Pershore Town arrived at the DOADC fresh from their stunning 7:2 midweek win over Malvern Town in the Worcestershire Invitational Cup. Despite having much of the play in the first half it took Raiders until after the break to find the net and eventually beat a resilient Pershore side.
The game was a lively local derby that saw Raiders start strongly, with the first shot of the game coming from Manny on 4 minutes. Raiders continued to press with Manny seeing another shot blocked and, from the resulting corner, a Jake Donnelly header was tipped on to the crossbar.

Raiders looked strong in attack, Kiyan Baker-May came close, shooting across the goal just missing the far post. As the half progressed Pershore became more involved in the game with most of their attacks starting on the left wing however, as in previous games, the Raiders defence
looked solid.

The 36th minute saw a Raiders penalty appeal turned down, after Manny fell in the box. The first half ended with Izak Reid getting the ball into the back of the net, only to be disallowed for offside. The second half started with a bang, with Izak Reid scoring the opening goal in the 49th minute, to be followed two minutes later with Taylor Eades flicking a Jordan Stoddart cross into the back of the Pershore net.

Pershore never gave up and kept searching for a goal. They were eventually rewarded when Lucas Colley’s shot was deflected into the Raiders net. Pershore began to press forward but it was Raiders who would score next.

The 80th minute saw a Dan Noke shot hitting the underside of the bar and bounced over the goal line to score Raiders third. The goal wasn’t initially given as Pershore progressed up the field. The ref must have had access to a VAR screen no one else could see, as he pulled play back and awarded the goal. Scoring the goal was Dan’s last action in the game, as he lay injured in the goalmouth. There was a lengthy delay in play as the injury was assessed, before the Pershore keeper and their number 5 showed good sportsmanship supporting Dan off the pitch.

We all hope that Dan’s injury is not as bad as it looks. As Raiders had used all their substitutions they played the last 10 minutes a player down. Despite the player numerical disadvantage Raiders continued to control the game. This was another great team performance, Charlie Emery in goal behind a solid defence, midfield providing great service to the players up front. This season we are winning games that we were
drawing last season. I am sure Jordan Lewis and the team will be up for next week’s game against a talented and title chasing Roman Glass St George.

Next Games
Tuesday 18 November
Wiseman Floodlight Cup
Woodford United at DOADC Claines Lane kick off 7:45

Saturday 22 November
Hellenic League Premier
Roman Glass St George at Oaklands Park, Gloucester Road BS32 4AG
Kick off 3:00 pm