After their recent Bill Utting Cup victory against Thurston FC, the Whites were handed the very tricky task of taking on League 1 high flyers, Beck Row FC, in the quarter final of the competition. Rovers went into the game very much the underdogs and so consequently under no real pressure, as they looked to keep things as organised and as tight as they could, hoping to frustrate their hosts for as long as they could.
If they didnt know already how tough an afternoon they were in for, they certainly did after the first 10 minutes of the game, which saw Rovers very much on the back foot as Beck Row opened them up a couple of times at the back. Thankfully for the Whites the home side were unable to convert any of their early chances and after weathering the inital onslaught, Rovers then settled down and the game became a far more even contest.
The rest of the half was very much a case of the two teams cancelling each other out and despite equal possession of the ball, niether side really created any chances of any real quality.
Rovers were delighted to get to the break on level terms and were encouraged by their first half performance which had seen them match their rivals for most it. Paul Jeavons underlined this fact to his side at half time and for the first time that afternoon, a little belief that Rovers could get something from the game rather than just a admiral defeat, began to spread through the side.
The second half began in very much the same way that the first half had ended, with both sides seeing plenty of the ball but niether side carving out any real chances of note. The game then became a very regimented affair as the home side were restricted to long shots from outside the Rovers' area whilst the Whites looked to hit Beck Row on the break when they had possession of the ball.
With 15 minutes of the 90 remaining, the home side pushed forward a lot more and Rovers were again on the back foot as Beck Row went looking for a late winner to avoid having to play extra time in the warm afternoon sun. A defiant Rovers' defence continued to hold out though and despite a couple of late half chances for the hosts, the two sides were still locked at 0-0 when the referee brought an end to normal time.
During the interval Jeavons drummed into his side that no matter what happened in extra time, Rovers had done themselves proud and could go home with their heads held high. At the same time he also pointed out that as normal time had reached its end that Rovers' stamina seemed to be a little better than the home side's and where as the Whites were delighted to take the game into extra time, the hosts were not so thrilled about the added 30 minutes to come.
Extra time was pretty much a carbon copy of the first 90 minutes as again Beck Row looked to push forward at every opportunity, whilst Rover went looking to spring a counter attack whenever they had the ball. Again, despite the home side having more possession, Rovers easily coped with everything that was thrown at them and although the Whites may not have offered too much for the home side to worry about in the final third for the majority of the game, they certainly did look a little fresher in the legs than their hosts and did have the chance to stretch Beck Row's back 4 on a couple of occasions during extra time.
The last period of extra time had a very large sense of inevitability about it, as both sides beagn to look tired and heavy legged. As a result the second period threw up very few chances and the thought of taking Beck Row to a penalty shoot out was incentive enough for the Whites to dig in and find the extra effort needed to keep their tiring hosts at bay. The game was brought to an end with the sides still in deadlock and was left with the lottery of a penalty shoot out to decide the winner.
Tim Hodge, Geoff Green, Ally Clark, Mitchell Jerram and Ross Booty stepped up to the thankless task of taking the first 5 penalties for Rovers, whilst Scott Glacken got himself prepared to be a potential hero between the sticks. Glacken took a massive step towards being that hero when he dived full stretch down low to his right hand side to brilliantly save Beck Row's first effort. Hodge, Green, Clark and Jerram all then stepped up and converted their penalties, as did Beck Row's remaining takers, leaving Ross Booty the opportunity of winning the tie with his spot kick. Booty placed the ball down and duly slammed the ball past the Beck Row keeper to send the Whites into the semi finals.
The win now sets up the fourth British Sugar derby of the season, when Rovers go head to head next Saturday in the semi finals of the competition against RF Saints FC.
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