Tuesday 10th January
Southern League Division One West
Bromsgrove Rovers 0 Marlow 2
by Phil Baker

In losing this game Rovers slumped to their firth league home defeat of the season and with it goes much chance of getting into the play-off positions let alone any hope of automatic promotion.

New manager Rod Brown's home debut saw him give a start to on-loan signing from Kidderminster, Gavin Hurren in the centre of defence at the expense of Joe Williams who returned to the bench whilst Steve Hillman reverted to left-back.

Carl Adams lined up next to Wayne Dyer in mid-field in an apparent 4-4-2 formation with Ben Porter and Anthony Maguire up front.

The game started at a fast pace with the former FA Cup semi-finalists intent on moving the ball round quickly and taking advantage of a strong wind blowing up field behind them. Rovers struggled to keep up and fell behind in the 4 th minute when poor marking allowed Adam Dickens enough time to line up a long-range shot which he hit beautifully giving Tim Clarke in the home goal no chance.

The home side realised they needed to sharpen up and match Marlow for work rate and they did manage to get back into the game with a goal disallowed for a foul on visiting 'keeper Ian Mactaggart on the 22 nd minute and a good appeal for a penalty turned down by referee Mr Hine eight minutes later when Porter was push off the ball by the Marlow centre-backs.

However, Rovers failure to get an equaliser was punished four minutes before half-time following a long clearance up field Tim Clarke appeared to misjudge where the ball was going to land and with the central defenders nowhere near, John Isaac managed to get enough of a touch to push the ball past the home 'keeper for Marlow's second.

The second half was fairly predicable with Marlow defending their lead and relying on breaks to get forward. Rovers were in desperate need of some flair and initiative if they were to break done a gutsy but vulnerable-looking Marlow defence. Kevin Banner hit the bar on the 64 th minute to add bad luck to the factors working against them and although some players showed some determination, Marlow always looked the better side and their lead was never really threatened. Indeed they nearly got a third on 76 minutes when Dyer lost the ball just inside his own half to Sam Shepherd who passed well to Jermaine Roche who beat Tim Clarke only for his shot to hit the underside of the bar and bounce out.

A disappointing night for Rovers coming on the back of a lot of anger and frustration amongst the fans over Jimmy Mullen's leaving of the club five days before. Scott Hadland was missed in midfield who was not only a ball winner but had a good nose for scoring. Carl Adams appeared to be given the job of controlling the game from the centre of the pitch but he looked less comfortable there than playing in front of the defence. Wayne Dyer looked out of sorts, maybe unsure of his role with Adams shifting position and Ben Porter looked bemused at being substituted by Duncan Willetts when Rovers looked as if they needed extra strength up front rather than the same.

With a depleted squad, Brown needs a player in each department including a combative midfielder and a striker who can hold the ball as well as score. In defence Williams will be disappointed to be dropped after a series of competent performances.

However, if Rovers are to move forward matters off the field need to be sorted out and quickly, otherwise motivating the players in forthcoming matches will be the least of the new manager's problems.

Rovers:   Tim Clarke, Mark Benbow, Steve Hillman, Gavin Hurren, Exodus Geohaghan,
Carl Adams, Matt Johnson (Matt Barnes-Homer 64 mins), Wayne Dyer, Ben Porter (Duncan Willetts 62 mins), Anthony Maguire, Kevin Banner. Subs not used: Joe Williams,
Jermaine Seabourne, Lee Evans.

Marlow:   Ian Mactaggart, Jack Smillie, Job Neptune, John Beale, Jeff Lamb, Simon Herbert, John Isaac, Sam Shepherd, John Gray (Scott Webb 90 mins), Jermaine Roche (Adam Harman 87 mins), Adam Dickens. Subs not used: Steve Croxford, Michael Watkins,
Kevin Stone.

Referee: Mr D J Hine.

Baker's MoM for Rovers: Anthony Maguire