If there was any criticism of Bromsgrove Sporting this season it has been that they have not been converting enough chances and as a consequence not scoring as many as they were capable of. That was not the case on Saturday as they overwhelmed their opponents in a fine display of disciplined football in poor weather conditions, writes Phil Baker.
Playing down the slope from the kick-off, Sporting spent pretty much the whole of the first 20 minutes of the match in Bolehall territory, though it was eight minutes before they had their first chance but home keeper Matt Hill did well to save from Jason Cowleys feet in a one on one.
A few minutes later Swifts had their first good move with Tom Howard and David Yonwin combining well to supply Joseph Obi but his shot was saved low by Chris Jay.
Luke Shorthouse and Cowley both had reasonable efforts saved by Hill but the deadlock was broken on the 23rd minute when Chris Lloyd floated over a pin-point corner into the box that Craig Jones headed goalwards. Hill got a touch to it but could only watch as the ball went into the net off the underside of the bar.
Four minutes later Cowley beat the Bolehall offside trap only to be held back by Harrison White tugging his shirt. A yellow for the defender and he was probably lucky not to get a red as the last man.
Sporting were now delivering nearly a shot a minute as Cowley headed over the bar, Sam Wills tried to lob Hill from 40 yards but went wide whilst Jack Wilsons thunderbolt went just over the bar.
The Rouslers second came on the 34th minute when Cowleys hard work paid off as he connected with Jack Wilsons cross giving Hill no chance.
The third arrived on 38 minutes, courtesy of a Chris Lloyd penalty earned when White was unlucky to handle in his own box.
Playing on the upwards slope after the interval and in increasingly heavy rain, Sporting continued to dominate though playing neat football on the heavy pitch was nigh impossible and both teams resorted to the long ball.
With 60 minutes on the clock The Rouslers gained another penalty this time for a clumsy tackle just inside the penalty area but Hill guessed correctly and dived to parry Lloyds strike only to see the striker tap home the re-bound.
Shortly after, the home side had their best chance of the match when Jay was forced to make a good tip over from Hollingsworths header.
Reece Hewitt got number five for the Bromsgrove team when he slotted a through ball under the diving Hill then number six arrived on 80 minutes as Lloyd drove home from short range. Cue for manager Paul Smith to urge his players to keep going!
As the clock moved into added time and the home players were clearly more interested in a warm shower, Sporting got two more as substitute Andy Nicol drove in from a few yards out then with seconds remaining, Chris Lloyd got his fourth tapping in after Hill had parried his original shot.
Speaking after the match, Paul Smith said he was obviously happy with the result and pleased with the performance especially given the atrocious conditions in the second half.
Bolehall: Matt Hill, Perry Cotton, Michael Bloore, Kyle Bache, Harrison White, Tom Howard, Steffan Hollingsworth (George Brindley 96 mins), David Yonwin (Chris Sockett 69 mins), Joseph Obi (Capt.), Ryan Ball, Chris Cowley.
Substitute not used: Ben Richardson.
Yellows: Harrison White (7 mins), Steffan Hollingsworth (60 mins).
Sporting: Chris Jay, Aaron Roberts, Jack Wilson, Sam Wills (Nathan Walker 69 mins), Craig Jones (Capt.), Luke Edwards, Chris Lloyd, Robbie Bunn (Keenen Meakin-Richards 78 mins), Jason Cowley (Andy Nicol 60 mins), Luke Shorthouse, Reece Hewitt.
Substitutes not used: Jake Willcox, Will Tibbetts.
Goals: Craig Jones (23 mins), Jason Cowley (34 mins), Chris Lloyd (38 [pen], 60, 80, 90+2 mins), Reece Hewitt (78 mins), Andy Nicol (90+1 mins).
Cards: None.
Referee: Mr A Clenaghan (Tamworth)
Assistants: Mr D Badger (Shirley), Mr D Cole (Tamworth).
Weather: Mild, heavy rain.
Crowd: 94
Sporting Man of the Match: Chris Lloyd
MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 1
Bolehall Swifts 0-8 Bromsgrove Sporting
Bolehall Swifts suffered their worst defeat ever in the Midland Football League since the formation in 2014. The Swifts mustered just one shot on goal during the first half, this coming from Ryan Ball after Tom Howard set him up in the 23rd minute. In contrast Bromsgrove who are better financed, better supported, and looked a class above Swifts scored 3 goals and could have had more.
Perry Cotton cleared one goal bound effort off the line after Hill had been passed in a one on one situation. Hill in the Swifts net did well to prevent Cowley from scoring at the expense of a corner. Unfortunately, from the flag kick, Swifts somewhat vertically challenged team could not prevent JONES heading home unopposed from the flag kick, with the ball hitting the underside of the bar before finding the back of the Swifts net. Harrison White was caught in possession near the centre circle, and collected a yellow card when he pulled the ball winner back.
Swifts defended the situation but never really got the ball clear and when a cross came in from the right in the 35th minute COWLEY slotted home from the far post, doubling Bromsgrove lead in just 10 minutes. The 3rd goal came from the penalty spot just 3 minutes later as Swifts looked incapable of stemming the goal rush. It had been a half where Swifts tackled occasionally, passed abysmally, and could not control a ball the few times they received an accurate pass.
The second half was not something anyone from Swifts was looking forward too. Chris Cowley made a good run down the left just a minute into the second half, but Howard’s shot went wide of the target. At the other end Mick Bloore got himself back to clear off the line, after Matt Hill worked hard to partially block a shot in the 54th minute.
However, a penalty conceded by Bache for which he received a yellow card, was initially saved by the faultless Matt Hill but no one backed him up and the ball was swept home at the second attempt to give Bromsgrove a 4-0 lead. Bolehall won a corner when a shot by Joe Obi was blocked. The kick from Cowley was well met by Stefan Hollingsworth at the far post but somehow ‘keeper Jay tipped it over the bar.
Although Chris Cowley worked his socks off to create chances down the left wing, there was very little luck flowing in Swifts direction, and despite conceding another 4 goals, the home team did put together a few good moves, in contrast to their first half performance.
In the end Bromsgrove ran out comfortable 8 goal winners. Fortunately Obi and Haywood have good contacts and will be doing their utmost to bring in more players, hopefully before they lose any more of their better ones.
