Bromsgrove Sporting 7 Southam United 0
Midland Football League Division One
Geoff Berkeley reports from the Victoria Ground
BROMSGROVE Sporting gave Southam United a lesson in finishing as they ran out convincing winners at the Victoria Ground on Tuesday night.
Striker Sam Wills set the tone with a goal inside the first minute before Will Tibbetts and Reece Hewitt struck just before half time.
Southam had the majority of the possession in the opening period, but Sporting’s composure in the final third was the difference in the rain-affected match.
Joszef Jakab and Chrisi Conway also made a big impact when they came on in the second half as they both bagged braces to seal an emphatic victory for the Rouslers.
Southam arrived in good form having won their last five games, but even before they had managed to settle they found themselves behind at the Victoria Ground.
Bromsgrove worked the ball down the left before Sean Brain cut the ball back for Wills who controlled well under pressure and finished with ease.
The goal, which came after just 53 seconds, was a signal of the hosts’ intent as they harried the opposition in the opening stages.
Sporting racked up a 10-0 win over Southam last season, but the visitors refused to be simply blown away again as they looked for a response. Connell Farrell was their biggest threat and he had a great chance to level things up.
After bursting into the box, the winger unleashed a powerful shot, but Jake Bedford was equal to it as he tipped it over the bar.
This was as close as United came as they struggled to created any clear cut chances, while Bromsgrove looked dangers whenever they went forward. Brain’s strike was deflcted wide before keeper Tom Cross denied Wills a second after the pair both found themselves with time and space in the box.
And Sporting soon got the goal they were looking for on the 42nd minute as Tibbetts climbed highest to head home Wills’ cross from the right.
Bromsgrove then put themselves in an even stronger opposition at half time when Brain went on a run before finding Hewitt who slotted home to make it 3-0.
This was a huge blow for Southam who struggled to pick themselves up after the break. Bedford did have to pull off a good stop to palm away Josh Smith’s strike, but it was Bromsgrove who dominated the second half and they made it count once Conway and Jakab entered the field.
The double subsitution provided to be a telling decision by manager Paul Smith as Jakab struck twice in the space of five minutes. After cleverly flicking Chris Duggan’s fizzing low cross into the back of the net, the Hungarian striker added another when he calmly side-footed the ball past Cross on the 70th minute.
Facing a 5-0 deficit and with the rain continuing to fall, Southam would have been looking forward to hearing the final whistle. But their evening went from day to worse before then as two individual errors gifted Sporting two further goals.
Adam Guest could only watch on in horror as his tame back pass was picked up by Conway who then eased his way round Wood and slotted the ball into the empty net.
Bromsgrove then completed the rout when Simon Fitter’s free-kick was fumbled by Wood for Conway tap in from close range.
