Cradley Town (0) 0
Bromsgrove Rovers (2) 4
FA Vase round one
ROVERS' first ever Vase match ended in a superb victory at the club Steve Daniels managed over ten years ago.
And Daniels can feel chuffed at the way his men played on Saturday.
Aside from the odd defensive mix-up in the first half, the Greens were thoroughly in control and deserved their spot in round two.
True, they were playing a team currently struggling at the wrong end of the Midland Football Alliance, but no team is a pushover.
Leading scorer Sam Bowen got the Greens off to the perfect start after ten minutes with a cool finish through a sea of players into the bottom right corner of Paul Smith's goal.
It was Smith who twice saved well at the feet of Bromsgrove striker Stuart Payne as the away side looked to add to their tally.
Craig Seweki should have pulled Town back into the match moments later but his header was embarrassingly wide of the target. Chris Papworth mirrored his teammates' dismal finishing after 27 minutes when he blazed the ball over the crossbar from five yards out.
Cradley were punished for these missed chances after 34 minutes when Bromsgrove central defender Jon Ford -- a Cradley first teamer many years ago -- rose unchallenged in the penalty area and sent a looping header over Smith off Richard Kavanagh's free kick.
It was all one-way traffic in the second half as rampant Rovers poured forward in search of more goals. They were rewarded for their efforts after 67 minutes when Frazer McHugh unleashed a right foot thunderbolt inside Cradley's area which screamed past Smith.
The win was completed on 79 minutes when substitute Liam O'Neil pounced on a loose ball in a goalmouth scramble to score his first goal in Bromsgrove colours.
Rovers: McGettrick, Porter, Lloyd, Brookes, Ford, Pope (sub Lynch 71 mins), Banner, McHugh, Bowen, Payne (sub O'Neil 77 mins), Kavanagh (sub Coppin 79 mins).
Rovers man of the match: Kevin Banner. Attendance: 147.
Report by CHRIS VAUGHAN.
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