(07/10/2000)
Riga returned from Poole on Saturday at the wrong end of a tense and close three-two score line. Defeat at the hands of Wessex could so easily have been victory had the team taken its chances - and with more consistent refereeing.
The long trip down from the Midlands seemed to have had its effect on Warwick in the first set. Although they opened brightly with Richard Meade creating some early havoc, the side lacked the speed of thought and quickness of action of their opponents. Once Wessex took a lead at 11 --7, they continued to out-pace their visitors despite some rearguard action from John Gilling, and took the set 25 - 19.
The second set had Riga sticking closer to their game plan and yielding the benefits. As Wessex errors defeated their attempts to keep pace with their rivals, Warwick edged comfortably home 25 - 18, with John Gilling sealing victory with two service aces.
Set three followed the pattern of set one, with the added spice of some controversial refereeing decisions to distract the Riga players from their task. Despite the best efforts of Gilling and Graham Duckett, the visitors were eclipsed 25 - 19.
The fourth set became a marathon, ending 27 -25 in Warwick’s favour. Again bad refereeing decisions jeopardised Riga’s fate but with captain Tom Young rallying his troops, his side appeared to have it all won at 24 - 21. Then the foot came off the gas and Wessex seized their opportunity to level the scores. It finally took two superb strikes from Duckett to take this nail-biter to a deciding fifth set.
The power serving of Wessex’s Tim Boyd saw his side take the first decisive step towards securing the match and when Warwick fell further behind at 13 - 7, confirmation seemed assured. However Gilling and Duckett, adding their weight to the earlier resolve of Young, pulled Riga back into the set until one last Wessex attack defeated the despairing dive of John Gilling to seal their victory at 15 - 13.
"We competed well but we were too inconsistent," said a disappointed Young after the game. "Sharpness and the killer edge is what we need at the minute."
Action returns to the St. Nicholas Park Leisure Centre, Warwick, on Saturday (7pm) when Riga entertain Portsmouth. The visitors come to Warwick as Champions of Division Two last season and they have already made their mark on the top flight. A narrow three-two defeat against current Division One title holders Malory suggests that a relegation fight is not on their agenda. The addition of ex-Wessex star Morph Bowes to a side that already contains ex-England international Marcus Russell only confirms their intention to go places. It’ll be a tough match, that’s for sure. But on our day, we can compete with the best in the land," says skipper Young. "Saturday’s another test of that."