Tuesday 19th March 2013,
at Oxford Street, Rossington
Sheffield & Hallamsire FA Senior Challenge Cup
Quarter Final
Rossington Main (0) 0
Staveley Miners Welfare (0) 2
Ryan Damms 86, 90
Admission £4, Programme 50p, Attendance 50
Ta very much to Barry R Dyke for the photographs
I was looking forward to seeing the top two BSBP sides in action at the Racecourse Ground n' all.
However, by way of a consolation, I got to see my third Staveley game in four days instead, as we were back in plenty of time to get to Rossington, for this Sheffield & Hallamshire FA Challenge Cup Quarter Final tie.
I'd actually been to Rosso's Oxford Street ground, when this game was originally meant to have been played, but I arrived just as the players were leaving, because the referee had postponed it, when thick fog had descended rapidly over the area that night.
It was bad in Worksop as well ... and I know this because when I got to Worksop Parramore, 20 minutes later, to discover that their game had just been called off too.
But as half time approached, Rossington stepped up the tempo and gave the visitors a couple of heart stopping moments, when they missed two gilt edged chance to take the lead, blazing both of them high and wide with the goal at their mercy.
As the whistle sounded for the interval, Rossington could probably have kicked themselves that the game was still goal less ... but they would possibly have missed, on the evidence of their rushed goal attempts at the end of the half.
In the second half, both sides had plenty of the ball around each others goal mouths, without actually producing too many clear cut chances.
Extra time looked to be on the cards as the game entered the last five minutes, but Staveley, having absorbed a lot of pressure from Rossington, towards the end of the second half, where Carl Vickers had to clear his lines and Richard Ayres pulled off a brave save, snatched the game right at the death, with a brace of goals from Ryan Damms in the last 4 minutes, both of which were created for him by Jamie Smith.
"Lucky Staveley!" muttered one disgruntled local as the final whistle sounded.
Hmm, 'lucky' is hardly a very apt word to apply to tonight's visitors, given the circumstances that have contributed to a run of ten games without a win before tonight's quarter final triumph.
They dug in, kept Rosso out and delivered a killer double blow at precisely the right time.
That was the game plan all along, hey Neil!?
FT - Rossington Main 0 Staveley Miners Welfare 2
Match report by Jim McIntosh AKA The Real Ale Runner
