BLOWS TO ROVERS CUP CHANCES
In their last league match of the season on Monday Bromsgrove Rovers had their prospects of finishing Cup winners seriously jeopardised.
Not only were they badly beaten at home by Halesowen, but two of their leading players were hurt.
First Johnny Day went down with a knee injury half an hour from time and had to retire from the match. As manager Merrick had already brought on his substitute, Atkinson, in place of Imms for the second half, Rovers continued with 10 men.
With a quarter of an hour to go there was another casualty and this time it was Norman Deeley, the Rovers captain and outstanding player. He suffered an ankle injury and was off for 5-minutes. He limped back, but was still badly handicapped, and the atmosphere round the touchline was all gloom.
The same Halesowen player, little Pat McGrath, had been involved in both incidents, and near the end he was badly fouled. A Rovers player gave him a kick on the right knee in front of the referee and a free kick was awarded. It seemed a merciful decision.
The three “incidents†were not all that went on in a tough way, and it certainly looked impudent for the Bromsgrove men to involve themselves so deeply in view of the cup final being only 48 hours away.
The Rovers were already a beaten side before any of the rough stuff started. Halesowen played the brisker football from the start and Rovers had only half the pace they produced against Kidderminster and none of the penetration.
After 15 minutes, Anderson placed a corner high, the ball slipped off Hooper’s upflung hands, and Fullwood banged a shot into the net.
There followed a narrow escape when ex Rover Tony Cottrill turned quickly to beat Nicholls and fired in a good drive that glanced the top of the bar. Then Fullwood hit a post,and Anderson drove back a trimmer that Hooper tipped over with a prodigious effort. At the end of half-an-hour Cottrill was left wide open after a cute pass by McGrath, and he made no mistake.
Rovers’ efforts lacked bite, and often ended in so near and yet so far. Almost on the interval Nicholls headed a goal from a free kick placed by Imms.
The second half was a tragic affair, full of fouls and fury. Howell and Hackett had shots go very close, and Rovers kept up a fair measure of resistance, even when down to 9 players for a spell of 5-minutes. But Halesowen got a third goal when Cottrill chased a long pass and brought the ball across for Fullwood to score at close range.
Bate later brought off a good header, but nobody was bothering much about goals by then. Thoughts were concentrated on Day, being led gently round the touchline to ease his damaged knee, and Deeley hobbling about on the pitch.
It was one of the blackest occasions at the Victoria Ground, and a thoroughly unpleasant evening |