A David Kolodynski strike eight minutes from time secured an out-of-sorts Town a home tie against Corby in the next round of the Emirates FA Cup.
The result was harsh on the visitors, who were undoubtedly the better side throughout at a blustery Butlin Road.
Rugby boss James Jepson made one change to the line-up that had lost out in the league to Stamford's late winner four days previously, with recent signing Andy Hall starting on the right wing in place of Aron Wint, and there was also a place on the bench for another new arrival Darryl Thomas.
Bromsgrove made the better start to the game and also had the tie's first shot on target when Aaron Roberts tested Louis Connor on fifteen minutes.
A rare attacking highlight from the hosts then saw Hall unable to capitalise on Kolodynski's neat pass into the penalty box, with Sporting keeper Chris Jay quickly off his line to eliminate any threat.
Chris Lloyd's twenty yarder was parried away by Connor, before the same player had the best opportunity of the opening period when Connor's skewed clearance fell to him at a similar distance, but with an empty net beckoning, the Bromsgrove man could only send the ball back the wrong side of the frame.
Valley started the second half in stuttering form again, with passes regularly going astray and their defence starting to creak under the visitors' pressure.
Ahmed Ali's twist and turn on the edge of the area ended with a decent shot over the bar, and then Connor redeemed himself for his previous error by first denying Lloyd's shot across the face of the box, before later pushing Sean Brain's powerful effort over.
In between these, Tony Clarke struck Valley's bar and Ali's follow-up attempt was blocked on the line, as Bromsgrove continued to deal better with the swirling wind by creating a series of good chances.
For the hosts, Andy Gooding steered one over the bar on the hour mark, but aside from a number of off-target free-kicks, Town posed little attacking menace.
However, with a replay looking the likely outcome, Thomas marked his introduction as a substitute by finding some room on the right before picking out Kolodynski with his pull-back, and the striker squeezed the ball home from a tight angle in the goalmouth.
Valley Line-up: Connor; Print, Fox, Lee, Tank; Hall (Thomas), Belcher (Jepson), Gooding, Lavery; Woolley, Kolodynski (Bolton). Subs not used: Heath, Yussuf. Booked: Connor.
Bromsgrove Line-up: Jay, Roberts, Wilson, Morris, Willcox, L.Edwards, Tibbetts, Bunn, Ali, Lloyd, Brain. Subs: Nwosu, Leech, Kelly, Kemp, D.Edwards, Conway, Clarke. |