Sporting headed off to Shakespeare Country last Saturday and fell to another cup defeat when they were bundled out of the League Vase by Henley Forest.
Pity really because they could not have had a better start when a great pass from James McKeon found Michael Woolman just inside the box, he turned 180 degrees, did a side step and neatly put the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net.
Unfortunately the away team could not keep up the momentum and failed to create any more reasonable chances in the first half; with almost every move forward ending in the last third of the field.
Henley were not doing much better with Sporting's new formation of a three-man defence and five-man midfield competently mopping up any attack from the men in sky and navy blue. However, the home side did win a corner on 26 minutes; captain George Curry curled a lovely ball into the box and Chris Key completed unmarked hit an unstoppable header past visiting 'keeper Chris Mole.
For both teams the second half, started much livelier with a bit more end-to end action. Sporting had the better of the play but strikers Michael Woolman and Dan Wilkes must have reckoned it was not their day as they saw chance after chance go wide, over the bar or scooped up by 'keeper Joss Holford.
With the match still not settled at 90 minutes, extra time was played and after having the edge for most of the match the inevitable happened on the 94th minute when lively striker Sam Manoochehri hit a good shot from 15 yards out, Chris Mole appeared to have it covered but the ball caught one of his defenders on the way and deflected past the hapless 'keeper. Sporting pressed for the equaliser but with most moves failing before getting a shot in, it never came.
The famous resident of this area once wrote "He who has never hoped can never despair" and true there was a lot of hope that some silverware would be coming to Bromsgrove this season. Despair has not set in but there was some anguish in the Sporting ranks that another match had slipped from their grasp.
Henley (sky blue/navy shirts, navy shorts, sky blue/navy socks, 4-4-2) - Joss Holford; Joseph Copland, Chris Smith, Matthew Vincent, Mark Unitt; Chris Key (Rhys Edwards 106 mins), Jon Grandfield, Terrance Morton (Tom Wale 78 mins), George Curry (Capt); Sam Manoochehri (Alex Foster 112 mins), Oliver Manoochehri. Substitutes not used: Marcus Orme, Matt Shay.
Sporting (green shirts, white shorts, green socks, 3-5-2) - Chris Mole; Neil Cooksey (Shaun May 108 mins), Gareth Rogers, Danny Patrick; Chris Bright, Jamie Rogers Russell Shaw 91 mins), James McKeon, Aaron Roberts, Ryan Molesworth; Dan Wilkes (Shaun Maynard 78 mins), Michael Woolman. Substitutes not used: James Bradley, Myles day. |