Royals Match Report 2004-05

Magpies Fade after Gaining Respect from their Elders

Tenbury Wells 4-1 Church Stretton (Case) (League 21/11/04)

A long trip to Tenbury Wells saw the Magpies return home after having been beaten by 4 goals to 1, despite being in a position to come away with something at half time.

The morning was bitterly cold, with an icy wind blowing from the north across the pitch. The first half was such an absorbing one that when half time came it was with surprise to see that the clouds had actually cleared and a bright sunny morning had taken over from the earlier uncomfortable cold and wet.

Tenbury occupied the third place in the league and a tough match was expected. The first half did indeed turn out to be a tough encounter with the two teams evenly matched. The Magpies gave as good as they got. Tenbury launched the first couple of attacks, forcing two corners in quick succession. The Magpies responded in kind and the first real chance went to them. An excellent run by Lewis, dribbling past a number of defenders, almost resulted in a goal on 6 minutes. The Magpies were playing good football, as were Tenbury. Holtz made an outstanding save on 8 minutes to prevent Tenbury from taking an early lead. Immediately afterwards a counterattack by the Magpies again only just failed to produce a goal when Hearle shot wide. 

After some fifteen minutes of end-to-end football, it was Tenbury who opened the scoring. And a soft goal it was. In a scramble in front of the Magpies right upright the ball bounced around with the Magpies defence failing to clear. The ball ended up at the feet of a Tenbury striker who poked it into the net to the dismay of the Magpies and their supporters.

The Magpies retaliated within minutes. In a sweeping move which caught the Tenbury defence out, Smith got possession in midfield. His perfectly timed pass to Case allowed the in-form winger to hammer the ball home with his right foot. The battle continued with good attacking moves as well as good defensive work by both sides. Unhappily for the Magpies it was Tenbury who scored again with a powerful shot which left the keeper helpless. Half time came with the Magpies trailing by one goal and perhaps they could consider themselves unlucky. 

As in previous matches the Magpies marking was not always up to scratch, giving Tenbury too much space. Manager Smith urged the midfielders to work back when Tenbury had the ball as they were attacking with four players which was too many for Brayne and Riley to cope with on their own. The match still seemed eminently winnable for the Magpies if they tightened up in defence and continued the good work in front. 

But it was not to be. 5 minutes into the second half a strong and high shot by a Tenbury attacker slipped his shot through the outstretched hands of Holtz to make it 1-3.

Carless-Turland then came on for Lewis but even his enthusiasm failed to make much of a difference as Tenbury gradually extended their dominance. The Magpies attacks on the Tenbury goal got fewer and seemed less dangerous as Tenbury defenders became more self assured. There were less and less chances to score. Tenbury on the other hand spent more and more time in the Magpies half. Groom and Robinson were brought on in place of Hearle and Brayne. Sadly by then it was too late, and Tenbury got a chance to extend their lead even further, when substitute Robinson back passed to his own keeper, resulting in a free kick from barely 5 yards out. Luckily the wall did its job and prevented what should have been a goal.

Goal kicks became problematic as Tenbury pushed more players forward. Their marking was excellent, they were quick on the ball, often gaining possession from the goal kicks. It was from one of the goal kicks which landed at the wrong feet that Tenbury scored a fourth goal. They launched many more attacks. Their left winger in particular was a thorn in the Magpies' side, rounding defenders with ease and delivering dangerous crosses. It was only some desperate defending and brave goal keeping which prevented an even higher score.

The overall performance of the Magpies was still good. The Tenbury boys were all a year older, giving them an additional yard to the ball and greater strength in the fifty/fifty balls. The Magpies will be learning from this experience. For instance making sure that goal kicks arrive at their intended destination, going for the ball instead of waiting for it to come and more careful marking are areas which the Magpies will improve upon in the weeks ahead.

Team: Cameron Holtz, Simon Riley, Michael Brayne, Joe Hearle, Rory Smith, Jack Case, Tom Lewis.  Subs: Harvey Carless-Turland, Ed Groom, Dominic Robinson