THE wait for Watford Royals is over at last.

After a series of competent performances in recent weeks where luck and brief lapses of concentration robbed them of their first win, it finally arrived at Worthing Bears on Saturday night.

On the south coast everything went right and although his side did afford coach Vince Macaulay-Razaq a few hairy moments towards the end, they came through.

Royals were well on top during the opening exchanges and were first out of the blocks. Good rebounding, especially from the increasingly-impressive Phil Powe, allowed Royals to take advantage of their superiority.

At the other end the shooting of Jimmy Ratliff in particular enabled them to move away half-way through the first quarter. Ratliff alone contributed 14 points including two excellent three-pointers and the foundations were set at 25-17.

The start of the second quarter saw baskets traded and the introduction of Ernesto Moreno increased the firepower. Royals were coasting at 37-24 but Bears hit back with 14 consecutive points and the likelihood of that first win dropped dramatically in the space of a couple of minutes.

Facing a deficit for the first time in the match at 38-37, Phil Powe led a recovery and a six -point lead was established as the buzzer signalled the end of the half.

The scare seemed to have given the Royals that vital push and there was an absence of the sloppy mistakes which characterised the previous ten minutes when they changed ends.

Now the Bears had the monopoly on speculative efforts and although former Watford player Joel Burns was playing like a man with a point to prove, Worthing were making little headway.

Three three pointers from Moreno and a crashing slam dunk from Powe which almost broke the backboard saw them to a 75-63 lead as the final ten minutes approached.

However, nerves seemed to set in and, cheered on by a fanatical crowd, Bears, themselves looking for their first win since November 8, saw their opportunity.

Ryan Williams scored six consecutive points on his way to a total of 22 which closed the gap to seven and as Watford desperately tried to pull away they missed their chances and three points seperated the two sides as the game entered the final minute.

Burns saw what would have been a fairytale three-pointer hit the rim and, following a foul by Greg Francis, Phil Powe was given the chance to net two free throws and give Royals what had been a hard-fought but deserved victory.

The buzzer sounded and the delight on the faces of the players, supporters and, most noticeably, the coach told the story in what has been a season of disappointment. Macaulay-Razaq had been saying the first league win was not far away for months and right up until this weekend they were laughed at and mocked.

Now they will have to repeat the act a few more times and get off the basement.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.