Rugby Town Bench Talk
24 January 2004

A warm welcome to everyone connected with Rugby Town for this late January fixture at Tally Ho. Whatever the playing conditions there is one thing we can be certain of and that is that the playing surface will be in excellent condition.

Our congratulations must go to Dean McDermott and his staff for the excellent surface which they produce every week. Four weeks ago the weather was so bad on the Saturday before Xmas that the games at St Andrews and the Molineux were called off due to waterlogged pitches. Not only did our game go ahead, the surface was so firm and true that despite the weathers worst efforts the pitch came through undamaged, which is due testament to the hard work of the ground staff over the last three years.

Meir KA were our visitors that day and they could not believe that the game was going ahead as they travelled down to the game. They made numerous phone calls to us whilst en-route in horrendous downpour conditions and were baffled by our assertion that we were not even considering a pitch inspection.

They probably considered the trip worthwhile when they scored an equalising goal in the very last minute having seen us taken the lead only 45 seconds beforehand.

Our next game was a 2-0 win over Southam United on the first Saturday of 2004 here at Tally Ho with goals from Martin Slattery and Mark Bellingham. This was a poor performance but nevertheless three valuable points.

The following Saturday saw us at home yet again, this time against Highgate United, who have held a jinx over us since our return to the Midland Combination. We had a great start when Mark Bellingham burst down the left in the second minute and drilled a tremendous low cross into the six yard box which was turned into the net by a Highgate defender as he tried to prevent the onrushing Stuart Evans do just that. The first period was a see-saw affair with chances at both ends which saw Highgate apply increasing pressure as we neared the half-time whistle. Richard Adams on his first appearance of the season was making a great contribution in defence.

One or two tactical changes were made during the break and John Adams came off the bench to make his debut this season. Play was evenly balanced until John Adams broke into the box onto a great angled pass from Kevin Casson and buried a low left foot shot past the keeper. Highgate , briefly got back into the game with ten minutes remaining when Richard Cox unfortunately sliced a clearance and somehow succeeded in lobbing our 6'2" goalkeeper from about 6 yards out. Many a forward would have been proud of that achievement!

The outstanding Mark Bellingham tied things up for us when he beat a couple of players in the box before drilling a low left foot shot past the despairing dive of the goalkeeper at his near post.

Last Saturday saw us go down by two goals to nil at Bolehall Swifts where we rued our failure to take first half chances as Bolehall scored twice in the latter period of the second half having had only three shots on target in the entire game. It was a game of few chances and quite simply, they took theirs.

Today's game is likely to be a close fought encounter. Our form has improved a little over recent matches and whilst there is still some distance to go in achieving where we would like to be, we have been a far more competitive side of late.

Player availability is, as always, the great uncertainty although there is one definite change from last weekend with the return of Darren Carmell between the sticks for the absent Ross Bate.

Rugby had been on a tremendous run of about 14 undefeated games in the league which had seen them sprint to the top of the league but the in-form Pershore Town dented their title hopes a little last Saturday with a 1-0 victory. Rugby, having drawn their game prior to that at Nuneaton Griff will clearly be keen to get back into the winning groove.

The title chase is hotting up and as I see it, Rugby Town, Leamington and Romulus are the main contenders. However, don't rule out Feckenham and Coventry Sphinx totally from your thoughts. If either of these two teams go on a winning streak then they are also going to be serious contenders. We will know a little bit more about the credentials of the teams as we follow this game with an away match at Feckenham next Saturday.

Speaking of Leamington, it was disappointing to see them go out of the FA Vase last Saturday when they bowed out to a 96th minute winner from the Studley fullback Vaughan Thomas. This must have been even more galling for them as they themselves had only equalised in the 94th minute and must have believed that they were at least taking the game into extra-time. But as they say, 'It's never over until it's over'. I noticed with interest that the crowd attendance of 755 was the second largest in the competition and is probably no doubt due in large to the wonderful following that Leamington receive.

We are now approaching the International season for Police Football with the English Police scheduled to play the Welsh Police at Port Vale FC on Thursday 19th February and the Scottish Police at Dundee United FC's Tannidice Park on Wednesday 21st April. In contention for a place in the team are Mark Bellingham, Steve Piearce and Mike Mason who all took part in a friendly against the RAF a couple of weeks ago.

Speaking of representative matches, make sure you get down here to Tally Ho next Wednesday for the game between the Midland Football Combination League and the Cambridgeshire County Premier League in Round 3 of the newly introduced FA National League Systems Cup. Mark Bellingham has been selected for the squad and will hopefully gain a place in the starting line-up following his five goals in the previous two rounds. The winners of the tie will go through to a two-legged semi-final, so there is everything to play for as the Midland Combination seeks to heighten it's profile on the national stage.

Enjoy the game.

Jim Scott