WORCESTER City bounced back from Saturday’s FA Cup exit with a little help from the son of England’s interim manager.
Chris Cornes’s men produced a hardworking display to see off Racing Club Warwick 3-1 at Claines Lane on Tuesday thanks to goals from Elliott Hartley and Kyle Belmonte and Callum Carsley’s unorthodox injury-time own goal.
The Racers had battled back from two down to make a fist of it with Carsley, whose dad is stand-in Three Lions chief Lee Carsley, going close to a leveller 10 minutes from time before finding his own net with a flailing leg while on the floor three minutes past the 90.
Cornes rang four changes from Saturday’s scalping by lower-ranked Dudley Town with keeper Josh Bishop, Elliott Keightley, Jordan Lymn and Hartley coming in for Joe Stockton, Logan Stoddart, Liam Lockett and Will Owens.
It was a tame start but City steadily settled with Hartley taking down, swivelling and firing over with the first meaningful shot of the night from Lymn’s centre 15 minutes in.
The breakthrough arrived in the 24th minute with livewire Lymn driving in behind and squaring for Hartley to emphatically finish.
Warwick swiftly recovered and built pressure, albeit without creating a lot other than a swirling corner that hit the bar three minutes before half-time, and the rebound almost saw City double their advantage only for Zac Guinan to fire over on the break.
It was 2-0 six minutes into the second half when the irrepressible Hartley pinched off dallying keeper Sam Lomax and rolled to Belmonte to net but the match was back in the balance before the hour mark, Ben Edmunds planting home a far-post header.
Chances dried up from there until City almost got caught out within seconds of making a double change but Carsley dragged a fraction wide.
Worcester went in pursuit of a decisive third as the gaps opened up and Belmonte so very nearly sealed the deal when he whacked the upright in added time.
The home faithful didn’t have to wait long to celebrate, though, substitute Lockett drawing a good stop from Lomax with the loose ball inadvertently knocked in by Carsley to make it two league wins from two for City in their new surroundings.
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