Bromsgrove Sporting 2 (Meddows 36', Snape 109')
Belper Town 1 (Gratton 81')

After Extra Time

A chaotic evening at the UK Electrical Stadium eventually saw Bromsgrove Sporting get through to the next round of the Emirates FA Cup, after beating Belper Town in a First Round Qualifying Replay.

A dominant Sporting went into the interval a goal up courtesy of Jamie Meddows, but were initially made to pay for a plethora of wasted chances when Jacob Gratton's 81st minute leveller took the game to extra time.

Substitute Ryan Snape scored in the 109th minute for the Rouslers, and that wasn't even the final twist in the tale, as Belper's Mason Warren blasted a penalty over the bar with two minutes remaining.

The 8th minute saw Reece King have a header cleared off the line for the home side, before captain Luke Rowe had an effort tipped away by Belper stopper Dan Moore.

Belper's first chance came 16 minutes in, as Nathaniel Crofts struck wide from a promising position.

Another chance came the visitors' way 10 minutes later, as Harry Draper, fresh from his double against Bromsgrove on Saturday, saw his headed effort from a fine cross saved brilliantly by Sporting stopper Charlie Price.

Bromsgrove's Harry Crook had a shot saved by Moore's feet moments late. The Sporting pressure continued and they were duly rewarded in the 36th minute, as Meddows' left-footed cross-shot evaded everybody before curling into the net.

Chances fell to both teams in the remainder of the first half, as a Curtis Burrows free kick was well held by Price before Theo Robinson hit the ball straight at Moore up the other end. Kieran Cook almost doubled the advantage in the 44th minute, but he sliced his effort across the goal and out of play.

Meddows and Crook both missed the target with opportunities early in the second half, whilst Sporting's Jack Newell saw an attempt saved in the 77th minute.

Bromsgrove's squandered opportunities and failure to make the most of their general dominance came back to haunt them nine minutes from time, as Gratton struck home on the turn from the edge of the area.

The Nailers almost took the lead a minute later, but substitute Keaton August's strike from distance whistled just over the bar.

Sporting's first chance of the match was a King header and their final one of the 90 was another, with Moore somehow keeping out the close range effort.

The game finished all square at the end of normal time and extra time duly followed - the opening opportunity of this period was yet another King header, this was hitting the crossbar.

The 107th minute saw Robinson have an overhead kick saved - two minutes later, the eventual winner was scored, as Snape surged into the box and hammered the ball home, leading to rapturous celebrations from the Bromsgrove faithful.

The drama wasn't over though, as Belper were awarded a 118th minute penalty for a handball offence. Up stepped Warren, who blazed his spotkick over the bar and the Town End wall to boot.

That was the final opportunity of the match, as Bromsgrove managed to see out the win, with a home tie against Lincolnshire-based Bottesford Town awaiting in the next round.

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Entertainment Rating: 4/5
Reporter's Player of the Match: Luke Rowe (Bromsgrove Sporting)

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Attendance: 517
50/50 number: 8846 (winning £171)

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Player of the Match: Choosing the MOTM was refereeing maestro and friend of the club, Arthur Smith - his choice was also Luke Rowe.

Luke is sponsored for the season by the Fox Family.

Report: Max Banner