ST MARY'S HOSPICE MIDLAND COMBINATION PREMIER DIVISION
MONDAY 26TH AUGUST 2013
EARLSWOOD TOWN 2 BROMSGROVE SPORTING 0
On a warm muggy afternoon Sporting turned in a soporific performance to lose their second home game in three days. Yes I know it was officially an away game and that Sporting played in green while Keith Draper got to occupy the home dugout but this is our ground and we should be playing a lot more positively than this. Instead Sporting produced a laboured performance that produced only one serious attempt on goal while a well organised Earlswood would have won more easily had they taken some of the numerous chances they created.
It was the (official) home side who dominated the early stages but without threatening to score, mainly because of some comically inept finishing, the highlight being a snapshot that went out for a throw in eighteen yards from the corner flag. Sporting had their first chance after twenty minutes when Tibbetts cut inside after a good move but shot straight at Savage.
The Rouslers were starting to put some promising moves together but on 26 minutes it was Earlswood who opened the scoring. Chapman got in behind the left hand side of Sporting's defence and centred low to an unmarked Roy Dunkley who tapped in from two yards. This was a poor goal from a defensive point of view and really settled the game. In the remaining hour and a bit the Rouslers never looked like equalising. They had plenty of possession but their build up was too slow and they hit too may aimless balls into the penalty area which Earlswood's defenders dealt with easily.
After a shot that brought a routine save from Savage at the start of the second half the game settled into a routine of Sporting having plenty of possession as Earlswood sat back and waited for the attacks to break down when they counter attacked with pace. They had a number of chances but some bad misses kept Sporting in the game. Jacob Snape came on to replace Brown and looked lively. The nearest Sporting came to an equaliser was when Snape intercepted a pass on the edge of the penalty area and played the ball in to Poyner whose shot was blocked at point blank range by savage. This was the only serious save the ex-Rousler had to make.
Three minutes remained when Earlswood opened up the left side of Sporting's defence again and a hanging cross was volleyed in at the near post by Chris Chapman.
Two-nil it finished and Sporting can have no complaints. There was a lack of pace throughout the team and I cannot remember one occasion on which our wide players were able to beat the full back and cross from the byeline. Predictable football and, in the end, a predictable result. Two defeats in four games now and we know that if you want to win this League you can't afford to lose more than four or five games all season. Improvement is needed and quickly. I'll half fill my glass and say that we surely can't play as badly as this again. Can we?
