Saturday, January 4, 2003

IT'S a new year and the Bromsgrove Rovers winning machine continues to churn out results with remarkable regularity.

Last Saturday Sutton Coldfield were the visitors to a freezing Victoria Ground and they were duly despatched 2-0, albeit after making Rovers work for the points.

Second half goals from Richard Burgess and substitute Les Palmer saw Rovers home but their cause was greatly helped when Sutton's John Howard was dismissed with a second yellow card for pulling back Paul Danks after only 24 minutes.

The game was evenly contested early on and Matt Lowe was forced to tip former Rovers winger Ritchie Gardner's drive on to the cross bar on 12 minutes.

The hosts had the ball in the net three minutes later but Steve Frost's far post tap in was ruled offside.

Howard was booked on 19 minutes and five minutes later got himself booked again and consequently sent off for flattening Danks on the edge of the area.

That allowed Rovers to get on top and 60 seconds later a goalmouth scramble led to James Dyson's shot being cleared off the line by Gardner.

But, as has been seen many times before, ten men can sometimes be harder to beat than 11.

This never looked the case with Sutton although they did play well on occasions and defended resolutely as Gary Hackett and Jon Ford's side ended the first half and began the second camped in Sutton territory.

Rovers took the lead on 56 minutes when Danks brilliantly turned his man in the penalty area before squaring the ball for Burgess to tap home.

An 18-man brawl ensued a minute later following an off the ball incident, forcing referee Scott to book Frost and Sutton's Neil Watkins and Nathan Moran.

Rovers had the ball in the net again on 68 minutes, Burgess heading home substitute Neil Cartwright's right wing cross, but that, like Frost's earlier effort, was ruled out for offside.

The hard-working Burgess chanced his luck from 30 yards on 73 minutes, firing the ball narrowly over Justin Bray's cross bar.

Substitute Palmer won it for Rovers with 12 minutes left. He ran on to a through ball, which took a lucky deflection off Kevin Jones and fell back into his path for the striker to run into the penalty area and slot under Bray.

Sutton substitute Romi Cammock hit a shot well wide amid a spell of pressure from the visitors in the final minutes but it came to nothing.

ROVERS

Lowe 7, Benbow (sub Cartwright 54 mins 6) 6, Banner 6, Clifton 6, MCHUGH 8*, Pope 7, Dyson 8, Beckett 6, Burgess (sub Read 79 mins) 7, Danks (sub Palmer 76 mins) 7, Frost 6. Subs not used: Brookes, Thomas.

Att - 473.