Bromsgrove Rovers vs Gresley Rovers
Boss McGinlay's spot-kick choker - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers boss John McGinlay apologised to his players after a last gasp
penalty blunder cost the Moatmen two Dr Martens Western Division points at the
Victoria Ground on Saturday.
McGinlay, an 81st-minute substitute, stepped to take the spot-kick after Rovers
skipper Richard Wardle had been fouled in the area four minutes from time only
to blast his shot a yard wide.
McGinlay confessed afterwards: "I'm very disappointed - I can't remember the
last time I missed one." But he insisted: "I don't think we deserved to win.
If we'd got all three points we would have pinched them. A draw was a fair result."
That did not appear to be the case in the opening stages, with Rovers camped
in the Bromsgrove half, seeking in vain to make the early breakthrough their
enterprise deserved.
Their best chance came after just five minutes when Ian Bluck's pass gave Simon
Tucker the opportunity to find the by-line to the right of the Bromsgrove goal
with Kevin Allsop just failing to connect with his strike partner's driven cross,
the big front runner admitting afterwards: "It was just a bit too quick for
me."
Instead, it was the home side that went ahead, albeit against the run of play,
when Tucker failed to control on the edge of the Bromsgrove box and Mike Crawford
capped a swift break with an inch perfect pass into the path of strike partner
Sean Bedward, the former Tamworth frontrunner showing excellent pace to burst
clear and an even better eye for goal, his low shot nestling into the bottom
corner with keeper Simon Baldwin still in mid-dive.
The goal sentenced Rovers to an arduous afternoon on a gluepot pitch as Bromsgrove,
struggling at the foot of the division and threatened with financial ruin off
the field, battled to hold on to what they had.
Tucker tested keeper Neil Olden with an instantly struck volley from Wardle's
flick and Allsop headed over after a Mark Peters' corner, but it was eight minutes
from the break that Rovers' pressure paid off, Bromsgrove failing to clear a
corner, Carl Middleton heading goal wards and Tucker showing a striker's predatory
instincts by arriving in the right place at just the right time to stab home.
The leveller could have been a platform for victory but instead the game turned
on its head after the break as Bromsgrove went up a gear but Gresley did not.
While Rovers proved shot-shy the home side made and missed a string of chances,
Steve Rowe heading just wide and Bedward seeing an angled shot saved while John
Humphrey and substitute Dean Wright also went close.
It seemed Rovers had been handed a late gift when referee Singh pointed to
the spot after home skipper Steve Frost's seemingly innocuous challenge on Wardle,
but then came McGinlay's moment to forget, Bromsgrove almost doubling the agony
when Steven Ulfig sent a powerful header just over two minutes from time.
Bromsgrove Rovers (1) 1
Gresley Rovers (1) 1
Scorers: Bedward 16 (Bromsgrove Rovers); Tucker 37 (Gresley Rovers).
Bromsgrove Rovers: Olden, Miley, Ulfig, Rowe, Frost, Bayliss, Humphrey
(J Beard 66), M Beard, Bedward (Wright 73), Crawford, Beckett; sub not used:
Padmore.
Gresley Rovers: Baldwin, Roberts, Cheetham (Reynolds 50), Bluck, Middleton,
Coates, Wardle, Peters (Dennis 78), Allsop (McGinlay 81), Tucker, Gardner.
Rovers
Star Man: Carl Middleton - steady at the back.
Referee: H Singh (West Bromwich).
Attendance: 416
