City And Swifts Split The Points

City made the short trip to Stourport Swifts on Saturday, for a second Worcestershire Derby in as many weeks. Coming off the back of a 6-0 home win against Haughmond and a 3-0 away win the previous Saturday, The Blue And Whites went into the Midland Premier League clash in a good run of form.

The game kicked off at a frantic pace, with both sides not being afraid to push players forward, making for an entertaining spectacle in the early stages. On 16 minutes, Stourport capitalised on an unfortunate bobble that left Josh Schuck vulnerable, seeing Taylor Townsend nip through. The Stourport winger was snubbed by Aaron Roberts as he rushed into the penalty area, clearing for a corner. The Swifts pressure mounted with three consecutive corners, but despite good deliveries, City's defence stood strong.

The first solid chance for City fell to Will Gibbons on 29 minutes. He latched on to a quick throw on the left from Jamie Smith and found space to shoot, but his powerful shot from a narrow angle was well saved.

Just as the sun appeared from behind the clouds in the 40th minute, City took the lead. A beautiful long ball from Reiss Taylor-Randle found George Baker through on goal. He placed his shot low into the bottom left corner from just inside the penalty area and wheeled away in celebration. City then almost doubled their lead before the break, through a nice interchange between Demetri Brown and Taylor-Randle, but the Swifts keeper Ryan Pratt pulled off a fantastic save to close out the half.

The second half began much the same as the first, creating a lively and entertaining spectacle for the 339 in attendance. Reinvigorated, Swifts looked the more likely to score. On 52, the ball fell to Lee Chilton in the City penalty area, in space, but his effort skidded just wide. Minutes later, Swifts finally got their reward and equalised through Ethan Hanson, who was on the end of a long, looping freekick, awarded just in front of the home team dugout, following a foul by Jamie Smith.

Manager, Tim Harris looked to freshen things up with a quick flurry of substitutions, which saw Fortune Maphosa, Cam Monteith and Archie Muirhead all thrown in to the action. Monteith was straight in to the thick of it, beating his man and getting tripped in the Stourport penalty area. Unbelievably, the referee gave a goal kick, to the bemusement of all in attendance.

The final stages were a frantic affair, with both sides looking for the winner. As the game ramped up to a dramatic finale, a big knee-on-knee collision between Stourport’s Matt Jackson and City’s James Douglas, during a Swifts counter attack, took the wind out of the game. Douglas picked up a booking, following a number of minutes of being seen to by the City physio. Thankfully, both players were able to continue after what looked to be a nasty clash.

The draw see's City unbeaten in 3 games, having only conceded 1 goal, whilst scoring 10. Initially, the point moved The Blue And Whites to 4th in the standings, but Monday evening's victory for Lichfield City versus Whitchurch Alport pushed City back in to 5th position.

Next up is a return to Claines Lane on Saturday 9th April when Wolverhampton Casuals are the visitors. 3pm Kick Off.