Match Reports - January 2004

Rushall Olympic 3 - 2 Grosvenor Park

Midland Football Alliance

Saturday 24th January 2004

Although Rushall Olympic surrendered a comfortable 2-0 lead by gifting neighbours Grosvenor Park two goals within the space of single second half minute, they ultimately regrouped to claim the all important winner and complete their first extremely welcome double of the campaign.

As early as the fifth minute the home side had a good opportunity to open their account when Mark Holdcroft latched on to a through ball down the left channel and cut inside before opting to fire in a rising drive from twelve yards that sailed narrowly over the bar when a square ball to strike partner Kirk Maragh was arguably the better option.

Ten minutes later and a speculative high ball in from the left tempted visiting 'keeper Greg Allen to the edge of his box, but he made a hash of an attempted claim allowing Kirk Maragh under pressure from several defenders to hook an effort just wide of the right post.

Rushall continued to probe for an opening and they eventually got their just reward after the half hour mark when a surging run by Jason Lanns down the right flank saw him intelligently cut inside and square the ball across the face of goal to Mark Holdcroft who deftly flicked home past the stranded custodian into the bottom left corner from eight yards after cleverly losing his marker.

Olympic doubled their advantage early in the second period when on fifty one minutes a swift counter attack by the home side set free Graham Ashton who powered his way down the left wing to the bi-line before delivering a hard low cross that Greg Walters, who had made a storming run into the box, lashed clinically home from six yards past 'keeper Greg Allen.

At that point it should have been well and truly game over for the visitors, but to their great credit they set about forcefully redressing the balance and a fatal combination of sloppy defending and a lack of graft from the Rushall midfield ranks threw Grosvenor Park an unexpected lifeline.

In the fifty sixth minute the visitors forced a corner on the right that was swung into the danger zone and during the ensuing goalmouth scramble Rushall spurned a couple of opportunities to clear their lines before an initial close range snap shot was bravely blocked by 'keeper Danny Watson but he could do little to prevent Shaun Kidson from eventually heading home unchallenged from eight yards.

Incredibly, straight from the restart Grosvenor Park couldn't quite believe their luck as they caught Olympic's midfield napping with a quick through ball that also split their defence asunder allowing Michael Campbell to run clear and superbly lob the ball over the advancing Danny Watson from twenty five yards out to level the scores in the most dramatic of fashions.

Fortunately for Rushall the double blow appeared to have the desired effect of strengthening their resolve as they set about the task of reclaiming the lead. However, the home side didn't have long to wait when in the sixty fourth minute an excellent piece of football saw Kirk Maragh doggedly win possession in midfield before advancing forward and laying the ball off to Aaron Bishop down the right flank whose run to the edge of the box ended with a pin point cross that was headed powerfully home by Kirk Maragh from six yards at the far post.

The goal appeared to give the Pic's new found confidence and they also had a couple of opportunities late on to extend their advantage further. On seventy four minutes excellent work by Mark Holdcroft saw him turn his marker and fire a dipping drive from the right corner of the Grosvenor Park box that flew narrowly shy of the intersection of the left hand woodwork, while with nine minutes remaining Kirk Maragh tried his luck with a tremendous shot from thirty yards out that went marginally over the bar.

Chasetown 0 - 0 Rushall Olympic

Midland Football Alliance

Saturday 17th January 2004

An uninspiring local derby with Chasetown saw draw specialists Rushall Olympic reel off their twelfth stalemate in twenty-eight Alliance games, seven of which have now ended goalless.

Following their excellent display during the unlucky midweek Birmingham Senior Cup defeat at the hands of higher league Halesowen Town, predictably Rushall were always going to be hard pushed to emulate their dynamic performance. However, the visitors began brightly and quickly forced their Staffordshire neighbours on to the back foot with some thoughtful attacking play but, not for the first time this season, they were always lacking the clinical cutting edge capable of pressing home their early territorial advantage.

In the 22nd minute a probing run from Olympic's Aaron Bishop saw him advance twenty yards forward through midfield before neatly laying the ball off down the left channel to Ben Smith whose first time drive from the edge of the box had 'keeper Bryan diving at full stretch to his left with the effort going just shy of the upright.

Eight minutes later Aaron Bishop once again showed his immense talent when following an interchange of passing between front pairing Mark Holdcroft and Kirk Maragh, the ball was played back to the midfielder twenty-five yards out who nonchalantly side footed a deft goal bound chip that was tipped over for a corner by the back pedalling Bryan.

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got and for the remainder of the half neither strike force looked likely to trouble the opposing custodians as the plays became embroiled in a midfield territorial battle that the visitors edged slightly.

The second period saw Chasetown return to the fray in a far more determined frame of mind and they quickly set about the task of redressing the possessional balance that had resulted from the first half exchanges.

As the game progressed Rushall looked to be increasingly vulnerable to the counter attack as they became over committed going forward, leaving gaping holes through the midfield that the Scholars attempted to exploit to the full. However, a combination of solid defending by the Pic's back line and some wayward finishing in the final third of the field ensured that the home side failed to trouble 'keeper Danny Watson.

As the contest began to draw to a conclusion their midweek exertions appeared to be catching up with Rushall, but the late introduction of Jason Lanns certainly lifted the visitor's spirits. After the midfielder made an important defensive challenge, with two minutes to go Olympic were awarded a free-kick thirty yards out and the substitute's pacey dipping effort had to be smartly tipped over by 'keeper Bryan to prevent a winning goal that would have scarcely been deserved.

Halesowen Town 1 - 0 Rushall Olympic

Birmingham Senior Cup 3rd Round

Tuesday 13th January 2004

Dr Martens League Western Division outfit Halesowen Town were forced to breathe a massive sigh of relief as Rushall Olympic took their high-flying adversaries all the way in this pulsating cup tie, before finally losing out on the right to meet neighbours Walsall in the Quarter-Final of the competition.

There was no exaggeration to the statement that Rushall outplayed their lofty opponents for long periods of the contest with a passing game that they simply could not live with. Coupled with a fine all-round display from every single one of the players, manager John Allen would have been extremely proud with the way his charges acquitted themselves on the night and with a touch more luck would certainly have progressed into the next round.

After the visitors dominated the first period and enjoyed several good opportunities in front of goal, they were infuriated when with ten minutes to go to the interval a Mark Holdcroft free-kick from the edge of the box looked to have fully crossed the goal line, but was craftily grabbed back by 'keeper Matt Lowe and with the assistant referee not in line or fully observing the incident the referee had no alternative but to wave play on.

On a bitterly cold evening with a brisk icy wind Olympic continued to dictate the pace of the game and during the second period they always looked the side most likely to take the lead, however lady luck was again not to be on their side as the final twenty minutes of the encounter bore proof.

In the 70th minute a dangerous break forward by the visitors through Mark Holdcroft down the left flank saw him centre to Ben Smith and the midfielders first time hooked shot from the edge of the box cannoned off the right hand post, across the face of goal, but Rushall could not latch on to the loose ball and it was eventually cleared to safety.

As Olympic continued to probe for an opening the inevitable occurred when with nine minutes to go Halesowen countered and as striker Richard Ball went clear down the left channel he cut inside and unleashed a powerful shot across ‘keeper Paul Cooke that crashed off the right hand post and fortuitously fell straight to the feet of team mate Simon Hollis who side footed home into an empty net from the edge of the box.

Rushall Olympic 4 - 3 Ludlow Town

Midland Football Alliance

Saturday 10th January 2004

A vintage four star goal scoring display from Mark Holdcroft saw the striker net a quick-fire hat-trick in the opening seventeen minutes of the contest, before notching his fourth just after the half hour mark to ease Rushall Olympic to what appeared to be an unassailable 4-1 interval lead. However, a late fight back by Ludlow Town made life extremely uncomfortable for their hosts who were ultimately more than relieved to hear the sound of the final whistle after conceding two second half goals without replying.

Rushall began the game like an express train, obviously keen to get the previous weeks none performance quickly out of their system and as a consequence Ludlow were caught cold with just three minutes on the watch when an excellent through ball from Kirk Maragh found strike partner Mark Holdcroft who advanced through the visitors defence and from just inside the box slotted expertly home into the bottom left corner of the net past exposed 'keeper Poole.

Straight from the restart Olympic continued to dominate proceedings and within a minute of them taking the lead visiting 'keeper Poole raced off his line in an attempt to intercept a dangerous ball that had been played over the top of his static defence and only succeeded in being found guilty of a handling offence outside his area, for which he was cautioned and was extremely fortunate not to be dismissed. From the resulting free-kick award Mark Holdcroft teed the ball up and stroked an exquisite curling drive around the defensive wall and into the left hand corner of the net to leave the Shropshire outfit totally shell shocked after conceding twice in the first four minutes.

Still the Pic's continued to press home their advantage and with Ludlow struggling to even get the ball out of their own half it was little surprise when they eventually conceded a third goal after just seventeen minutes. A useful ball into the danger zone was headed down by Aaron Bishop which the predatory Mark Holdcroft quickly latched on to and rifled home from ten yards to the right of the despairing dive of the Ludlow custodian.

The third goal allowed the Dales Lane side to take their foot off the pedal, but they were quickly left to rue their overconfidence in the nineteenth minute when a defensive mix-up between skipper Richard Brown and 'keeper Danny Watson ended with Humphries taking full advantage of the confusion by picking up the loose ball and confidently converting from inside the penalty area.

Conceding the goal strengthened the home sides resolve and was just the wake-up call they required before setting about the task of attempting to extend their healthy lead even further. Indeed, on thirty four minutes more good work from front runner Kirk Maragh saw him pull the ball out wide right to the goal line ten yards from the near post before whipping in a cross that picked out Mark Holdcroft in the centre who smashed the ball home from eight yards into the roof of the net under a strong defensive challenge to net his sides and his very own fourth goal of the game.

At this point the visitors could have been a broken side, but to their great credit they still battled on and with a minute to go to the interval Jackson's speculative thirty-five yard goal bound drive warmed the hands of 'keeper Danny Watson who was solidly behind the effort and gathered at the second attempt.

As the game swung to the other end right on the stroke of half-time a free-kick powered forward from just inside Rushall's own half was brought under control by Kirk Maragh and laid off to Mark Holdcroft whose smart shot from fifteen yards bounced narrowly wide of the left upright.

The visitors emerged from their dressing room in an enlightened frame of mind and within twelve minutes of the restart they made Olympic pay again for some sloppy defending as the home rearguard allowed striker Humphries to skip through at will and slot home into the bottom right corner of the net from ten yards to grab his and Ludlow's second of the match. The goal clearly gave the Shropshire side a massive boost and confidence quickly surged into their game as they revelled in a new self belief that something could be recouped from the contest.

Despite being subjected to intensifying pressure Rushall still looked dangerous whenever they ventured forward into Ludlow's territory. In the seventieth minute Danny Coates let fly with a dipping forty yard drive that had 'keeper Poole furiously back pedalling, but saw the ball drop marginally over the crossbar. Eight minutes later and a deep corner from the right was picked up by Jason Dyer on the left hand side of the penalty area who quickly hooked the ball back into the danger zone and the unmarked Richard Brown somehow managed to head wide of the left post from ten yards.

As Ludlow continued to encroach further forward and push Olympic firmly on to the back foot, with three minutes of normal time remaining the home defence was eventually caught out by their own indecisiveness as they spurned several opportunities to clear their lines and were punished when a cross whipped in from the left flank was hooked home from close range by the unmarked Busby.

With the visitors clearly sensing that at least a draw could still be on the cards at even that late stage, Rushall's cause was not helped when the referee somehow managed to find over six minutes of injury time on his watch. However, despite enduring one or two close calls the Dales Lane side hung on to collect three extremely valuable points that lifted them out of the bottom third of the Alliance table.