Match Reports - april 2008

Saturday 26th April

TOWN SIGN OFF WITH A WIN IN A MATCH OF FEW THRILLS

Sratford Town - 2 - Malsom (pen) 8, Byrne 80

Alvechurch - 1 - D Brown 4

Town ’finished off last season with an away match against Alvechurch which was also the last match of Dennis Mulholland’s spell as Manager. Twelve months on it was virtually a case of role reversal - the Church were again the opponents but this time the venue was Knights Lane and it was the Church Manager, Shaun Cunnington, who was stepping down.

Town’s 1 – 0 defeat at Lye Meadow last April has cost them third place in the MFA table to Quorn on goal difference, but they had long since given up hopes of such a lofty finish this season, and after signing off their campaign with a win courtesy of a late Jack Byrne goal their eventual finishing spot was a fairly anonymous 7th which was hardly what was expected when they were at or near the top of the table for most of the time until their dramatic post - Christmas collapse.

Before kick-off Lawrence Rawlings was presented with the Supporters Player of the Year Trophy which was well deserved recognition for his wholehearted approach to every minute of every game and which he again showed this afternoon in what was generally a typical end of season affair with nothing other than pride at stake.

Perhaps with next season in mind Micky Moore made changes to the back four with only Michael Love retaining his position from the previous match against Oldbury. Michael Crawford was switched from the centre to left back to replace Steve Ruck with Richard Munday coming into the centre, while Tom Brady was given the right back slot instead of Richard Robinson. Nick Mowl was unavailable allowing Mark Faulds to take over in midfield.

The first chance of the match fell to Sam Malsom in only the second minute when he latched on to a long ball from Crawford but he put his shot wide as the veteran Church keeper Tim Clarke advanced off his line to challenge.

Two minutes later Town were trailing when the Church striker Dave Brown took advantage of a mistake by the normally reliable Love to gain possession on the edge of the penalty area and place his effort well wide of Town keeper Simon Lynn.

Town were soon to equalise however when Jamie Petty exchanged passes with Byrne to surge into the Church penalty area where he was pulled back by Scott Rickards. Malsom took the kick and was probably relieved when it hit the inside of Clarke’s right hand post and rebounded into the opposite side of the net.

To their credit both sides looked to get the ball down and there were some neat passing moves. Chris Bladen was causing Town no end of problems with some searching runs down the Church right and in the 15th minute Munday did well to head away one of his teasing crosses while barely a minute later he set up a chance for Dave Brown which was blazed wastefully over.

At the other end Rawlings was doing equally well for Town having far too much pace for Church right back Sam Brooks and he provided an opening for the alert Malsom in the 20th minute but Brendan Kelly was well positioned to head clear with Clarke apparently beaten.

Dave Brown wasted another chance as the half reached its midway point when he only half hit his shot when clear allowing Lynn to save low to his right, but he did better shortly after as he cut in from the left after some hesitant Town defending only for Lynn to turn his effort away for a corner.

Rawlings and Malsom were continuing to threaten for Town and on the half hour mark a Rawlings corner from the left was palmed onto the bar by Clarke before being hacked away.

Petty went close with a long range effort and Munday then had the ideal opportunity to put Town in front when another Petty shot was deflected to him off Kelly leaving him 8 yards out with only Clarke to beat, but the keeper used all his experience to react quickly and turn the defender’s attempt round the post.

Town were now having most of the play, and right on the half time whistle Rawlings had two efforts from close in blocked by a combination of Clarke and Brooks with the Church defence in some disarray.

Half Time - Stratford Town 1 Alvechurch 1

Although the first half had been relatively lively the second period never really got going at all as if both teams were already looking forward to the summer break. Indeed the only incident of note in the first 15 minutes was when the referee was laid low after getting in the way of the ball and had to receive attention from Town physio Steve Wood.

Lee Chilton tried his luck from distance for Church but the crowd had to wait until the70th minute before either keeper was called in to serious action when Malsom beat the Church offside trap only for Clarke to reach his effort at full stretch and turn it away.

Bladed then sprung back to life with a useful run but an off-target finish and Chilton hit another long range attempt well over, but the game - and the season - were quietly drifting to a close when out of nothing Town scored the deciding goal. It owed much to Malsom’s persistence in the penalty area close to the byline as he wriggled past Kelly and Craig Ball to slip a pass inside to Byrne six yards out who was able to turn and shoot with the ball going into the net off Clarke’s shoulder.

Substitute Stefano Abonandi had a chance to level for Church in the closing minutes when a cross from the left was only half cleared but he fired well over, and the final action of the match was an effort from the tireless Dave Brown which required two attempts by Lynn before it was safely gathered and the three points were secure.

So another season has come and gone. Much has been achieved off the field with the opening of the magnificent new facilities at Knights Lane which should ensure a prosperous future for the Club, but on the field it has not been so productive.. The MFA did not contain a truly outstanding team this season and most supporters will feel that Town could - and should - have done better.

It was definitely an opportunity missed.

TOWN : Lynn, Brady, Crawford, Faulds (Robinson 74), Munday, Love, Grandison, Petty, Malsom, Byrne, Rawlings. Unused Subs - Ruck, Oakley, Pringle & Overton

ALVECHURCH : Clarke, Brooks, W Brown, Rickards, Kelly, Ball, Bladen, McWilliams (Abonandi 64), D Brown, J Chilton (Hawker 46), L Chilton. Unused Subs - Davies & Coney (GK)

Town Yellow Cards - Robinson

Alvechurch Yellow Cards - None

Attendance - 254

Man of the Match - Lawrence Rawlings - showed why he is the Supporters Player of the Year with another energetic performance

Match Stats

Town - GA 16 OT 6 HW 1 CW 8 FC 10 OS 2 YC 1 RC 0

Alvechurch - GA 14 OT 5 HW 0 CW 5 FC 9 OS 3 YC 0 RC 0

Wednesday 16th April

TOWN STRUGGLE TO A WIN AGAINST DEPLETED OLDBURY

Stratford Town - 4 - Malsom 37, Rawlings (2) 58 & 62, Love 90

Oldbury United - 1 - Gardner (pen) 21

Town were presented with the Moldwell Products MFA Team of the Month Award for March prior to the kick-off but most supporters were more concerned with the team’s response to last Saturday’s lamentable effort - or rather lack of effort - against Studley and were looking for a positive reaction to a depressing defeat.

Perhaps working on the basis that the team could not perform as poorly again Micky Moore made only one change to the starting line-up bringing in Michael Love to replace the unavailable Ashley Pingle, but there were places on the subs bench for the fit again Tom Brady and Richard Adams although significantly not for the equally fit again Richard Munday.

Oldbury have been having a desperate season having to play their home games at Pelsall due to an ongoing legal wrangle over their York Road home, and currently facing three games per week - they were due to play Oadby the day after this match - due to their fixtures being temporarily suspended by the Birmingham County FA earlier this year.

As if those problems were not enough they could only put out a makeshift side against Town due to a number of their players being held up on the M5 and eventually not arriving at all, with the non-arrivals including their regular goalkeeper. As a result Iain Mclaren who normally plays at right back was given the keeper’s gloves and Assistant Manager Joe O’Connor filled in up front while the subs bench was empty .

On paper then this should have been easy for Town, but in the first half especially it proved anything but as Oldbury - well marshalled by their impressive central defender Rory McFarlane - fought for every ball and stubbornly refused to let Town settle into any sort of rhythm. The only move of note in the first 20 minutes was when Lawrence Rawlings got away down the left before slipping a pass inside to Steve Ruck whose shot was narrowly too high.

There were already murmurings coming from the home supporters and their discontent increased in the 21st minute when Oldbury took the lead. Sean Pugh broke into the left of the Town penalty area where he was pulled back by Richard Robinson and Matt Gardner made no mistake with the spot kick hitting it low to keeper Simon Lynn’s right.

It seemed like Studley all over again as Town struggled to make any headway and totally failed to put any pressure on Mclaren. By the half hour mark they had not managed one shot on target, and when they equalised in the 37th minute it was a pure Route One move as Sam Malsom latched on to a long clearance to outpace the Oldbury defenders and slot the ball past the advancing keeper.

Half Time - Stratford Town 1 Oldbury United 1

Presumably words must have been said in the Town dressing room at half time as they came out for the restart in a more determined frame of mind which in truth was not difficult ! Malsom was only inches too high with a first time effort before Town at last created an opening and duly went ahead in the 58th minute.. Jerome Grandison worked his way to the right corner flag and his looping cross completely deceived Mclaren to be turned in at the far post by Rawlings from 5 yards out.

Four minutes later Town effectively won the game. Jamie Petty took a free kick in the centre circle and spotted Rawlings making a run down the inside left channel . His delivery was perfect and Rawlings did the rest by taking the ball in his stride and neatly tucking it past the stranded Mclaren.

Not surprisingly Oldbury were now pretty despondent and starting to tire. Mclaren produced an excellent save for a stand-in keeper when he pushed another Petty free kick over the bar and then did equally well to beat out a fierce Malsom effort.

Micky Moore began to make substitutions with the Town faithful hoping to see the speedy Adams have a chance against a by now beaten side, but curiously it was Brady, Faulds and Snape who were sent on instead.

The match was now drifting to its close but Rawlings almost claimed his hat-trick when he hit the bar direct from a corner. Oldbury then went close to pulling a goal back with five minutes to go when only a point blank save by Lynn thwarted O’Connor after Gardner had made a break down the right before Town completed the scoring in the dying seconds when Rawlings hoisted over a free kick from the left touchline and Love headed in from barely 2 yards out.

So in the end three points for Town but this was hardly anything to get excited about. The result was all that mattered - the performance left plenty to be desired.

TOWN : Lynn,, Robinson (Brady 72), Ruck (Snape 80), Mowl (Faulds 76), Love, Crawford, Grandison, Petty, Malsom, Byrne, Rawlings. Unused Subs - Adams & Overton

OLDBURY : Mclaren, Price, Dimmock, Bradley, McFarlane, Whitehouse, Gardner, Pugh, O’Connor, Mills, Wilkhoo.. Unused Subs - None.

Town Yellow Cards - Robinson

Oldbury Yellow Cards - None

Attendance - 155

Man of the Match - Lawrence Rawlings - steadily regaining his form after a lengthy spell out and only the bar prevented him from claiming a hat-trick

Match Stats

Town - GA 17 OT 8 HW 1 CW 5 FC 13 OS 1 YC 1 RC 0

Oldbury - GA 3 OT 2 HW 0 CW 1 FC 14 OS 2 YC 0 RC 0

Saturday 12th April

TOWN WELL BEATEN AS STUDLEY DOMINATE AT KNIGHTS LANE

Stratford Town - 2 - Rawlings 16 Grandison 25

Studley - 4 - Hendrie 5 Ross (3) 12, 56 & 73

Taking Coventry Sphinx as a form guide Town should have been warm favourites to win this match as last Saturday Studley had only beaten the Coventry side 1 – 0 whereas in midweek Town had swept them aside by a 5 – 1 margin. Yet the MFA table indicated a much closer affair as the two Clubs were separated by just a single point after 39 games with Town in 7th place and Studley in 9th.

But it is on the pitch where it really matters, and the longer the game went on the more Studley dominated to eventually run out worthy winners.

Town were unchanged from their romp at Sphinx, while Studley included a number of recent ex-Town players in their line-up - including the inimitable Dennis Mulholland - but it was an ex-Town player of not so recent vintage - Lee Ross - who contributed more significantly to the result with a well taken hat-trick as the current Town team wilted in the second half.

An early attack by Town saw the veteran Ian Mitchell make a timely interception to prevent Lawrence Rawlings latching onto a Jamie Petty through ball, but in only the 5th minute Studley took the lead. Keiran Cross floated over a ball from the right to find Stuart Hendrie on the left of the Town’s six yard box and with no challenge from either Richard Robinson or Ashley Pringle - both of whom seemed plenty close enough - he shot past Simon Lynn at his near post.

Barely a minute Nigel Haylor broke free down the Studley right to shoot across the goal and then he sent over a long cross which Pringle had to head behind for a corner under pressure from Ross.

Town were struggling and in the 12th minute Studley went two up when Town conceded a free kick out by their right touchline which was taken by Hendrie. Again there was hardly a challenge from the Town defence as Ross at the far post glanced his header past the static Lynn.

Town badly needed to get back into the game quickly, and did so in the 16th minute. Michael Crawford hit a long ball out to Jack Byrne on the right who slipped it inside to Petty. The midfielder appeared to scuff his shot but the ball fell conveniently to Rawlings who slipped it past Steve Grogan from five yards out.

Grogan then had to be smartly off his line to thwartt Byrne after a neat exchange of passes with Jerome Grandison, and with Town putting some promising moves together they were well worth their 25th minute equaliser.

In his time as Manager Dennis Mulholland always preached the need not to dally on the ball in defence, but in this instance he was guilty of just that and was dispossessed by the persistent Byrne whose pinpoint cross was then headed past Grogan by the waiting Grandison. Poor Dennis held his head in his hands as he realised the consequences of his error.

Stung by having their early advantage wiped out Studley upped their workrate with Hendrie - the brother of ex-Villa player Lee - becoming increasingly influential in midfield. Haylor sent over a cross from the right which was not far away from the menacing Ross and then Hendrie’s centre was headed behind by Pringle with Ross again in a dangerous position.

Right on half time Town appealed unconvincing for a penalty when Byrne was brought down by a combination of Dan Styles and James Beauchamp but the referee - probably rightly - was having none of it.

Half Time - Stratford Town 2 Studley 2

Studley had clearly used their interval team talk to good effect as they came out for the rerstart determined to take the game to Town and immediately took control. After just two minutes Adam Blake sent the speedy Haylor away down the right and his low centre was met first time by Ross only for Lynn to produce the first of several fine second half saves by pushing it onto the post and behind from point blank range.

Hendrie then brought a flying save from Lynn with a fiercely struck effort, and with Town seemingly unable to raise their game it was no surprise when Studley regained the lead in the 56th minute. Some more sloppy defensive play by Town led to Lynn having to turn a Blake effort behind for a corner and when it came across Hendrie’s shot was saved low down by Lynn only for the ball to run loose and Ross reacted quickest to prod it home from barely two yards out.

It was all Studley now urged on by the hardworking Mitchell and the vocal Mulholland and Town offered little in response. The usually predatory Sam Malsom was well policed by Styles, the midfield was being run by Hendrie and the Town backline was having a nightmare against Ross and Co.

In a rare Town attack Pringle almost levelled for Town with a header from a Petty free kick, but at the other end another run down the right by Haylor ended with the unmarked Hendrie shooting narrowly wide before Studley made the game safe in the 73rd minute. Again Haylor was allowed to send over a right wing cross which Pringle turned onto his own post and once more Ross showed the true goal poacher’s instinct by being there to turn it past Lynn and complete his hat-trick.

Shortly after he had to go off injured but that only meant that Craig Pountney came on clearly intent on heaping more misery onto his old Club. Indeed he nearly did so within two minutes when a cross from Hendrie was just too far in front of him, and with five minutes to go he almost turned provider as his pass set up Hendrie only for Lynn to again block at his left hand post.

Rawlings was still having a go for Town and he forced Grogan to a full length save as full time approached, but the final action appropriately saw Studley looking for a fifth goal with Lynn firstly saving from Pountney following another Haylor cross and then bravely beating Hendrie to a Pountney flick-on before the referee mercifully brought the proceeding to an end.

Town have put in a number of limp efforts this season and this was another one. Studley possessed all those essential qualities that a team needs - character, spirit, determination, motivation - that were so lacking in Town’s performance, and it was these qualities more than anything which deservedly won them the match.

TOWN : Lynn,, Robinson, Ruck, Mowl (Faulds 76), Pringle, Crawford, Grandison, Petty, Malsom, Byrne, Rawlings. Unused Subs - Snape, Oakley, Overton & Love.

STUDLEY : Grogan, Mulholland, Beauchamp, Hall, Styles, Mitchell, Haylor, Blake, Ross (Pountney 76), Hendrie, Cross.. Unused Subs - Deehan, Prinsep, Thomas & Keenahan.

Town Yellow Cards - None

Studley Yellow Cards - Styles

Attendance - 208

Man of the Match - Simon Lynn - made a number of outstanding saves in the second half without which the scoreline would have been even more embarrassing for Town

Match Stats

Town - GA 9 OT 4 HW 0 CW 7 FC 15 OS 2 YC 0 RC 0

Studley - GA 12 OT 8 HW 1 CW 9 FC 14 OS 5 YC 1 RC 0

Wednesday 9th April

TOWN GO NAP AGAINST SORRY SPHINX

Coventry Sphinx - 1 - Maynard 90

Stratford Town - 5 - Malsom 14 & 70 (pen) Petty 22 (pen) Byrne 50 Ruck 85

Sphinx’s debut season in the MFA has gone into sharp decline since their F A Vase quarter final defeat by Kirkham and Wesham - who have now progressed to the Final itself - losing five of their six subsequent League games, and Town had little difficulty in adding to their post-Vase woes on Wednesday evening with a victory every bit as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests.

Town made two changes to their starting line-up from Saturday. Simon Lynn came in for Chris Taylor in goal and Richard Robinson returned to right back allowing Jack Byrne to move into midfield with Mark Faulds dropping to the subs bench.

Sphinx were first to threaten with Jerome Murdock escaping his marker in the 4th minute only to shoot into the side netting, but Town were soon on top and it needed a well timed tackle from Terry Ward to prevent Byrne from getting through before Nick Mowl tried his luck with a firm strike from 25 yards which was comfortably held by Sphinx keeper Chris Daffern.

With Jamie Petty controlling the midfield and Sam Malsom making life difficult for the Sphinx backline with his pace and persistence there was only one team in it and it was no surprise when this combination gave Town the lead in the 14th minute. Petty gained possession and threaded a precise ball through to Malsom who outpaced Ward and calmly slotted the ball past the advancing Daffern.

Sphinx were struggling to keep Town at bay, and they fell further behind in the 22nd minute when the overlapping Steve Ruck burst into the penalty area and was pulled back by Dave Drennan. It was a clear penalty and Petty blasted the spot kick to Daffern’s right for a two goal lead.

Callum Woodward was not far away with an effort in a rare Sphinx attack on the half hour mark, and in the 36th minute a free kick floated into the Town penalty area by James Halton led to a fair old scramble before being hacked clear, while at the other end a Malsom header from a corner was only narrowly wide before the half ended with Sphinx going close with two more free kicks.

The first of these was well held by Lynn at the foot of his right hand post, but he could only fumble the second away for a corner which was easily dealt with by the Town defence.

Half Time - Coventry Sphinx 0 Stratford Town 2

Malsom was quickly into the action after the break forcing Daffern to tip over a snap effort from 15 yards, but Sphinx retaliated with a couple of corners before Town went futher ahead with a third goal in the 50th minute. Again Petty was the provider with another clinical through ball and this time it was Byrne who was the finisher easily beating the exposed Daffern for his 4th goal in the last five games.

Within a minute Malsom was almost through but was thwarted by a Chris Harris interception, Ashley Pringle was then narrowly over with a header from a corner and from another corner Robinson was close with a first time shot from the edge of the penalty area as Town dominated.

Sphinx brought on their three substitutes to try to get back into the game, but Town extended their lead in the 70th mniute with their second penalty of the evening. Byrne appeared to be tripped by Carl Winterbottom and in spite of heated Sphinx protests the referee pointed to the spot. Malsom was entrusted with the kick this time and made no mistake.

The game was now effectively over, but Ruck was close to adding a fifth in the 78th minute after being set up by good work from Faulds before he did make it five with five minutes to go seizing on a poor back pass from Maynard to round Daffern and slide the ball into the empty net.

With rain now falling heavily everyone was looking forward to the final whistle to end proceedings and get into the dry, but just as it looked as if Town would manage the unusual achievement of a clean sheet Sphinx scored with literally seconds to go when Rob Stevenson floated over a free kick from the right and Maynard glanced a header into the bottom corner of Lynn’s net - the first goal the young keeper has conceded in three outings this season.

So Town extended their unbeaten run to eight and now have three home matches left to complete their season beginning with the visit of local rivals Studley on Saturday. With Studley including a number of recent ex-Town players in their ranks - not least the redoubtable Dennis Mulholland - it should be an interesting afternoon !!

TOWN : Lynn,, Robinson, Ruck, Mowl, Pringle, Crawford, Grandison (Love 74), Petty, Malsom, Byrne (Faulds71), Rawlings. Unused Subs - Snape, Oakley & Overton.

SPHINX : Daffern, Halton, Harris (Scott 65), Maynard, Ward (McSheffrey 52), Winterbottom, Baggini, Drennan, Woodward (Knibbs 63), Stevenson, Murdock. Unused Subs - None

Town Yellow Cards - Pringle

Sphinx Yellow Cards - Baggini & Drennan

Attendance - 74

Man of the Match - Sam Malsom - was a handful for the hard pressed Sphinx defence all evening and his cool finish for the first goal set Town on their way

Match Stats

Town - GA 19 OT 9 HW 0 CW 7 FC 15 OS 3 YC 1 RC 0

Sphinx - GA 14 OT 4 HW 0 CW 7 FC 7 OS 2 YC 2 RC 0

Saturday 5th April

ROMANS DOMINATE BUT TOWN ESCAPE WITH A POINT

Rocester - 1 - Shaw 5

Stratford Town - 1 - Byrne 65

This game brought together two of the current in-form sides in the MFA. Town were unbeaten in six and were the MFA Team of the Month for March while the Romans were unbeaten in five and had only lost twice in their last fifteen, but on the day the Romans were by far the stronger and it was only due to some stubborn defending from Town and some wasteful finishing of their own that they did not comfortably take all three points.

After three games with the same starting line-up Micky Moore was forced into a number of changes. As expected the experienced Chris Taylor became Town’s fifth keeper of the season replacing James Dormand who has returned to Halesowen, while the back four had to be revamped due to the absences of Richard Robinson (illness) and Michael Love (injury). Jack Byrne and Steve Ruck were therefore handed the full back slots and Michael Crawford moved inside to partner Ashley Pringle in the centre, with Mark Faulds and Lawrence Rawlings making welcome returns in midfield after lengthy spells out.

Further unavailabilities meant that the subs bench included the manger himself and the “walking wounded” of Love and Tom Brady.

On a bumpy pitch and with wintry showers swirling around the Romans were quickly into their stride and took the lead in only the 5th minute. Town failed to deal with a throw-in from the right and Dave Shaw hammered the loose ball past Taylor from the edge of the penalty area for his 26th MFA goal of the season.

Shortly after he dispossessed the too casual Ruck and his speculative effort from close to the right touchline drifted narrowly over the bar with Taylor scrambling back to cover.

Town responded with Byrne trying his luck from distance which was well wide , but the Romans were having the majority of the possession and most of the chances. In the 24th minute a fine crossfield pass from Martin Gadsby sent Liam Sowter free down the left but his shot was too close to the well positioned Taylor, shortly after Tom Smith beat the offside trap but put his effort wastefully over and within a minute he was again one-on-one with Taylor only for the Town keeper to get enough of a hand onto the shot to deflect it away for a corner.

Sam Malsom was battling hard up front for Town and had the ball in the net on the half hour mark only for it to be disallowed for a foul on Rocester keeper Dean Latham.

But Town’s best chance of the half came in the 36th minute when Latham came out of his area to clear a long ball from Nick Mowl but failed to do so and Grandison and Malsom both had shots blocked before the ball was hacked clear.

With half time approaching Town had their best spell of the match as they tested the uncertain Latham with a couple of free kicks and corners but the ball would not quite fall right for them and the Romans made it to the interval with their lead intact.

Half Time - Rocester 1 Stratford Town 0

The Romans were first to threaten after the break with a shot from Gadsby which was easily held by Taylor, but Town had to reorganise in the 51st minute when the unfortunate Rawlings had to go off with a back injury. John Snape came on to take over at right back with Byrne moving into a more familiar midfield role.

The Romans continued to take the game to Town and twice in a few minutes Shaw should have added to his impressive season’s tally. First he was quick to latch onto a flick from Smith only to put his effort wide and then he was through again as Town looked in vain for offside but this time shot straight at Taylor as the keeper advanced to meet him

These misses began to appear even more costly in the 65th minute when Town levelled with a goal tinged with good fortune. Snape hoisted a long clearance down the inside right channel which was collected by Byrne who looked a good yard offside but the flag stayed down and he neatly slotted the ball past the stranded Latham.

Stung by this apparent injustice the Romans were soon back on the attack. Mark Hodson was not far away with a 20 yarder and in the 70th minute it required a stunning double save from Taylor to keep Town in the game as first Shaw and then Smith had close range shots beaten out before Sowter was narrowly wide with another crisp attempt.

Town were hanging on grimly as the vociferous Rocester crowd became even more agitated. With 15 minutes to go Shaw wasted another good opportunity before Taylor saved again from Smith and Martin Heath blasted the loose ball over.

In a rare Town foray into the Romans half Malsom looked to be going clear before being halted by a well timed tackle from Mark Bailey but still Rocester poured forward. Ruck headed a cross over his own bar, Taylor tipped over a lob from Hodson and in the final minute of normal time Taylor parried a Smith header to Hodson whose effort from the loose ball hit Crawford only for the referee to turn down the desperate penalty appeals from the disbelieving home players and supporters.

So somewhat fortunately Town escaped with a draw and extended their unbeaten sequence to seven. They may have been second best for most of the ninety minutes but they battled hard and showed a spirited attitude - something that has not always been the case this season - and for that alone the point was probably well deserved.

TOWN : Taylor, Bytne, Ruck, Mowl, Pringle, Crawford, Faulds, Petty, Malsom, Grandison, Rawlings ( Snape 51) Unused Subs - Moore, Love & Brady

ROCESTER : Latham, Bailey, Allen, Gadsby, Bennett, Brown, Hodson, Heath, Shaw, Smith, Sowter (Sheridan 79). Unused Subs - Maxwell, Henderson, McCarron & Wain

Town Yellow Cards - Ruck, Snape, Byrne & Faulda

Rocester Yellow Cards - None

Attendance - 116

Man of the Match - Jamie Petty - another hard working performance in midfield.