Bromsgrove Sporting rose to second in the Southern League Premier Central table on Saturday afternoon, with a commanding 3-0 win over Needham Market.
A first half brace for Shaquille McDonald was followed by a Richard Gregory goal just after the hour mark, which saw him become outright second in the Sporting all-time leading goalscorers chart.
The balance of play prior to the 17th minute opener was fairly level; a Craig Parker half volley from inside the box was brilliantly saved by the outstretched hand of Daniel Platt, whilst McDonald had a couple of efforts from distance fly just wide for the Rouslers.
The game's opening goal saw all three of Sporting's strikers involved - Gregory found Mikey Taylor with an outstanding pass, which allowed him to find McDonald, who slotted into an empty net from roughly six yards.
The lively McDonald had a shot saved in the area on the half hour mark by Needham keeper Marcus Garnham, but he would double his tally a little over 10 minutes later.
Great work by Gregory in the penalty area led to Mikey Taylor getting a header away; this was blocked by a defender, but McDonald was on hand to slam the rebound, hard and low, into the bottom corner.
Needham began the second half with a few chances; substitute Joe Neal dragged a shot wide from around 20 yards out, before Adam Mills attempted a lobbed volley that hit the post and went out for a goal kick.
Opportunities for both teams followed, with Mikey Taylor and Luke Ingram both having efforts that were very smartly saved by the respective goalkeepers.
The goal that put the game beyond reasonable doubt came in the 61st minute; Gregory intercepted a pass out from the back, before coolly taking it around Garnham and simply easing the ball into a completely empty net.
Joe Marsden had an audacious effort from distance that was saved well by an alert Platt, whilst McDonald and substitute Greg Mills both had late shots for Bromsgrove but were unable to add a fourth. |