Tuesday 14th February 2006
errea (Southern League) Cup - 5th Round
Banbury United 0  Bromsgrove Rovers 4
By Phil Baker

Being a Bromsgrove Rovers supporter is at present rather bewildering. How do they manage to succumb to a humiliating home defeat at the hands of Sutton Coldfield only for three days later to overcome a team doing well in the next division up and with only two home defeats against them this season? Not only did Rovers win but deservedly so and that's not my opinion, that was the Banbury supporters sitting close by.

So where did it go right? The start hardly looked good. More or less the same team took to the pitch as last Saturday but with Wayne Dyer and Gavin Hurren unavailable and replaced by Mark Benbow and Steve Hillman in mid-field. Lee Evans also replaced Tim Clarke. So arguably their best player missing and his replacement playing out of position.

The first half-hour was pretty even with both teams playing good lively football and stretching each other's defences. Rovers probably had the better of the play but the home team certainly had the best chance when on the 14 th minute Matty Gooderick rattled the Evans' bar with a well-taken shot from a narrow angle.

The game then changed direction on the 31 st minute when an excellent Luke Reynolds pass to Mark Benbow just inside the Banbury penalty area allowed the long-serving Bromsgrove man to hit a fine shot past goalkeeper Alan Foster.

Most of the crowd expected Banbury to up their game and come out guns blazing in the second half but it was the visitors who took the initiative and rather than sit on a one-goal lead, they took the game to the home side who really had no answer. The second goal came on 51 minutes with that man Reynolds again but this time the scorer when he back-headed a Matt Johnson corner into the roof of the home net.

Rovers' third came from by the hard-working Neil Davis on 61 minutes when the striker had a fairly easy tap-in after receiving the ball close to the left-hand post.

With only two outplaying substitutes available, manager Rod Brown's options were limited and he surprisingly brought on striker Paul Moore for Steve Hillman with a three-goal lead to defend; one would have thought the more defensively-minded player would have been kept on.

However, it neither helped Banbury nor hindered Rovers as they chalked up their fourth against the Premier Division team on 68 minutes when Luke Reynolds hit a well-placed shot through crowded penalty.

Reynolds reward was then to be substituted and given the success of bringing on strikers when defending a lead, the same was repeated this time with Jim Smith coming on for the last 22 minutes.

Banbury made a couple of substitutions probably with a view to making the scoreline more respectable that realistically trying the get anything out of the game. They did have a couple of worthwhile efforts but nothing that really troubled an excellent Lee Evans.

Mark Benbow did try to get a second but that went wide of the right-hand post and five minutes later referee Mr Gillett decided to call it a day with the number of home supporters left in the ground somewhat less than the number of Bromsgrove supporters still at the Victoria Ground at the end of last Saturday's match.

Finally a quick mention for the Banbury United programme. An absolute gem and work of art, beautifully laid-out and printed and packed with lots of well-researched information. They clearly know more about Bromsgrove Rovers than we know about ourselves. All this for just 20p more than the Rovers' equivalent. Having done the job for a season I know how much work is involved and this makes me feel my efforts were very inadequate indeed.

Banbury United (4-4-2): Alan Foster, James Saulsbury, Tom Kinch, Kieran Sullivan, Stuart Bridges (Ricky Johnson 71 mins), Ady Fuller, Ollie Stanbridge, George Redknap, Matty Gooderick, Andy Baird (Jacob Goddard 71 mins), Neil Lazurus.
Subs not used: Chris Jackson, Paul Lamb, Simon Tricker.

Rovers (3-5-2): Lee Evans, Matt Johnson, Joe Williams, Exodus Geohaghan, Chris McHale, John Snape, Mark Benbow, Steve Hillman (Paul Moore 61 mins), Luke Reynolds (Jimmy Smith 71 mins), Neil Davis, Kevin Banner.
Subs not used: Matt Clarke.

Referee: Mr A Gillett (Aylesbury)
Attendance: 217

Baker's MoM for Rovers: Luke Reynolds