(22/01/2000)
Wessex failed to provide the icing to Riga captain Tom Young's birthday cake by walking away from Warwick's St. Nicholas Park Leisure Centre with a three-one win on Saturday in National League Division One. The home side put a stirring fight but in the end were outgunned by their second-in-the-table visitors.
The first set had hardly got under way when Wessex showed their clear intent on victory. England international Morph Bowes blitzed the visitors into a 7 - 3 lead with some explosive serving. Riga were struggling to find the form that had seen them come back from two sets down the previous week. However they did stick to their task and edge themselves back into the set, although more through Wessex errors than their own decisive efforts. With that pattern, it was hardly surprising that when Wessex tightened their game, Riga were progressively shut out of the contest. With Bowes once more on service and another England international, Tim Hollis, attacking at the net, Wessex completed the job, 25 - 19.
Down but not out, Riga set about the second set with a determination echoed by the roar of the home supporters. Aided and abetted by more Wessex mistakes, David Nason, Graham Duckett and captain Tom Young all helped secure Riga an 18 - 11 advantage. All that was now needed was the killer touch, but instead of going hard for victory, Riga went soft on their opponents. Wessex came back with a sustained assault led by Bowes and Hollis to snatch a 20 - 19 lead. Just when all seemed lost, some inspired play by John Gilling, Pete Abraham and Phil Wyles forged set point for Riga which birthday boy Young took with glee in a 25 - 22 result.
Set three started evenly and almost in anticlimax. However Wessex were the first to breakaway at 12 - 8. Riga narrowed the difference with Abraham, Duckett and Young prominent but then a disastrous run of eight points lost ended their interest in the set. Errors and Hollis' finishing were again the root cause of the home side's demise at 25 - 17 The fourth set was much the more competitive and exciting. Neither side seemed capable of making the decisive break, until at 18 apiece, Wessex edged two points ahead. In itself, an insignificant change but with no comparable response from the home side and Bowes springing devastatingly to life, it became the catalyst for a 25 - 21 Wessex victory.
"We never really fired on all cylinders tonight," was a disappointed skipper Tom Young's view afterwards. "We showed we can compete with these boys but we also showed we have to be more consistent. Playing at this level we can't afford people drifting in and out of the game." Riga's next match is against Liverpool on Saturday at St. Nicholas Park Leisure Centre, Warwick (6pm). The visitors are locked on the same number of points as Riga following last Saturday's results, so victory for Riga is vital to keep them above the Scousers and on track with this season's target. Riga notched their first win of the season at Liverpool in a three-nil demolition, so the visitors will be out for revenge. As previous encounters have been tense affairs, Saturday's match should be an entertaining spectacle. "Riga-Liverpool games are nearly always tight," notes Young. "We did well up there this season and their form is a wee bit up and down lately. We need to be on form come Saturday to ensure we get the result I expect - a win."