|
Dr
Martens Western Division
Saturday,
20th March 2004
Attendance
| 317
Bedworth
United |
0 |
0 |
Rugby
United |
|
-
|
|
-
|
| Match
Entertainment |
|
| Match
Summary |
The
state of the pitch was insignificant as the ball
spent a negligible amount of time on it |
Star
Man | Adam Hart |
Was
solid at the back and kept the Bedworth frontline
quiet. |
Tony
Dobson was hoping to name an unchanged side that had
defeated Shepshed Dynamo at Butlin Road on Saturday,
but when ex-Northern Irish schoolboy international Michael
Hegarty was ruled out with injury, Rugby welcomed back
Craig Herbert from his long layoff to slot into midfield.
The
game started as it was to go on, scrappily, but both
sides forced a flurry of early corners which eventually
amounted to nothing.
The
pitch was typically bobbly, uneven and sloping at The
Oval, but it was Bedworth who seemed to be dealing with
the conditions better. The home side, cheered
on by the best crowd of the season, went closest in
the opening 15 minutes when Tom Bates, a local-born
midfielder on-loan from Coventry City, produced a fierce
shot which hit the outside of Jason Pearcey's right
post.
Ex-Bedworth
striker Robbie Beard then produced a similarly impressive
long range strike, but his 25-yarder was only just off
target as well. It turned out that this chance
out of nothing would be about as close as Rugby got
to getting a goal throughout the entire ninety minutes.
The
second half wasn't much better, as Rugby rarely threatened
on the break as Bedworth carved out the better opportunities.
Early
on the second period, The Greenbacks should have taken
the lead, as Martin Crowley's deep free-kick found an
unmarked Jamie Richardson in the box, but he contrived
to head the ball over the bar.
Rugby's
usually flowing attacking play deserted them completely
and they struggled to string two or three passes together,
instead simply hooking long balls forward from midfield.
They
broke a couple of times mainly down the left-hand side
as Justin Marsden and then Craig Herbert fed Jamie Williams,
but Rugby failed to produce a final product as they
got into the Bedworth box.
Valley's
only real chance of the game came midway through the
second half, as Williams headed Gary Moran's cross towards
goal, but despite beating goalkeeper Gary Hateley, Richardson
was on hand to head the ball away at the far post.
Pearcey
almost made an embarrassing error to allow Marvin Blake
a chance when he misjudged the bounce of the ball as
he came to collect it, but he rectified the error, smothering
it at a second attempt.
At
the death, Bedworth - who had nothing to play for, almost
stole all three points when Herbert appeared to be upended
by Kirk Smith, but as the referee waved play on, Smith
put the ball well over the bar with the goal gaping.
Rugby
United | Pearcey, Moran , Williams, Hart, Commander,
Rutherford, Squire, Dutton, Beard, Marsden, Herbert
Subs | Thomas (gk), Shanahan, Kattos, Douglas,
Pearson
Bookings
|
Commander |
