The exiles and the Raiders: how did Worcester City and Worcester Raiders meet in the Hellenic League

If two in the Premier League, one in the Championship, 11 in League One, and 17 in League Two is the answer, then what is the question? It is, of course, how many professional clubs play in a ground with a smaller capacity than that of Hellenic Premier Division side Worcester Raiders?

The 12,067 capacity Sixways Stadium became Raiders’ home in 2020 as they ground shared with Premiership Rugby side Worcester Warriors, though the loss of their landlords in 2022 left them as primary tenants of the stadium. In 2023, Sixways would play host to an historic fixture as 2478 people set a new Hellenic League attendance record, with Worcester City taking all three points in the league’s first ever Worcester Derby.

THE HOME FANS AT SIXWAYS

It was a clash between a city’s historic club and the new one on the up as Worcester City, founded in 1902, travelled to Worcester Raiders, a club founded in 2001 that would only start playing adult football in 2010.

City reached the sixth tier at their peak, playing in both the National League North (of which they were founding members) and South, and were forced to play away from their home city in 2013 after the sale of their ground, St George’s Lane. The Blues were supposed to move into a new 6,000 capacity ground at Nunnery Way, but this fell through and they were forced into exile, moving to Aggborough to ground share with Kidderminster Harriers from the 2013/14 season. Three seasons with Harriers came to an end when City moved to the Victoria Ground, home of Bromsgrove Sporting. Relegation from the National League North saw them drop three leagues to the Midland League to ease the club’s financial situation.

A far cry from the two and a half thousand in attendance at Sixways, City boasts a record home crowd of 17,042 as Sheffield United visited St Georges Lane in the 1958/59 FA Cup Fourth Round. It was a memorable cup campaign which saw City beat Millwall and Liverpool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBjcEEvKzVs

The FA Cup would see itself written into Worcester City's history books once more in the 2013/14 season as City beat Coventry City 2-1 at the Ricoh Arena, with chants of "we saw you all at the Ricoh" heard from the away supporters at Sixways. The following round would see 32 penalties required to settle the tie between City and Scunthorpe United as the Irons won the second round replay's shootout 14-13.

In comparison, Raiders began their senior era in the Worcester and District League, in 2013 they were promoted to the West Midlands League, finishing third in their first season and being promoted to the first division. The 2018/19 season saw Raiders promoted as Champions, later moving from the West Midlands League Premier Division to the Hellenic League Division One for the 2021/22 campaign. A third-placed finish in 2022 saw Raiders qualify for what would turn out to be an unsuccessful yet successful play-off campaign as they lost to Hereford Pegasus in the final, though reprieve would come in the folding of Walton Casuals. This created space for Raiders to join the Hellenic League Premier Division.

CLAINES LANE HAS BEEN HOME TO BOTH WORCESTER CITY AND WORCESTER RAIDERS

Worcester City, now playing at the Worcestershire County FA’s headquarters at Claines Lane (former home of Worcester Raiders), moved laterally across from the Midland League Premier, in which they finished 17th, to the ‘Hellenic Prem’ for the 2023/24 season, setting up a historic first meeting between the clubs.

And so, on the 31st of August 2023, the red and blue halves of the city would meet for the first time with the blue moon rising over Sixways in an almost poetic evening which saw Liam Lockett’s early rocket seal all three points for Worcester City. Their next meeting comes on boxing day, another almost poetic occasion as the two clash once more in front of what will be a crowd of less than half of the reverse fixture’s attendance.

Claines Lane’s 1,320 capacity will see fewer in attendance but take nothing away from the occasion with both sides chasing promotion and City currently having the upper hand, sitting in second place while Raiders occupy fourth.