Saints suffer fourth straight home defeat despite spirited fightback

St Neots Town fell to a fourth consecutive home league defeat on Saturday, again by a single goal, as Racing Club Warwick survived a fierce second-half onslaught to leave the Premier Plus Stadium with all three points.

The afternoon ended in further frustration for the Saints when defender Charlie Bowen was sent off deep into stoppage time.

The decisive moment came midway through the first half. After a bright opening from St Neots — including early chances for Rhys Thorpe and Bowen, both denied by visiting keeper Tom Allsopp — the referee awarded Warwick a controversial penalty on 24 minutes. A visiting forward went down under minimal contact, and James Harding converted from the spot, sending James Goff the wrong way.

The goal shifted the momentum dramatically. Warwick grew into the game, and six minutes before the interval they doubled their lead when St Neots failed to clear a corner, allowing Dylan Barkers to lash home a superb volley from the edge of the box.

Manager Cameron Mawer, who handed a first start to new signing Lewis Burgess and welcomed Thorpe back from suspension, saw a transformed performance after the break. St Neots attacked with renewed purpose, with Harvey Williams forcing Allsopp into a sharp save and Burgess causing problems with a series of long throws.

The pressure told on 67 minutes. Substitute James Stainsby, introduced to add an extra threat up front, reacted quickest to a Thorpe flick-on from a corner to pull a goal back and set up a lively finish.

Mawer’s side continued to press, bringing on Eniola Agemoh-Davies and pinning Warwick deep inside their own half. The visitors responded with time-management tactics that resulted in ten minutes of added time. Despite the late barrage, St Neots couldn’t find the equaliser their second-half display deserved.

Their frustration boiled over in the final moments when Bowen was shown a late red card, rounding off another hard-fought but ultimately fruitless afternoon for the Saints.

ST NEOTS TOWN 1 – 2 RACING CLUB WARWICK