayne Daniel panicked under pressure and looped a header on to his own crossbar.
City were pinned back for large periods in the first-half and were grateful that the visitors were unable to convert their possession into chances.
However, it was the hosts who came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 29th minute.
Carter slipped a pass to Elvins inside the box, who then rolled a shot through the legs of Howe only to see it come back off the upright.
That miss proved costly as Havant took the lead just five minutes later. Meredith produced a superb save to tip Ian Selley’s free-kick over the bar but he made a mess of dealing with the resulting corner and MacDonald was on hand to bundle the ball home.
The second-half was a similar story with the strong Havant team forcing City to defend deep in numbers.
Heeley had seen enough by the hour-mark, throwing on transfer-listed striker Marco Adaggio and Rob Davies for Farrell and Durrant.
It didn’t have the desired effect. Howe continued to be a virtual bystander in the Havant goal and City once again fell apart at the back as the visitors doubled their advantage on 69 minutes.
Meredith’s failure to deal with McDonald’s left-wing cross sparked havoc in the six-yard box and Hinshelwood turned the ball over the line.
Unlike against Woking, there was to be no fightback as Havant continued to call the shots and comfortably saw the game out.
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