(10/02/2001)
Mixed fortunes attended a tough weekend of matches for Warwick Riga’s National League teams. The Men went down three-one to reigning Division One Champions, Malory, in a game of drama and passion at the St. Nicholas Park Leisure Centre, Warwick, on Saturday. Then on Sunday the Women’s Division Two side triumphed three-nil over Tameside away from home. Meanwhile, back at St. Nicholas Park, the Women’s Division Three side suffered mixed success with a three-one victory over UEA Norwich, followed by a defeat at the hands of league leaders Chelmsford in straight sets.
"Started brightly but faded later", seems to be the summary of the Men’s performance against the top two sides in the League in recent weeks. Just like a fortnight ago against Portsmouth, Riga won the first set, this time to the ecstatic approval of the home crowd. This first set in six years against the perennial champions boded well for the match as Malory were made to look distinctly unimpressive. Whilst Warwick pressure extracted errors, it was hard to see a weak link in the home line-up. The commitment to the Riga cause was outstanding and personified by the diminutive Mark Fearn who performed heroics in defence. The 25 - 22 score line was fully justified, if slightly flattering to Malory.
Against the top sides, there can be no slacking, but Warwick eased off in the second set and paid the price with a three point deficit as the set got under way. Despite replies from John Gilling and Vincent Joubert, Malory exploited more slackness from the home side to go 16 - 10 ahead. As the game now ebbed and flowed, Riga failed to make a lasting inroad into the deficit and Malory tied the sets with a 25 - 19 close-out.
A 3 - 0 lead in the third set was quickly overturned with interest by Malory. Warwick were now ragged and the teamwork which had won them the first set was a distant memory. Frustration grew as Malory garnered all the luck going and boiled over with a yellow card being shown to Joubert. With the home side barely competing, Malory cantered home 25 - 14. The fourth set soon became a carbon copy of the third, without the initial Riga lead. Passions again ran high, as Malory seemed blessed with the rub of refereeing decisions. A further yellow card shown to captain Tom Young scarcely contained the emotions but thankfully the 25 - 11 score line did.
"First set we showed what we could do," said captain Tom Young after the game. "From then on we started to lose concentration and shape. In the end we’ve only got ourselves to blame for throwing away a great chance of an upset." The team will now hope to get back on track next Saturday when they play Whitefield in the quarterfinal of the Shield at the St. Nicholas Park Leisure Centre, Warwick (6pm). However, they will have to do so without the inspirational Young who serves a one match ban following his third yellow card of the season. Sunday saw the Division Two Women storm through in straight sets against Tameside. "It was a great performance and just the ticket to prove to the rest of the League we’re going places," said a happy captain Rachel McCarthy. The Women now face two games in two days next weekend with a re-arranged Division Two match against Sussex on Saturday at St. Nicholas Park (noon), followed by a Shield quarter-final away to Tonbridge on Sunday.
Finally, the Women’s Division Three side consolidated their mid-table position with victory against UEA Norwich in a consistent team performance before losing to promotion certainties Chelmsford in their second match of the day.