Brazen Brasenose give title leaders a scare

Worcester 2 – 2 BrasenoseGoing into this match off an impressive victory over Wadham, a dogged Brasenose side made Worcester scramble for a draw in a jarringly physical encounter. Twice taking the lead, Brasenose looked like they might take all three points here, only for Worcester to peg them back late on and go very close to winning it. Despite taking four points from six against two of the toughest sides in the division, Brasenose still face an uphill battle to avoid relegation, whilst Worcester now have Teddy Hall and St Anne’s breathing right down their necks at the top. Early on, a nice one-two with skipper Plaxton put Worcester striker Desai through, only to be denied by a terrific save from Mitropoulos stretching to his left in the Brasenose goal. At the other end, Field-Johnson picked up the ball outside the box and, after being given far too much time and space in which to turn, hit a hard shot straight at the Worcester keeper, who fumbled it through his hands as it bounced in front of him and into the goal. This was a far-cry from the defensive resilience which has given Worcester the best defensive record in the division this season. Worcester quickly bounced back, after a thunderous challenge from Brasenose right-back McCormack on Plaxton gave away a free kick to the left of the area. The otherwise excellent McCormack was lucky not to get booked – only to then see his luck disappear, heading Desai’s in-swinging set-piece into his own goal under pressure, with the ball arching agonisingly over the despairing lunge of Mitropoulos and into the far corner. Then, right on the stroke of halftime, Brasenose re-took the lead – a perfect deep cross from Leviseur curling right onto the foot of Barrett, who side-footed his volley into the top corner with impressive composure. Overhearing the Worcester halftime team-talk, a heated discussion showed how angry Worcester were with their lacklustre performance. Demanding more passion and desire from his side, Plaxton called for a ‘Do or Die’ attitude, knowing that a defeat could see Teddy Hall level with them at the end of this game. Radcliffe was looking threatening down the left for Worcester, but was unable to penetrate the determined-looking Brasenose defence led by the colossal figure of centre-back Nordby. Both sides went close from corners, first Worcester heading over and then Brasenose inducing a chaotic goalmouth scramble, in which two shots were blocked by Worcester defenders. Soon after, at the other end, Worcester went even closer from another corner, with a close-range shot cleared bravely off the line. The equaliser came soon after. Following a throw-in, Worcester crossed from the right for midfielder Grady, unmarked, to beat the keeper to the ball and head home. Brasenose then missed a golden opportunity to instantly re-take the lead, an innocuous long ball somehow going through the entire Worcester defence, only for a surprised Barrett to miss his touch completely when oneon- one. At the other end, the ever more-influential Grady, relishing the physical battle, went close to his second for Worcester, through on goal only to be thwarted by a phenomenal lastditch challenge – the rebound fell to Plaxton, whose shot was desperately hacked off the line by a second defender as Brasenose grimly clung on. Plaxton and Brady combined well again to give Plaxton a shooting chance, only for the skilful forward to shoot straight at the keeper with the unmarked substitute Gee screaming for it at the back post. Straight afterwards another chance went begging, Radcliffe whistling a shot past the post from ten yards. As Brasenose tired, Worcester scented victory, and thought they had grabbed it at the death when Grady burst onto a flickon to fire home – only to see the linesman flagging for an earlier offside. Right at the end Brasenose might have nicked it, with the persistently troublesome winger Lennie fighting off his marker to force a good save from the Worcester keeper. But as the final whistle blew, 2-2 seemed a fair result. Worcester, whilst never showing the quality they are capable of, had been persistent enough to deserve at least a point, whilst Brasenose, having led twice and fought hard, would have been exceptionally unlucky to lose. This was far from a classic, and moments of genuine class were rare, yet the high-octane commitment of both teams made for an exciting spectacle. The title race has been blown wide open. In the words of their captain, Worcester ‘can’t afford any more slip-ups.’by George Kynaston