Worcester Raiders remain within touching distance of the playoffs with back-to-back home wins, this time over local rivals Hereford Pegasus at the DOADC.
 
On the back of an impressive statement victory against league leaders Roman Glass St George, the Raiders were looking to build on their promotion push with another huge challenge awaiting them in WR3.
 
Penalty shouts emerged early in the first half when Prince Henry was clipped inside the box, only for referee Maximus Court to waive away the penalty claims. Soon after Cam Monteith played a great ball through to Prince but his shot was saved by goalkeeper Matt Gwynne, and the Redmen were able to clear it away.
 
Bailey Fuller then tested the Pegasus keeper from distance, with the ball falling to Monteith on the rebound for him to coolly tap it home for his side’s opener. The Raiders continued with the pressure with Monteith whipping in an excellent free kick for Arthur Squire to head goalwards, but his effort went staight at Gwynne.
 
The hosts came close to doubling their advantage again when Prince’s strike was just inches over the bar from outside the box, before Jordan Sotddart was unable to stretch enough from another terrific ball at the back post by Bailey.
 
Raiders continued to dominate after the restart when Jordan Murphy’s shot on goal was blocked by Gwynne, before the keeper perfectly denied Jake Donnelly’s free header from the corner. Their early pressure was finally rewarded when Murphy’s superb shot from a distance found the bottom corner to increase Raiders’ lead.
 
Jordan Williamson put a dangerous ball into the box, only for Donnelly to react quickly to put it out for a corner as Pegasus came back into the game. Harry Pitman pulled a goal back from distance as the visitors sensed a comeback was possible towards the end of the second half.
 
They were close to rescuing a point right at the death when the ball was pulled back to the unmarked Will Dallaway, who dragged his effort inches wide. Pegasus later tried to claim a penalty for themselves, but it was again waived away as Taylor Eades went down for a head injury.
 
Despite their late resurgence, Raiders defended well and managed to hold onto a vital three points against their Worcestershire rivals. Manager, Jordan Lewis, was delighted with the victory, but felt as if his side could have been more resilient throughout the game. 
 
“It was a difficult game” described Lewis. “Pegasus came with a game plan to challenge us and we struggled at times to break them down, but we still got the job done and claimed the three points we needed”.
 
“We weren’t challenged attacking wise until they scored, and we know that goals can change the dynamics of the game when the opposition goes forward. The lads still showed great character and defended well, but I think we just need to show a bit more aggression and resilience going forward in our next few matches”.
 
Club captain Jordan Murphy was also delighted, but raised some concerns over Raiders’ display during the second half.
 
“It’s another great victory for us” described Murphy. “We defended well and played some really nice football going forward, but we were made to work hard for it and I think we let ourselves down a bit by allowing them to come back in during the second half, but luckily we managed to hold on to an important three points”.
 
“We’ve got some really tough games coming up this month, and we know that we’ve been below our standards at times but we always still find ways to win games. If we can put together a consistent run of results, it will increase more confidence around the dressing room and it will help us to finish where we want to be at the end of the season”.
 
Worcester Raiders: Emery, Eades (Hadley), Whitton, Squire (Hennitt), Stoddart, Donnelly, Fuller, Monteith (Hunt), Henry, Murphy, Taylor (Olaloko)
 
Hereford Pegasus: Gwynne, James, Cooke, Striunga, Fletcher, Price (Calvillo-Howes), Pitman, Dallaway (Summers), Williamson, Moriera
 
Substitutes not used: Reid, Tootell, Apperley

Written by Dan Whitehouse