The Pitching-In Southern League Premier Division Central - Saturday 8th April 2023, 3:00 p.m. kick-off
Coalville Town 1 (1) Bromsgrove Sporting 1 (1) at The Mander Cruickshank Solicitors Stadium
After a poor run of results, Bromsgrove Sporting finally got their act together last Saturday holding league leaders Coalville Town to a deserved draw and easing their relegation worries. The match though was not without controversy when The Rouslers' physio' was given a red card in bizarre circumstances.
It was the home side though who dominated the early stages of the game remaining camped in their opponents half, having a succession of useful chances but most were wide of their mark and the remainder were adequately dealt with by the back four, though Timothy Berridge did clip the bar with a robust effort on the 6th minute.
With half time looming and the players looking for a well-deserved break on a warm afternoon, the Ravens' defence made a rare error when a poor back pass was intercepted by Brandon Smalley; he raced down the right into the box jigging past Elliot Putman before sliding his shot wide of 'keeper Paul White to give Sporting an unexpected lead.
However the advantage only lasted a couple minutes as Coalville pressed for the equaliser and it come pretty quickly when Ashley Chamber unleashed a powerful shot that Sporting 'keeper Ollie Taylor could only parry, the ball though fell to the feet of Maxwell Brogan who had no trouble blasting home from short range.
With both teams sensing that they could earn the maximum points, the second half was a more equal end-to-end game with both teams playing some neat football. Coalville however had the better chances and will probably regret some poor finishing though Ollie Taylor was called into action on a few occasions including one brilliant tip-over from Berridge on the 55th minute.
Although not a particularly physical game, Sporting physio Gavin Blackwell was kept busy and when Ollie Taylor got a knock on the 74th minute, the respected sponge man went on to attend to his goalkeeper only to find that referee Mr Bacon had not given him permission to enter the field of play and immediately branded a red card. Arguments ensued as nobody could ever recall such an incident and the experts on the laws of football attesting that physios could not be "sent off". The game eventually continued with Blackwell still on the bench, continuing his duties and bemused as to what he had done wrong.
Once the football resumed, the only real chance was when Ollie Taylor was forced into a point-blank save from Ravens' substitute Billy Kee with two minutes of added time played. Then after another five minutes, Mr Bacon blew for the end and first the first time in several matches something for Sporting fans to celebrate.
After the game, assistant manager Andy Mason said, "a great result for us against the league's top team. We needed that not just for valuable point but also as a morale booster".
Sporting line-up: Ollie Taylor (Capt), Lewis Wright (Tom Taylor 64 mins), Ayo Lekuti, Jo Curtis, Jack Newell, Mike McGrath, Kartell Dawkins, Mo Sebbeh, Prince Henry, Brandon Smalley, Conor Tee.
Unused substitutes: Demi Akinwe, Mikel Brown, Nathan Kabeya, Miro Pais.
Referee: Mr M Bacon
Crowd: 962
Sporting Player of the Match: Mike McGrath
