Mycampusplug
NEWS: When Giants Feed on Their Prey Worcester City
Worcester City won the league for the first time in forty-five years on a memorable night.
Fans celebrated the team’s 1-0 victory over Thornbury and their newfound prominence in the City’s history as they now sit atop the Hellenic League.
With just one more point needed to win the Premier Division, the team and their supporters made their way to Mundy Playing Fields to take on Thornbury.
Chris Knight’s low shot of a stray ball past the goalie thirty-five minutes in gave them a 1-0 victory over the Gloucestershire squad. After defeating Kettering Town 3-0 at St George’s Lane in 1979, City won the Southern League Premier Division championship.
Since then, there has been a lengthy gap. After the game, City’s owner Simon Lancaster hailed the team and the supporters on X, which was formerly known as Twitter, saying: “Fantastic effort from Chris [Cornes, manager] the players, the volunteers and the fans.”
The opening opportunity of the game came from the hosts in the first two minutes of play, a long-range attempt that was easily missed. Adam Mace, the defender, was booked by the referee for a late challenge.
Thornbury’s number eight was also carded for hauling down Elliott Hartley shortly afterward. Hartley almost had his retribution in the 19th minute after finding space, but his effort was blocked. Worcester finally got their first goal in the 35th minute when Knight smashed the ball into the net, fulfilling their long-held objective. The City guys had more opportunities even though there were no more goals in the second half.
The ball rolled narrowly wide of the net in the 48th minute due to a defensive blunder, ending City’s hopes of scoring a second goal.
A moment later, Hartley flicked a header onto Kyle Belmonte, whose attempt at goal went wide, after defender Knight’s shot had been cleared off the line. Dylan Hart flashed the ball across the face of goal before Logan Stoddart was called into action at the other end with a last-ditch challenge.
But Thornbury weren’t about to give up and almost leveled the score with a header from a corner in the 74th minute. Before Worcester could celebrate their title, in the eighty-eighth minute, a shot from the edge of the box went over. They countered and advanced.
