Saturday, November 15, 2003

IT'S not quite time to don the life-jackets, jump overboard and swim for it yet but City are fast resembling a sinking ship.

Surveying the aftermath of another soul-destroying defeat to Hednesford it's impossible not to fear for a team plunged into a crisis of confidence and self-doubt.

A season that began brimming with optimism and stoked by five wins in the opening seven league matches has dipped alarmingly as John Barton's side lurch from one disappointing result to the next.

Mark Danks' 70th minute winner from a diving header was the latest blow to City's crumbling self-belief.

Worcester captain Carl Heeley has vowed to turn the situation round but a haul of 15 points from a possible 42 in their last 14 matches doesn't inspire great optimism.

These are undoubtedly anxious times at St George's Lane and not least because on Saturday Hednesford Town were no more than ordinary but still had sufficient scope to defeat a lack-lustre City.

The glaring reality of Worcester's predicament, spelled out at various points during a dismal run of results of late, was rammed home loud and clear and it doesn't bode well.

Wrap it up whichever way you like but City have lost the winning habit and more worryingly are showing signs of developing a losing one in its place. Unfortunately habits can be hard to kick.

Endeavour, work-rate and application were in ample supply in the Worcester ranks but sadly not the requisite quality.

At the moment City are simply not performing well enough to win football matches.

Individually there were performances - Paul Carty and Barry Woolley were outstanding - but collectively the sum of the parts is not delivering.

Even such rudimentary tactics as the quick ball over the top to capitalise on the ponderous Chris Brindley and Darren Simkin yielded little fruit despite a number of incursions behind the Pitmen's defence.

Such was the paucity of scraps on offer for Leon Kelly that veteran Brindley, no doubt anticipating an afternoon at the hands of the powerful Kelly that might hasten his retirement, was allowed to enjoy a relatively comfortable ride.

Question marks persist over a City midfield that on Saturday huffed and puffed but for all their superior possession, seldom looked penetrative.

John Snape was wayward with his passing and while David Foy remains an elegant player, one superb pass teeing up Adam Webster perfectly, both he and Snape saw their legs increasingly betray them as on successive occasions they were dispossessed in crucial areas.

The sight of Hednesford's flame-haired Carl Palmer making several lung-bursting breaks from the visitors' midfield was a reminder of what's missing in City's engine room.

Meanwhile Pat Lyons on the right worked some useful ball down the line for Kelly early on but for all his sublime touch and sharp passing, failed to really hurt the opposition where it mattered.

Darren Middleton flitted in and out with cameo bursts of skill but likewise, despite his willingness to go at opponents, had nothing concrete to show for his efforts which was much like the City display as a whole.

Worcester may have seen more of the ball than Barry Powell's side but the harsh reality was they just didn't really look like scoring.

Chances of a sort did materialise in a frantic finale - Mark Owen flashed a shot across goal, a Woolley header was cleared off the line and a rasping Carty shot gathered at the second attempt - but it all smacked of desperation.

Nothing highlights City's problems more than the plight of Kelly.

Already a proven match-winner he is simply not getting any clear-cut opportunities and his hopes of adding to his eight goal tally came and went inside 16 seconds when he volleyed a Webster cross wide.

Thereafter he barely had a sniff and while that continues you sense City will continue to struggle and flirt with mid to lower table status.