Match Reports - February 2007

Rushall Olympic 1 - 2 Willenhall Town

British Gas Business Division One Midlands

Tuesday 27th February 2007

It was all very much too little, too late from a hugely disappointing Rushall Olympic outfit as they were sucked further into relegation trouble at Dales Lane following a narrow 2-1 defeat by neighbours Willenhall Town.

The score line failed to reflect the overall dominance of the visitors who coasted into a two-goal lead with a strike in each half. It was only during the final 15 minutes that the Pic's finally decided to make a contest of it as they grabbed a late consolation - but anything less than three points for the Reds would have been an injustice.

Willenhall were first to show on nine minutes when skipper Mark Briggs was given far too much time and space to send a rasping 25-yard drive narrowly over the bar. However, within five minutes the visitors were gifted an opening goal when Rushall spurned several opportunities to clear their lines before a fatal error by Richard Brown saw the Pic's skipper give the ball away to Ben Jevons who fired a first time low drive from outside the box into the bottom left corner past the static Ryan Price.

With the strong wind at their backs Town were ruthlessly putting the home side under some significant pressure as the first half progressed, aided and abetted by Olympic's midfield and defensive contingent struggling to exert any authority whatsoever on proceedings.

Six minutes before the interval and Willenhall's Jimmi-Lee Jones went on a probing run into the right side of Rushall's box, but as the front runner's low centre was driven across the face of goal nobody in a red shirt was on hand to make a telling touch.

Following a tortured first period where the home side failed to produce a single worthwhile effort on target, they appeared to emerge for the second half in a better frame of mind following some half-time guidance. A double substitution ten minutes into the second period saw Tim Jackson and new signing James Francis introduced to the fray at the expense of Neil Kitching and the returning Chad Sheppard, but in fairness any combination of two from the starting eleven could have made way for the replacements, such was the teams' general level of performance.

Just before the hour mark and Neil Barnfield's crunching sliding tackle wrestled possession from Willenhall, sending Dean Perrow racing clear against his former employers with James Francis in support. However, the position was woefully wasted as the front runner selfishly balloned the ball way over the woodwork when well placed.

The game was all over bar the shouting in the 67th minute when Olympic's increasingly lackadaisical defending saw their rearguard unforgivably fail to make a telling clearance as Town's Mark Briggs was granted the freedom of Dales Lane to turn, advance and then loop a curling 20-yarder from out of nowhere into the top left corner.

Moving into the final quarter of an hour Rushall finally began to realise that with just two points perilously separating them from the division's relegation zone they need to start scrapping for points. On 74 minutes Dean Perrow was picked out in the centre of the Willenhall box some 12 yards out, but could only turn and fire wastefully wide of the target, while eight minutes later defender Niki Preston inexplicably headed wide of the left upright from close range after Reds 'keeper Dean Coleman could only half punch a curling centre.

As opportunities came thick and fast for the home side, in the 86th minute Dean Perrow was sent racing clear following a rare defensive lapse from the visitors, but as the striker darted into the penalty area, he elected to scoop a centre over the woodwork and out of play for a goal kick instead of lifting the ball goalwards over the custodian. Within a minute the same player then curled an effort high and wide of the goal when extremely well place some 15 yards out.

Rushall finally grabbed what turned out to be an exquisite consolation goal with barely a couple of minutes remaining when an attempted low defensive clearance fell straight into the path of Anthony Maguire and the midfielder calmly lobbed the ball at the first time of asking over stranded 'keeper Dean Coleman into the back of the net from fully 45 yards out.

Rushall Olympic: 1. Ryan Price, 2. Lee Gough, 3. Rob Holdcroft, 4. Richard Brown ©, 5. Niki Preston, 6. Lee Barrow, 7. Anthony Maguire, 8. Chad Sheppard (14. James Francis 55'), 9. Neil Kitching (Tim Jackson 55'), 10. Dean Perrow, 11. Neil Barnfield. Unused Subs: 15. Rob Vassell, 16. Adam Wood, 17. Chris Brindley.

Willenhall Town: 1. Dean Coleman, 2. Sean Platt, 3. Craig Milligan, 4. Lucan Spittle, 5. Todd Perry, 6. Dan Harvey, 7. Ben Jevons, 8. Mark Briggs ©, 9. Kyle Perry, 10. Jimmi-Lee Jones (15. James Molineux 83'), 11. Nathan Jackson (14. Alex Gibbons 87'). Unused Subs: 12. Bruce Wheeler, 13. Amo Singh Kler, 16. Darren White.

Referee: Mr. J.L. Cox (Evesham)

Attendance: 124

Sutton Coldfield Town 1 - 1 Rushall Olympic

British Gas Business Division One Midlands

Saturday 17th February 2007

A 70th minute spot kick created and clinically converted by striker Dean Perrow against his former employers gave Rushall Olympic a share of the spoils in an otherwise cheerless local derby at Sutton Coldfield Town.

Rushall manager Paul Holleran handed a debut to new signing Niki Preston in central defence, but what followed was a dreadfully poor scrappy first period littered with unforced errors from both sides that eventually saw the visitors go into the interval a goal down.

Olympic were first to show in the 14th minute when Anthony Maguire's 25-yard free-kick aimed low towards the bottom left corner was safely scooped up by former Pic's stopper Chris Gemmell in the Sutton goal.

A rapid counter attack a minute later almost caught the hosts off guard, but after Dean Perrow and Anthony Maguire both had half chances blocked out, the formers 15 yard effort looped wide of the woodwork.

It took Sutton until the 22nd minute to register their first noteworthy effort on goal as Craig Marshall blazed wide of the right post when well positioned just inside the periphery of the box.

However, the home side didn't have to wait much longer to open their account for the afternoon when following a period of sustained pressure former Scotland international Paul Devlin looped an inviting high ball into the area from the right that 'keeper Ryan Price made a real hash of attempting to punch clear. As the loose ball ran towards the edge of the box midfielder Nathan Moran had time and space to pick his spot and curl home into the right side of goal around a crowded goalmouth.

Olympic made a tactical switch during the interval with wing back Tim Jackson replacing ineffective defender Adam Wood down the left to add more mobility into the line-up, but still a sluggish looking Rushall outfit appeared to be suffering from a midweek extra time hangover following their Staffordshire Senior Cup exit to Nationwide Conference Tamworth.

Within three minutes of the restart impressive Royals debutant Emre Woolf was allowed to carve his way into the box, but fortunately 'keeper Ryan Price was alert to the danger and ultimately smothered the midfielder's scuffed shot.

As the game wore on the visitors gradually began to find their feet increasingly more and with twenty minutes remaining they finally managed to gain some territorial advantage in their opponents half as Anthony Maguire played a delightful twenty yard pass into the path of Dean Perrow who darted into the right side of Sutton's box. As the ball was pushed towards the bi-line the front runner was caught by a clumsy defensive clip of the heels that sent the former Coles Lane hot shot sprawling, giving the referee no alternative but to award a penalty. Picking himself up the forward placed the ball down and promptly drove the resulting award straight down the centre of goal, sending 'keeper Chris Gemmell to his right, to restore parity.

With the encounter moving into the final few minutes it became progressively more frantic as both sides pushed on in search of a winning goal. On 86 minutes Sutton's danger man Justin Rowe was given far too much time and space within the confines of the visitors box. As the Pic's failed to effectively clear their lines a deflected ball fell fortuitously into the path of the striker, however the Olympic contingent breathed a huge sigh of relief as Rowe rifled venomously into the right side netting from close range.

As play swung rapidly to the other end former Sutton forward Neil Kitching was presented within an opportunity from 10 yards out, but his resulting goal bound drive ricocheted off a defender for a corner kick.

With barely a couple of minutes remaining Rushall almost snatched an unlikely victory as Neil Barnfield was put through into the left side of the Royals penalty area with a fine defence splitting pass, however as the midfielder unselfishly drove the ball low and hard into the danger zone from the bi-line, with the goal gaping wide nobody was on hand to apply the vital finishing touch and the danger was ultimately cleared.

Sutton: 1. Chris Gemmell, 2. Matt Dodd, 3. Darren Massingham, 4. Phil Male ©, 5. Mark Maloney, 6. Emre Woolf, 7. Paul Devlin (16. Jamie Stark 75'), 8. Nathan Moran, 9. Justin Rowe, 10. Craig Marshall, 11. Sam Wilson. Unused Subs: Luke Flynn, 14. Stuart Capaldi, 15. Matt Jackson, 17. Andy Ling.

Rushall: 1. Ryan Price, 2. Lee Gough (15. Rob Vassell 64'), 3. Adam Wood (12. Tim Jackson 45'), 4. Richard Brown ©, 5. Lee Barrow, 6. Niki Preston, 7. Anthony Maguire, 8. Rob Holdcroft, 9. Neil Kitching, 10. Dean Perrow, 11. Neil Barnfield. Unused Subs: 14. Ben Porter, 16. Danny Mason, 17. Chris Brindley.

Referee: Mr. M. Murphy (Coventry)

Attendance: 173

Rushall Olympic 1 - 2 Tamworth (After Extra Time)

Staffordshire Senior Cup Quarter-Final

Tuesday 13th February 2007

Lucky Tamworth grabbed a fortunate winner in the 5th minute of extra time to wrestle the grasp of holders Rushall Olympic from the Staffordshire Senior Cup at the Quarter-Final stage of the competition with an extremely narrow 2-1 victory at Dales Lane. However, the visitors were hugely indebted to their veteran 'keeper Dale Belford who pulled off a string of fine saves throughout the contest, while in stark contrast opposite number Ryan Price enjoyed a relatively quiet evening.

The Pic's began the cup tie very much as underdogs as the Nationwide Conference basement club fielded a very strong line-up packed with First Team regulars, while their new manager Gary Mills also opted to take to the starting line-up. However, during the first half there was very little to distinguish between the two sides despite the gaping chasm of three divisions within the non-League pyramid that separated the opponents.

Tamworth's first real opportunity of the opening period came on 30 minutes when skipper John McGrath curled a 25-yard free-kick marginally wide of the top left corner, while Rushall's Adam Wood had earlier sent a firm header wide of the right post from 10 yards during the aftermath of a corner kick. However, as the Lambs upped a gear in the 32nd minute a momentary lapse of concentration from the home side resulted in a defence splitting pass that picked out John McGrath in space within Olympic's penalty area who confidently drove the ball at the first time of asking across 'keeper Ryan Price into the bottom corner to give Tamworth the lead against the run of play.

As Rushall finished the half strongly, after limiting their far more loftier opponents to just two goal attempts of any note, Neil Barnfield tried his luck on the volley from just inside the box, but evergreen 'keeper Dale Belford was more than equal to the challenge.

Only the pace of livewire front runner John Stevenson on the break appeared to give the Rushall rearguard any consternation as the home side continued to hold their own during the opening spell of the second period and clearly enjoyed the lion's share of possession.

A double substitution from Pic's manager Paul Holleran on 75 minutes saw his side revert to a more attacking 4-4-2 formation as Danny Mason and Neil Kitching joined the fray in place of Rob Vassell and Ben Porter. The ploy certainly reaped huge dividends four minutes later when Olympic shocked their guests by deservedly restoring parity as a corner from the right was spilled by 'keeper Dale Belford under pressure and ace goal poacher Dean Perrow was on hand to clinically dispatch the loose ball into the bottom corner with a vicious drive.

The equaliser stoked up the Pic's momentum as they relentlessly pushed Tamworth further on to the back foot. Indeed, on 82 minutes they almost grabbed the lead when an excellent ball from Danny Mason found Dean Perrow just inside the periphery of the right side of the box, but the goal poachers' venomous low drive was somehow parried away by the Lambs stopper.

As extra time commenced Tamworth suddenly began to find some form and in the 95th minute they caught their hosts cold as the tricky John Stevenson turned his marker and sent striker partner Steve Burton racing into space in the right side of the area before firing off a low drive across Ryan Price into the bottom left corner.

The goal was certainly rough justice on Rushall, but they continued to bravely battle away by taking the game well and truly to the four times winners of the competition. However, as the prestigious trophy slowly slipped away from their grasp the Pic's best opportunity fell to Anthony Maguire on 102 minutes whose 25 yard pile driver was again met by the stubborn resistance of the Lambs 'keeper who parried away for a corner kick.

All-in-all it was a disappointment for the Dales Lane side to go out the competition in such a manner, but the performance on the night from a patched up Pic's side was nothing short of excellent and will give them a great deal of confidence for the remainder of the season.

Rushall: 1. Ryan Price, 2. Lee Gough, 3. Tim Jackson, 4. Richard Brown ©, 5. Adam Wood, 6. Rob Vassell, 7. Anthony Maguire, 8. Rob Holdcroft, 9. Ben Porter, 10. Dean Perrow, 11. Neil Barnfield. Subs: 12. Danny Mason (for Vassell 75), 13. Steve Johnson, 14. Neil Kitching (for Porter 75), 15. Dwayne Robinson.

Tamworth: 40. Dale Belford, 3. Michael Tuohy, 4. David Bampton, 8. Steve Burton, 10. John Stevenson, 14. Graeme Law, 20. Daryl Taylor, 22. Michael Briscoe, 24. John McGrath ©, 28. Ryan Laight, 36. Gary Mills. Subs: 1. Jose Veiga, 6. Emmit Friars, 26. Levi Chambers, 27. Luke Keen, 31. Simon Heslop.

Referee: Mr. S. Rushton (Stoke-on-Trent)

Brackley Town 1 - 1 Rushall Olympic

British Gas Business Football League Division One Midlands

Saturday 3rd February 2007

Rushall visited run away league leaders Brackley Town and they made their intentions clear from the very first whistle as they took the game to them. Within the first two minutes Dean Perrow tested Knight in the home goal with a shot from the edge of the box that he just managed to push away for a corner. Five minutes later the leagues top scorer Murphy had a shot from just outside the box that to the relief of Rushall went inches over the crossbar.

Both side carved up some great football that had both sets of supporters biting their nails throughout an end to end game were either side could have taken the lead. In fact on thirty-eight minutes Rushall did just that and deservedly so, when debut boy Lee Barrow broke down the left hand side then sent over an inch perfect pass for Neil Kitching to head powerfully past a stranded home keeper.

At the re-start Brackley came out in a very determined mood they had to but it was no more than Rushall expected and indeed had planned for it at half time. Rushall looked solid at the back and kept the home side at bay, easily dealing with Brackley's formidable strike force of Spencer, Murphy and Winters.

Rushall, whilst under the cosh for long spells, still managed to warn the home side not to get pushing everything up as they hit them with a couple of efforts from Dean Perrow.

Rushall looked good for their one goal lead, as Price hardly had a save to make. However, on seventy-five minutes Winter's came to Brackley's rescue and saved the day with an equaliser after seventy-five minutes when he scrambled the ball home from close range.

Both side searched for a winner but found it to tough so at the end of the game a 1-1 draw was a fair result.

Brackley Town: Knight, Farlem, Sandu (53), Doughty, Brown, Williams (53), Fontenella, Hadland (S) Spencer, Murphy. Subs: Beard (53), Hadland G, Mason (53), Alexis.

Rushall Olympic: Price, Gough, Holdcroft, Vassell, Barrow, Wood, Maguire, Twigger, Kitching (84), Perrow, Barnfield. Subs: Porter (84), Johnson, Brindley, Mason, McFarlane.

Referee: Mr. B. Huxtable (Toddington)