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Rocester snatched a dramatic stoppage time winner at Owen Street on Saturday to seal their passage into the Preliminary Round of this season’s F.A. Cup. Substitute Ashley Sheridan had been on the pitch for barely a minute after replacing Mark Hodson, but his brief contribution proved to be a match winning one when he took the chance that quickly came his way. The goal came when Coalville defender Andy Crabtree made a hash of a clearance, only managing to find Rory Maxwell some ten yards outside the area. Maxwell looked up and immediately knocked the ball back into the box to Sheridan, who picked his spot past Danny Hanley to spark wild celebrations among the large contingent of travelling Rocester fans, many of whom had included the match as part of a stag day. It was an unlikely end to the match as the Romans had been put under some intense pressure throughout the second half, but as Rocester proved in their previous match against Market Drayton, they are prepared to battle for the full ninety minutes. Rocester had made a good start to the game with Martin Heath driving narrowly over the bar during the opening exchanges and Hodson looping a header over Hanley only for Ashley Brown to hook it off the line. A slick move down the Rocester left, started by Carl Allen and then continued by Hodson and Dave Shaw, saw Maxwell burst clear of the defence but his low shot was superbly tipped away for a corner by a full-stretch Hanley. Further Romans pressure finally paid dividends when another good passing move led to Shaw netting the opening goal in the 28th minute. Maxwell spread the play out to the left to Allen who burst forward before finding Paul Milward in an advanced position. He knocked the ball infield to Shaw and the striker promptly sent a low, angled shot into the net off the far post. For all Rocester’s good work in the first half it was Coalville who took up the running after the break, and just seven minutes after the restart they were level when Mark Williams darted down the left and laid the ball into the area for Michael Swann to divert past Dean Latham. That signalled the start of a prolonged spell of pressure from the home side with their giant centre forward Jermaine Gordon wasting a couple of great chances to find the net, one in particular saw Latham make an excellent save as Gordon raced clear. A moment of respite almost saw Rocester back in front when Dave Brown hit a huge clearance from the half way line that a back-pedalling Hanley did well to tip over the bar. Coalville continued to press forward but Rocester had the last word with Sheridan’s late intervention. Scorers: Romans – Shaw (28); Sheridan (90). Ravens – Swann (52). Ravens: Hanley; Grant; Danum; A.Brown; Lea; Crabtree; Williams; Attwood; Gordon; Swann; Jarvis. Subs not used: Orton; Hollis; Thorpe; Barnett; Garner. Romans: Latham; Soane; Allen; Ward; D.Brown; Bennett; Maxwell; Heath; Shaw (Ruddock 90); Hodson (Sheridan 89); Milward (Owen 85). Subs not used: Johnson; McMahon. Yellow Cards: Romans – Ward, Bennett & Heath. Ravens – Williams & Gordon. Referee: Mr. P. Astle (Derby). Attendance – 135. |