Match Reports - March 2006

Rushall Olympic 1 - 1 Bromsgrove Rovers

Southern Football League Division One West

Saturday 25th March 2006

Match Reporter: Darren Stockall

Not for the first time this season Rushall Olympic were robbed at the death by a last ditch goal, but on this occasion there was some strength to their grievance after Gloucester official Mr. O'Sullivan had somehow managed to find a totally implausible 7 minutes of injury time from a second half that had only seen a couple of relatively brief disruptions.

Within the opening two minutes of the contest Rushall issued a massive penalty appeal as former Rovers striker Ben Porter waltzed his way into the visitor's penalty and appeared to be blatantly scythed down by a defensive challenge, however it wasn't to be the first time that afternoon that the officials were to upset the home side as they took the easy way out and signalled for play to continue.

Little was seen of Bromsgrove's attacking prowess during the opening exchanges, but on 10 minutes skipper Steve Hillman was given far too much time and space down the left channel but drilled the ball wide of the left upright from just outside the box. Straight from the resulting goal kick Chris Gemmell's clearance caught Rovers' back line asleep, but as Neil Kitching went racing clear he delayed his shot on goal from 15 yards and defender Joe Williams did extremely well to get his body across the flight of the ball to block the effort out for a corner.

With Rushall using the Dales Lane slope and an encouraging tail wind to their advantage, Bromsgrove were once again firmly on the back foot midway through the first period when a punt out of the hands of Chris Gemmell evaded the visitor's rearguard and was instinctively latched on to by Ben Porter who was presented with a one-on-one situation against 'keeper Lee Evans. However the ball carried too much pace and as it accelerated away from the forward a perfect opportunity for a chipped finish evaporatored as Rovers' custodian managed to block out an eventual snap shot at close quarters from 15 yards.

The Pic's finally got the deserved reward for all their hard work in the 37th minute when a free-kick from deep within home territory was neatly flicked on to the feet of Neil Kitching who in one flowing movement, with his back to goal, turned and fired a beauty of a curling volley into the top right corner from fully 25 yards out past the despairing dive of Rovers' bewildered stopper.

With Rushall now literally facing an uphill battle into the wind for the second period, Ben Porter showed Bromsgrove exactly what they had let slip through their fingers when he darted down the right channel, cut inside his marker and despite being surrounded by no less than three defenders, the pacey striker got through them all to centre from the bi-line to Neil Kitching who could only direct a close range header into the arms of Lee Evans.

From that point onwards Rover's began putting their hosts under some telling pressure, but most of the danger was coming from their big men at set pieces as the visitor's forced corner kicks almost running into double figures during the second half.

On 69 minutes Olympic were twice forced to bravely repel Bromsgrove's aerial onslaught when from a corner kick two successive goal bound strikes were manfully blocked out. Six minutes later Rovers' substitute Luke Reynolds was allowed to run through unhindered and as the burly centre forward unleashed a powerful 20 yard low drive Chris Gemmell had to be equal to the challenge and despite seeing the strike late he tipped the effort away at full stretch, before the danger was eventually scrambled clear.

In spite of finding themselves subject to some telling pressure, with 3 minutes of normal time remaining Rushall spurned the perfect opportunity to put the game beyond doubt when substitute Jordan Lee raced clear of the visitor's off-side trap down the left flank, before cutting inside and unselfishly squaring the ball across the penalty area to the unmarked Leon Allen. However, despite producing a barnstorming run to make up the ground the midfielder side footed wide of the right post from 15 yards with a virtual open goal at his mercy.

Regrettably, Olympic were to pay dearly for their missed opportunity when with an already astounding sixth minute of injury time on the watch, Bromsgrove launched the ball hopefully into the danger zone, but as 'keeper Chris Gemmell took on the hopeless task of endeavouring to make a claim from behind a ruck of players, a goalmouth scramble ensued and in attempting to make a clearance the highly unfortunate Tim Jackson could only look on in disbelief as he succeeded in stabbing the ball across his own goal line.

With now over 7 minutes of stoppage time already played, straight from the restart Rushall pushed forward in one last effort to regain their advantage, but as substitute Tyrone Barnett broke free of his defensive shackles down the right channel the forward cut into the penalty area but drove wastefully wide of the left upright.

With the sound of the final whistle the former Conference outfit appeared to be bizarrely over ecstatic at having claimed a point from their humble village side hosts, but the bigger budgeted Worcestershire side couldn't deny Rushall from extending their superb unbeaten run to a dozen games and maintaining an excellent 10th place in the table.

Rushall Olympic: Chris Gemmell, Marcus Jackson, Tim Jackson, Richard Brown ©, Troy Douglin, Rob Vassell, Leon Allen, Rob Holdcroft, Neil Kitching, Ben Porter, Neil Barnfield. Subs: Tyrone Barnett (for Porter 72), Dean Baker, Simon Truman, Jordan Lee (for Kitching 85), John Quilt (for Barnfield 89).

Bromsgrove Rovers: Lee Evans, James Smith, Steve Hillman ©, Joe Williams, Exodus Geohaghan, Riad Erraji, Mark Benbow, Wayne Dyer, Neil Davis, Matt Johnson, Kevin Banner. Subs: Luke Reynolds (for Banner 57), James Forrest (for Smith 73), Chris McHale, John Snape, Liam McDonald.

Referee: Mr. G. O'Sullivan (Gloucester)

Attendance: 188

Rushall Olympic 3 - 1 Burnham

Southern Football League Division One West

Saturday 18th March 2006

Match Reporter: Darren Stockall

Rushall Olympic's character was given a stern examination as they were forced to come back from a goal behind to reclaim 10th position from Burnham at a bitterly cold Dales Lane in the Southern Football League Division One West. The result bore more significance as the Pic's completed the double over the Buckinghamshire outfit and extended their excellent unbeaten run to 11 games, but also crucially claimed the 50th point of the campaign that guaranteed their place in Step 4 of the non-league pyramid for next season.

Despite the final score line Rushall by no means had it all their own way and during the first period they were largely forced to play second fiddle to a hard working well drilled young Burnham side who were one place above the hosts and determined to gain ample redress for a defeat on home turf back in October. Indeed, it was little surprise when the visitors forged ahead after 15 minutes as they breached Olympic's flimsy off-side trap with an up-and-under ball from the left flank that dropped nicely for midfielder Rob Saunders who ran into space and fired unhindered past the badly exposed Chris Gemmell from 10 yards.

Burnham appeared to be adapting far better to the Arctic-like cross wind and they continued to dictate the tempo of the game as a strangely disjointed Rushall side almost fell further behind just before the half hour mark when a free-kick from the left was looped into the box, but fortunately Tony Alleyne's free header from 12 yards sailed well wide of the left upright.

Despite the Buckinghamshire outfit enjoying the better of the first half exchanges the Pic's secured a priceless equaliser right on the stroke of half time when a free-kick conceded down the left channel was curled into the danger zone by Tim Jackson and flashed invitingly across the face of goal. With three attackers bearing ominously on goal it was eventually striker Neil Kitching who claimed the decisive touch to stab home from 6 yards past the flat footed Jamie Jackson.

Rushall put their laboured first half display well and truly behind them as they emerged for the second period in seemingly fine fettle and within five minutes of the restart it was Burnham's turn to be forced firmly on to the back foot as the Dales Lane side surged into the lead. Ben Porter picked up possession down the left channel and as the striker cut inside his marker an initial shot was repelled, but the ball was eventually fed into the path of Neil Barnfield whose 18-yard drive took a slight deflection and flew into the bottom left corner.

As the second period progressed it was Burnham 'keeper Jamie Jackson who was arguably the busier of the two custodians, but at the times the pace and power of visiting front duo Mick Bartley and Tony Alleyne caused the Rushall back line some consternations. However, it was the Pic's who eventually stamped their authority on proceedings with 6 minutes of normal time remaining when Marcus Jackson went on a trademark surging run down the right flank, before cutting into the box and being subjected to a mistimed challenge that sent the wing back sprawling to the ground. Referee Mr. Smith had no alternative but to point to the penalty spot, after which striker Ben Porter was first on the scene to take charge of the situation by calmly placing the ball and wrong footing the Burnham stopper to slot home into the right side of goal to safely seal all three points.

Rushall Olympic: Chris Gemmell, Marcus Jackson, Tim Jackson, Richard Brown ©, Troy Douglin, Rob Vassell, Leon Allen, Rob Holdcroft, Neil Kitching, Ben Porter, Neil Barnfield. Subs: Dean Baker, Simon Truman (for Barnfield 66), Tyrone Barnett, Jordan Lee (for Porter 87), John Quilt (for Kitching 73).

Burnham: Jamie Jackson, Mark Hokan, Paul Brett ©, Damien Smith, Kevin Mealor, Adam Logie, Ryan Bird, Rob Saunders, Mick Bartley, Tony Alleyne, Darryl Jones. Subs: Ryan Williams (for Bird 81), Marek Kwiatkoski (for Jones 57), Tom Mudge (for Saunders 80), Carl Dennison.

Referee: Mr. R.H. Smith (Halesowen)

Attendance: 97

Clevedon Town 3 - 3 Rushall Olympic

Southern Football League Division One West

Saturday 11th March 2006

Match Reporter: Pete Athersmith

Rushall Olympic travelled to The Hand Stadium to take on top of the table Clevedon Town with both teams on a nine match unbeaten run, so it was set to be a cracker, and it was a six-goal thriller that was surrounded in two controversial goals.

Rushall were first out of the starting blocks and could have been three up inside the first fourteen minutes when on five minutes Neil Kitching tested the home 'keeper with a powerful drive that was grabbed at the second attempt. On eleven minutes the same player turned his marker and fired in another powerful shot but was again foiled by the 'keeper, while on fourteen minutes the luckless Kitching rattled the crossbar with a blistering shot from twenty yards out. In between all this the home side missed two sitters when Tom Jacobs and Peter Sheppherd both missed open goals.

On thirty minutes Neil Kitching finally broke the deadlock when Ben Porter was brought down on the edge of the box and he stepped up to plant the free-kick into the bottom left hand corner to give Rushall a well-deserved lead.

With time well passed the forty-five minute mark and into the sixth minute of injury time the home side drew level when Peter Sheppherd fired home a loose ball after Chris Gemmell could only block Jack Pitcher's effort. This outraged the Rushall following as no one could understand were the referee had got so much injury time from.

The second half was only nine minutes old when Leon Allen struck a low drive from just inside the box through a crowd of players and into the bottom right hand corner to put Rushall back in front.

Clevedon drew level again on the hour mark with a great goal from Steve Lester who climbed above everyone to powerfully head home a Leon Hapgood cross from the right to make it 2-2.

Again Rushall came back even after loosing midfield anchor man Richie Gardner with a groin strain, when they brought on youngster Tyrone Barnett and within minutes he put Rushall in front for the third time when he glanced a header inside the near post to convert a Tim Jackson cross from the left on sixty nine minutes.

However there was more outrage and controversy to come when Rushall thought they had pulled off a great result with three excellent points at the home of top of the table outfit. However, the referee must have had other ideas when he played yet another four minutes of injury time that allowed the home side to pull a goal back when Craig Loxton scored with a shot that crept just inside the left hand post to ultimately rob Rushall of three well deserved points.

Clevedon Town: Johnson, Whitcombe (62), Scott, Lester, Hendy, Clark, Hapgood, Holly (55), Pitcher, Jacobs (73), Sheppherd. Subs: Eaton (73), French (62), Trought, Loxton (55).

Rushall Olympic: Gemmell, Jackson M, Jackson T, Brown, Douglin, Vassell, Allen, Holdcroft, Kitching (?), Porter (?), Gardner (?). Subs: Barnett (?), Baker (?), Truman (?), Lee, Read.

Referee: Mr. C. Williams (Cheltenham)

Attendance: 214

Solihull Borough 0 - 4 Rushall Olympic

Southern Football League Division One West

Saturday 4th March 2006

Match Reporter: Darren Stockall

Rushall Olympic claimed another stunning league victory as they took the scalp of long-established Southern Football League side Solihull Borough with a devastating three-goal salvo in the space of 12 second half minutes that set them on the road to a comprehensive 4-0 success at Damson Park that extended their unbeaten run to 9 games, having dropped only 4 points in the process.

The match was surprisingly the first ever encounter between the two Midland rivals and during a bright opening both teams enjoyed plenty of possession that neither side were able to turn in their favour. However, Solihull were the first to threaten on 19 minutes when a free-kick from the left channel was lost in the bright winter sunshine by Pic's 'keeper Chris Gemmell and defender Ross Collins sent a looping header well wide of the left hand woodwork from the far post.

Crucially, it was Olympic who were to stun their opponents and dramatically quieten Damson Park's largest league crowd of the season as they took a deserved lead on the 25 minute mark thanks to a goal of almost route-one proportions after the opening session of neat football from both sides had failed to break the deadlock. A powerful clearance out of the hands of 'keeper Chris Gemmell was missed by the home defence and bounced nicely into the path of Ben Porter who needed little invitation to expertly loft the ball over the advancing Shaun Hayes and into the net from the edge of the box.

Whether or not the home side had underestimated their adversaries was certainly open for debate, but after Rushall controlled the remainder of the first period they emerged for the second half in an even more determined frame of mind with their only intent being to score more goals and put the game firmly out of reach of their Birmingham hosts. Indeed, eight minutes after the restart and Neil Barnfield beat Borough's flimsy off-side trap to break clear down the right flank before cutting into the penalty area, however instead of unleashing a shot on goal the midfielder unselfishly opted to square the ball to Ben Porter, who had also sprinted free, but the front runner delayed his strike from barely 8 yards out and was robbed of possession with a timely defensive challenge.

A minute later and Olympic had big shouts for a penalty appeal turned down as another surging run from Neil Barnfield ended with the midfielder apparently being scythed down under a hefty challenge just inside the edge of the box, but referee Mr. Martin was having none of it.

Still Rushall probed for an extension to their advantage and on 57 minutes an excellent centre courtesy of Ben Porter from the right by-line was met by the in-rushing Tim Jackson at the far post, but his first time left footed drive from 8 yards was well saved by 'keeper Shaun Hayes and the ball was parried away.

Three times in the space of a minute the visitors then spurned golden chances to double their advantage, the first of which came in the 63rd minute when a break by one of Solihull's chief tormentors, Marcus Jackson, saw the wing back use his pace and trickery to breeze past his marker, cut inside and side foot the ball invitingly into the path of Ben Porter who somehow drove wide of the left upright from 8 yards, although the strike took a deflection on the way through for a corner. From the resulting kick skipper Richard Brown headed the ball down into the melting pot and following a bout of pinball as Solihull frantically attempted to clear the danger, Pic's Leon Allen latched on to the loose ball and flashed an effort agonisingly wide of the right post from close range.

Within a minute the Walsall side were rapidly back on the offensive when a telling ball into the area picked out the unmarked Neil Kitching whose deft header from 15 yards firmly struck the left upright, with the home custodian flat footed, before the danger was ultimately cleared.

As the game swung briefly to the other end of play through a rare Solihull counter offensive the ball was eventually played dangerously across the face of the Rushall goal from the right by-line, but nobody could make a telling contact and the opportunity quickly evaporated.

A key point of the game arose on 69 minutes when the home side were reduced to 10-men after a innocuous looking challenge from Marcus Jackson resulted in a caution and a free-kick to Solihull, but home full back Neil O'Sullivan took exception to the offence and retaliated, appearing to thrust his head in the face of Olympic's wing back and the referee quite rightly brandished a red card. The loss of one of their contingent failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the remaining Borough players and within 2 minutes a telling corner from the right by skipper Danny Hall flashed across the face of goal but once again nobody was on hand to make a crucial contact.

As play moved swiftly to the other end through a 73rd minute defensive clearance the ball was instinctively latched on to by Ben Porter whose terrific first time drive from the edge of the box had to be spectacularly tipped over the top left woodwork for a corner by 'keeper Shaun Hayes. However, from the resulting kick the danger was only cleared as far as Leon Allen who superbly smashed an unstoppable low pile driver through the crowded goalmouth into the bottom right corner from 25 yards to finally provide the visitors with a comfortable cushion.

Four minutes later and Rushall further stamped their authority on the game when an in-swinging corner from the right was met by a towering header from in-form Troy Douglin who out jumped the Solihull custodian 6 yards out to power home his fourth goal in four games for the Pic's.

With five minutes of normal time remaining it was little surprise when Olympic ended the game with a flourish as an excellent break down the right by the influential Marcus Jackson saw the wing back cut inside and centre invitingly into the path of substitute Jordan Lee who within two minutes of entering the fray took a first touch to control and a second to clinically despatch the ball home from 12 yards past the badly exposed stopper into the bottom corner.

As Damson Park now visibly emptied of spectators Solihull were unfortunate to lose Martin Hier in the build-up to conceding the fourth goal who had to be carried off with a leg injury and the home side were forced to play out the remaining five minutes plus a staggering seven more of injury time with only 9-men after previously using all their substitutes.

The reward for Rushall Olympic's emphatic victory was a season's best 10th place in the Southern Football League Division One West table as they leapfrogged their more illustrious opponents. However, with the Pic's now just 9 points shy of the promotion play-off places, their current position in a debut campaign at this level of football is nothing short of outstanding for what could be described as a village club.

Solihull Borough: Shaun Hayes, Gary Moran, Neil O'Sullivan, Danny Hall ©, Ross Collins, Martin Hier, Jamie Petty, Craig Dutton, Dave Pearson, Jerome Grandison, Jamie Williams. Subs: Pete Barry, Dean Curtis (for Petty 45), Carl Adams (for Williams 53), Stuart Hamilton (for Hall 77). Justin Bray.

Rushall Olympic: Chris Gemmell, Marcus Jackson, Tim Jackson, Richard Brown ©, Richard Gardner, Troy Douglin, Leon Allen, Rob Holdcroft, Neil Kitching, Ben Porter, Neil Barnfield. Subs: Rob Vassell, Dean Baker, Simon Truman (for Holdcroft 83), Jordan Lee (for Porter 83), Tyrone Barnett.

Referee: Mr. P.C. Martin (Wellingborough)

Attendance: 268