2023/24
Tuesday 1st August 2023
WORCESTER CITY v TUFFLEY ROVERS
A new season, a new owner, new league and new hope and expectation. Anything would be better than 2022/23!
Although there were no goals in the game there were encouraging signs that Chris Cornes is building a squad capable of doing more than avoiding relegation. Gloucestershire base Tuffley Rovers enjoyed a brief flourish at the start of the game before they were forced more and more into desperate defence.
As the second half wore on their tactics became more and more dubious with a whole string of players feigning injury as well as copious amounts of time wasting and play acting. Worcester were unable to break through the mass ranks of defenders and with luck on their side they just held on for a draw.
Plenty of good things from Worcester but they will need to be more clinical in front of goal.
Saturday 5th August 2023
WORCESTER CITY v DUDLEY TOWN - FA Cup
An easy win for Worcester was never in doubt after Dylan Hart's super shot gave City and early lead which they soon doubled. City added a third after half time to earn a trip to Westfields in the next round.
Saturday 12th August 2023
WORCESTER CITY v CINDERFORD TOWN
An flurry of early chances for City came and went away with Cinderford offering next to nothing in attack but to near total silence the visitors took the lead with their only attack of the half. Cam Monteith lost the ball on the City right in a challenge that many thought an obvious foul. Nothing was given and the resulting cross was perfect to evade the City defence and be bundled into the net. City lost their way a bit but the half time team talk must have worked wonders for City. Loan signing Kyle Belmonte scored twice in quick succession against a visibly tiring and over-worked defence. That should have been game over but poor marking from a free kick saw Norman head a brilliant goal. The same player did the same again a few minutes later but this time he gave his own keeper no chance. Zac Hussain was given a few minutes at the end and got his reward with a powerful shot to leave a final score of Worcester 4 Cinderford 2.
Saturday 19th August 2023
WESTFIELDS v WORCESTER CITY - FA Cup
In mid-week action City picked up an easy three points at Longlevens but Westfields was always going to be difficult tie. As expected it was a full-bodied performance from both sides who gave it everything that they had, it was also a game of the proverbial two halves. With the wind and sun in their favour in the first half Westfields were in the ascendency but stout defending looked like it would see City hold on until half time. Alas it was not to be as City were undone by a perfectly directly corner that the City keeper did well to get a hand on, but it could not be cleared and the ball was bundled over the line. The last few minutes were frantic but the half time whistle came with just the one goal for the home team.
With the conditions now in their favour City finally starting playing the ball around with poise and finesse. It came as no surprise when Dylan Hart's bullet header restored parity. Now it was the home team who were forced to try to hang on for a draw as City got better and better. Worcester's winner came in the third minute of stoppage time and it was a rocket shot from Kirk Layton that gave the home keeper no chance. So Worcester progress to the next round with their fourth win in a row. Something that has not achieved in recent seasons. Westfields 1 City 2.
Saturday 19th September 2023
WORCESTER CITY v THORNBURY TOWN
Since the last report Worcester have lost their first league game of the season but then followed up with wins against Bridgnorth, Sherwood Forest, Worcester Raiders and Pershore Town. The latter two league games being watched by crowds of about 2,400 and 900 respectively. A large crowd of about 850 saw one of the most one-sided games of the season. New signing Jamie Insall hit no less than four goals, including a first-half hat-trick. A fifth was scored by Liam Lockett late in the game. This game was dominated by Worcester from first whistle to last. An extraordinary performance, indeed faultless is the best word to describe it.
Saturday 23rd September 2023
WORCESTER CITY v RUGBY BOROUGH
After a disappointing exit in the FA Cup last Saturday City fans were hoping it was not two from two as managerless Rugby Borough visit the Lane. A decent crowd saw a first half to forget as City, playing down the slope, were unable to convert any of the numerous chances created. The match looked to be going the same way as the FA Cup when the referee awarded Rugby a penalty which was duly converted to give the visitors an unlikely lead. City threw on substitutes to try to redress the balance and forced a series of superb saves out of the visiting keeper but there was nothing he could do to keep out a Kyle Belmonte shot as the visitors goal began to resemble the Siege of the Alamo. But right out of the blue the ball was swept up to the home end and the visitors retook the lead. As the game entered stoppage time an out of character incident saw a Rugby player sent off in an off the ball incident with Dylan Hart, but his penalty was wide left. City redoubled their efforts and with barely three minutes left Hartley headed City level.
A penalty shootout followed with City's Liam Lockett seeing his penalty saved by the Rugby keeper. The following penalties were all scored to leave the it at 4-4 with Worcester needing a miracle to save the tie from the last penalty. Haydn Whitcombe produced a wonderful save and the shoot out continued. Haydn repeated the feat and City won 5-4.
A penalty shootout followed with City's Liam Lockett seeing his penalty saved by the Rugby keeper. The following penalties were all scored to leave the it at 4-4 with Worcester needing a miracle to save the tie from the last penalty. Haydn Whitcombe produced a wonderful save and the shoot out continued. Haydn repeated the feat and City won 5-4.
Hartley gets City's equaliser to save the game.
Saturday 30th September 2023
WORCESTER CITY v WANTAGE TOWN
Another home game on a Saturday and unlike last week this one was a very easy win for Worcester against bottom place Wantage Town. Four goals in each half sums up a game of men against buys. Three for Belmonte, two for Hart, one each for Thompson-Brown, Lockett and Insall. An afternoon to forget for the basement team. City move up to second.
Saturday 7th October 2023
WORCESTER CITY v BRIMSCOMBE & THRUPP
Another mid-week victory (at Tuffley) saw Worcester close the gap at the top to two points as leaders Corsham lost their first game of the season. City are in a fine vein of form and the opposition from Gloucestershire proved no match for the high flyers. The visitors were not helped by losing their No.11 to a straight red card after he hauled a City player to the ground for no apparent reason. It took City to the second half to make the extra person count. And then it was another helping hand after a bullet header from the visiting No.6 gave his own keeper no chance. Two further goals followed to give City a convincing 3-0 win. City go top after Corsham can only draw.
Saturday 28th October 2023
WORCESTER CITY v SLEAFORD TOWN
Another Saturday and another home win for City. This time the visitors were Sleaford Town in an FA Vase tie. It was a petulant and bad tempered display that did little credit to the game. Most of the bad behaviour was from the visitors which saw at least half their team booked and one sent off.
The strategy of the visitors was clear from the kick off as they threw themselves to the ground at every opportunity. This brought them an early reward as they were awarded a penalty but City keeper rose to the occasion with a great save. That just about sums up the first half.
The second half was largely one way traffic as City attacked the dressing room end. A great header from Dylan Hart was cleared after hitting the post. Inevitably City's pressure paid off with a stunning header by Connor Gater. It stayed that way as the visitors threw players forward looking for the equaliser. City put the game away near the end following another penalty. Insall's penalty was brilliantly saved but Liam Lockett followed up to score. Final score of City 2 Sleaford 0. A perfect end to a perfect month.
A tale of two penalties. Both saved but one scored on rebound
Saturday 18th November 2023
WORCESTER CITY v Royal Wootton Bassett Town
Another Saturday and another home win for City. It is getting to be a habit to be able to report on another win. The 11th win in a row and no ordinary run of the mill team either because the visitors started the day in third place, just six points behind Worcester in second. From the moment Liam Lockett fired Worcester into the lead inside ten minutes the result was never in doubt. Lockett added a second before half time and Belmonte added two more in the second half.
The real talking point though was the deplorable state of the pitch where, once again, the drainage has failed leaving an awful playing service. The owners of the ground, Worcestershire FA, seem unable or unwilling to provide an adequate playing surface. It really is a disgrace.
The final score Worcester City 4 Royal Wootton Bassett Town 0.
END OF YEAR ROUND UP
The sad state of Worcestershire FA's ground at Claines Lane continues to be a cause of great concern as since the quagmire that was provided for the game against Wooton Bassett in November it has barely been playable and only one game has been possible - a 2-1 win over Corsham. The Boxing Day sell-out fixture fell foul of the weather and the following two home games were switched to nearby Malvern Town.
There was a decent turnout for both games despite the travelling and the incessant rain.
On Saturday 30th December Fairford Town were the visitors. City were not at their best despite scoring three goals. It was frustrating to only draw the game after a last-gasp "Hail Mary" gave the visitors a well-deserved point.
It was a different story on New Year's Day when Highworth Town were the visitors. After a low key first half which saw no goals City turned on the style tearing the struggling defence to pieces with Hart, Belmonte and Lockett all scoring for City whilst the defence had little to do but coped well with what the visitors had to offer. Final score was Worcester City 3 Highworth Town 0.
Saturday 6th January 2024
Mangotsfield United v WORCESTER CITY
The fourth game in a week saw Worcester City gain another three points to keep them in first place in the league, following a win previously at Roman Glass St George. City looked a bit jaded on a very heavy and barely playable pitch. City were by far the best of the two teams in the first half and led by two goals at the break. Dylan Hart knew less than a lot about the first goal but the second by Belmonte was a super strike. Insall added a third early in the second half before the home team pulled one back and could easily have had a second but it was not to be and City won by 3 goals to 1.
Saturday 13th January 2024
WORCESTER CITY v Lichfield City FA Vase
A wonderful match played in a fine spirit between two of the best teams left in the competition saw Worcester City run out winners in the battle of the cities. Claines Lane welcomed the return of football and a good crowd of 759 watched an afternoon of super entertainment. Lichfield marginally shaded the first half playing towards the dressing room end where the pitch was in better condition than the other end. But it was Worcester who had the best chance when Dylan Hart ran through a very square defence and should have scored but the visiting keeper stood tall and blocked his effort.
The second half was a much more open affair as Worcester looked to take advantage of the better ground. Adam Mace struck a long distance thunderbolt that smashed the base of the goal with the Lichfield keeper well beaten. Finally a superb move down the left ended with a great cross which Dylan Hart firmly headed into the net. Lichfield tried as hard as they could to score but when their keeper ventured into the City box for a corner kick he was caught out as the corner was cleared straight to Hart who fed Kyle Belmonte who rolled the ball into the empty net. City fans celebrated the win that will live long in the memories of those at the game.
Saturday 27th January 2024
Slimbridge v WORCESTER CITY
Worcester's outstanding season continued in style with a comprehensive demolition of in-form Slimbridge AFC. Elliott Hartley had an amazingly good game for the City and wasa real handful for an overworked defence. Kyle Belmonte smashed home an early lead for Worcester before two goals direct from freekicks saw Worcester into a comfortable 3 0 half time lead. The scond half was more of a low key affair but City's Cam Monteith added a fourth to give a final score of Slimbridge 0 Worcester City 4. As easy a win as one might imagine.
Saturday 3rd February 2024
WORCESTER CITY v Lydney Town
A ninth win in a row in 2024 was duly completed against lowly Lydney Town. Any thoughts of a shock upset were removed within a few minutes of the start of the game as a comical own goal followed quickly by a second set City up for an easy win. There were two goals for Belmonte and one each from Insall, Hartley and Lockett as City's goal machines took full advantage of the visitors poor defending. A great display by the Lydney keeper kept the score down to reasonable proportions but another big crowd went home happy as Worcester returned to the top of the table.
Saturday 17th February 2024
WORCESTER CITY v Longlevens
Recent heavy rain once again made Claines Lane unplayable and so this game was moved to Sixways Stadium where a large crowd saw one of most ill-tempered games in recent years. What should have been a showcase for the Hellenic League started well enough and even the shock of conceding an early goal when Stoddart failed to clear his lines to let the resulting cross be smashed home from long range could not dampen the carnival atmosphere. But the game soon deteriorated into an ugly affair after the visitors defence surrounded the referee after a City player had been fouedl on the left edge of the penalty area. The tactic misfired badly as a patient Liam Lockett hit a rocket of a free kick into the top corner of the net sparking wild celebrations on the terraces. The goal was the marker for Longlevens to do everything they could to slow the game down and prevent the makeshift City attack from taking advantage. The half time score was 1-1.
The second-half saw the visitors trying more and more time-wasting tactics, rarely venturing outside their own half of the field. The fans must have lost track of the number of visiting players who collapsed in agony with apparent broken legs and head injuries. The referee struggled to keep any sort of control and things exploded when Elliott Hartley was cynically brough down from behind when bearing down on goal. A handbags at six paces ensured which saw both No.5s getting an early bath and another lengthy delay when another visitor went down with a "head injury". City huffed and puffed but the Longlevens keeper was in fine form. Finally as the game entered the 12th minute of added time Jordan Lymm's fine shot handed all the points to the City. The final whistle blew soon after and the City fans celebrated. 2 - 1 to City.
Saturday 24th February 2024
Westfields v WORCESTER CITY
Worcester made their third visit of the season to this Hereford based club and duly ran out winners again. As before City made a slow start to the game and were behind within two minutes as a result of sloppy defending. If Westfields had converted either of two good chances they squandered City might have been in trouble but slowly City moved up a gear. A great free kick by Liam Lockett crashed against the bar and only desperate defending kept the City out but eventually parity was restored when Belcomte put away a Penalty after a foul on Hartley.
The second half was a totally one-sided affair with an early headed goal by Hartley followed quickly by ones from Sheehan and Belmonte to give Worcester the win by 4 goals to 1.
Saturday 9th March 2024
WORCESTER CITY v Emley
An easy win in the quarter-final of the FA vase against a strong Emley team who seemed to frreze in front of a capacity crowd at Claines Lane. Two goals in each swept the visitors away to send the home support into ecstacy.
Tuesday 12th March 2024
WORCESTER CITY v Roman Glass St George
The first leg of the final of this cup tie saw City scored twice through Dyland Hart before the visitors pulled on back leaving all to play for in the second leg. This game was played at Malvern.
Saturday 16th March 2024
Pegasus v WORCESTER CITY
It was back to league action for the 17th game of 2024 and also the 17th win in a row. The home team rode their luck early on as three times the ball rebounded from their crossbar before Hartley put Worcester into the lead with a fine shot.
Pegasus kept trying to match and scored an unlikely equaliser in the second-half. The lead was short-lived as Belmonte scored from the penalty shot almost immediately after the restart. The final score was Pegasus 1 City 2.
Wednesday 20th March 2024
Roman Glass St George v WORCESTER CITY
An easy win by five goals to one for City who by winning both of the Wiseman Cup finally put some silverware in the cupboard. A minor cup, yes, by a trophy is a trophy.
Saturday 23rd March 2024
Brimscombe & Thrupp v WORCESTER CITY
Another Saturday and another away game as City continued their bid to win the league title.
Liam Lockett was on fire in the first half scoring a hat-trick to put City firmly in command. It should have been more as both Hartley and Belmonte saw shots come back from the woodwork.
The home team came out strongly after half time and pulled one back. City should though have increased their lead even missing a penalty and again the woodwork saved the home team, before a second penalty was tucked away to give a final score of Brimscombe & Thrupp 1 Worcester City 4.
The 19th win in a row was duly secured.
Wednesday 27th March 2024
Royal Wootton Bassett v WORCESTER CITY
Awful weather seems to be the order of the day for 2024 but this game managed to survive and saw City duly achieve their20th win in a row in this game against their third placed opponents. Heavy rain made this one a tricky affair but a very early goal from Kyle Belotnte settled nerves but a strange penatly decision saw the home team equalise from the spot. It was all to play for in the second half but City were in no mood to be denied and substitute Kyonn Evans had an immeidate effect as he laid the ball right into the path of Kyle Belmonte to fire home the winner.
Monday 1st April 2024
Wantage Town v WORCESTER CITY
With Saturday's FA Vase falling victim to the continuing rain it was back to league action as City travelled to bottom of the table Wantage Town. City took an early lead but the home team were on fire and not only did they draw level but went into half-time leading by two goals to one. It had been a first half to forget for the league leaders. City seem to be making a hash of penalty kicks and this time it was Kyle Belmonte who saw his saved, but he made up for his lapse by equalising soon after only for Wantage to win a penalty themselves. Whitcombe came to City's rescue and Isak Reid's spectacular overhead kick won the game for City. Onwards to Six Ways on Wednesday as the league title moves within touching distance.
Wednesday 3rd April 2024
WORCESTER CITY v Roman Glass St George
The backdrop of SixWays Stadium and a large attendence inspired Worcester to quite extraordinary levels as records continued to tumble in this incredible season. RGSG were still in with an outside chance of making the play-offs but they were blown away in a blue wave as City swept onwards to a 22nd win in a row of which 12 have been league games. It was an amazing game that was all over once Lymm, Belmonte (below) and Evans had scored before the break.
City were totally dominant in the second half to win by 7 goals to nil with Lockett, two more from Belmonte and a Dylan Hart penalty (below) completing the misery for the visitors who ended with only 10 players.
Saturday 6th April 2024 - Great Wakering Rovers FA Vase
On a miserable day in November 2023 a City supporter was heard to say : "I can't really see another team beating Worcester this season". Those within earshot all laughed at such a thought after enduring such a poor season in 2022/3 those thoughts were easily dismissed.
This tight game saw City put one foot on the ladder of the Wembley dream and the other foot more firmly on the ladder to promotion. It was a typical cut and thrust cup tie as to be expected between teams so close to Wembley. Six Ways was filled with a lot of people who love to see a spectacle but have no particular affinitiyto the City and they made a lot of noise. None more so than when Hartley scored the only goal in the second half. Great Wakering set out to defend their goal which they did so effectively until Hartley's goal, although City fans were left scratching their heads after Chris Knight's effort was ruled out by the referee. The visitors were gifted their one and only chance after a mistake in defence but the chance was lost. The City keeper had his usual quiet afternoon.
City won by 1 to 0 with the second leg to come. 23 games played in 2024 and all won. Amazing
Saturday 27th April 2024 - Pershore (away)
City put the disappointment of losing in the Vase semi-final firmly behind them as they ended the league season on a winning note with wins against Worcester Raiders (4-0), Mangotsfield (5-2), Cinderford (2-0) and Letcombe 1-0 in Marsh cup. There was also a draw against Hereford Lads Club The league trophy was presented to City after the game which was a routine end of season affair with City winning 4-1 with two goals from Belmonte and one each from Hart and Evans. To end the season with a league record of 32 wins and five draws with only a solitary defeat (home to Westfields) is unbelievable. 18 away wins and a draw away from home. 120 goals scored and only 31 connceded.