7:14pm Sunday 28th February 2010
By Steve Carley
MARC McGregor helped Worcester City pull off the great escape — but their relegation worries are far from over.
Carl Heeley’s team were heading for a morale-crushing defeat to third-bottom Lewes when they trailed 3-0 with only 18 minutes left at the Dripping Pan.
A seventh-minute Joe Keehan penalty and second-half strikes from Kane Louis and David Wheeler had them staring into the abyss.
But McGregor, who has been out with a hamstring injury, came off the bench to haul them back from the brink with a two-goal salvo to add to Graham Ward’s strike.
The former Weston hit-man’s 92nd-minute equaliser had the visiting dug-out leaping for joy and sent the travelling fans into euphoria.
It also just about warranted the best part of £2,000 spent on staying overnight to keep the players fresh for the match.
Yet, once the dust settles, City will still find themselves fighting for their lives at the wrong end of Blue Square South — still just two points ahead of Lewes having played a game more.
Make no mistake, Worcester got out of jail in a match between two struggling sides and know they are extremely lucky not to be in the drop-zone heading into tonight’s match against Maidenhead United at St George’s Lane.
The defensive errors that have plagued them in recent weeks were again to the fore and don’t look like disappearing any time soon — they have now conceded 20 goals in seven matches.
Stoke City goalkeeper Danzelle St Louis-Hamilton also did little to restore confidence in a frail back-line with a shaky debut having been called in to replace Jake Meredith.
The 19-year-old’s first job was to pick the ball out of his net after returning skipper Tom Kemp had fouled Ross Sutton for a penalty, which Rooks top-scorer Keehan fired home.
Heeley’s troops struggled to settle and Jean-Michelle Sigere had St Louis-Hamilton scrambling across his goal as the striker’s header went just wide soon after.
City gradually began to get a foothold in the match and before long they were the dominant side, even if they looked far from convincing.
Their first-half was summed up when a header from Craig Wilding, back in midfield, was saved by Rikki Banks and Kemp hacked the rebound over.
Wayne Daniel replaced Mark Clyde at the break but City were two behind within five minutes of the re-start as Lewes started the second period stronger.
Again, it was their defending that let the visitors down as Louis rode several tackles before firing a firm shot beyond St Louis-Hamilton.
Heeley’s response was to throw on McGregor and Matt Birley, the latter returning after medial ligament damage, for the ineffective Rob Elvins and Wilding.
City began to crank up the pressure but they shot themselves in the foot for a third time when St Louis-Hamilton was left in no-man’s land, after a breakdown in communication with Daniel, and Wheeler tapped home.
The visitors were facing a humiliating defeat against their relegation rivals full in the face but few would have predicted the drama that unfolded in the final stages.
Ward handed his team a lifeline with a fine right-foot drive across Banks in the 72nd-minute, yet it looked merely a consolation.
That was until barely 120 seconds later when Ward’s free-kick was bundled over the line from close-range by McGregor.
Suddenly there was belief in the City ranks that they might just be able to salvage something from a game they had seemed certain to lose.
Despite some blatant time-wasting from the hosts, Worcester kept plugging away and when the ball fell to McGregor on the left edge of the area, he drilled it beyond Banks to complete a stunning comeback.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/trade_directory/