(12/02/2000)
So near, yet so far. Riga's three-two defeat at the hands of Stoke on Saturday was the closest the Warwick side has come to defeating the old bogey in National League Division One. The trip up the M6 saw Riga maintain the form shown in their disposal of non-League Swiss Cottage in the Cup but fell short of their ultimate prize - victory.
The match was highly competitive throughout and the large crowd were treated to some epic high quality rallies. The first set characterised the whole game as both sides matched each other for points. Richie Meade and Pete Abraham were prominent early on for Riga as the visitors quickly cancelled out any Stoke advantage. Even a potential set winning lead of 16 - 22 was recovered before a slack Warwick block allowed Stoke's Ibbotson to steal first blood at 25 - 22.
The second set found Riga with the slender lead as Dan Showler now made his mark on proceedings but still neither side could conjure up the magical formula for victory. Then with David Nason on service coupled with John Gilling and Abraham front court, Warwick made the decisive break. As Stoke stuttered, Gilling and Abraham finished them off to give the set 25 - 21 to Riga.
Set three continued where set two had ended - with Warwick in front. The Gilling-Abraham duo were again causing Stoke problems and when captain Tom Young added his impetus, Riga were set fair for victory. However, it was not without mishap as Stoke closed the gap before succumbing 25 - 23.
Stoke came out fighting in the fourth and stole the lead. Errors now crept in to the Warwick play and gave their hosts succour. Rather than capitulate, Riga fought back via the combined talents of Young, Gilling and Abraham. With set point coming Stoke's way first, the battle was always hard and at 25 - 23 to the home side eventually lost.
The deciding fifth set saw no respite in the intensity of the game. Leads were won and lost in the blink of an eye. Despite turning round 8 - 7 to the good, the Warwick game then fell apart as for seven long points, Stoke asked questions that found their visitors bereft. In a disappointing finish, Riga ended up losers 15 - 9.
"We had Stoke on the ropes tonight," said captain Tom Young after the match. "We set our stall out with our game plan and it worked. We had them rattled and we should have won. We just lost our way at the end and that's disappointing. But it was a much improved performance from us."
Riga take a respite from League action on Saturday when they entertain Polonia in the quarter-finals of the Cup at the St. Nicholas Park Leisure Centre, Warwick (6pm). This match represents the furthest that the side has ever got in the competition and hopes are high for further progress. "We've had some grand old scraps with Polonia over the years and this one will be no different. We lost the closest three-nil you'll ever see down at their place earlier this season. Now I'm after justice," comments Young.