Tuesday 14th August 2007 - Polymac Services Midland Football Alliance

Rocester 2 Market Drayton Town 2

A stirring comeback saw Rocester earn their first point of the season when Market Drayton Town visited Hillsfield on Tuesday evening.

The visitors scored two quick-fire goals in the 16th and 17th minutes to stun the Romans, who up until then had matched their opponents in a lively end-to-end start to the game.

Drayton opened the scoring when Nicky Porter hit an unstoppable 25-yard free kick that flew in off the underside of the bar, and within a minute they had doubled their lead when Porter curled a needlessly conceded corner into the six-yard box for Olly Kesterton to stoop and head unchallenged past Dean Latham.

Rocester then showed tremendous resolve to get back into the game and deserve great credit for doing so, particularly after the previous Saturday’s shortcomings against Studley.

Four minutes after conceding the second goal a ball out of defence was collected by Adam McMahon, and as he was about to enter the penalty area he was cleverly bundled over by Paul Tomlin who got away without receiving a card of any description from the referee. His team were punished, however, when Dave Brown struck the free kick superbly into the top right corner to reduce the arrears.

The Romans then began to search for an equaliser and twice came close before the interval. Firstly Lee Bagley saw his header from Rory Maxwell’s corner cleared away and then McMahon broke clear only to see his attempted chip over Andy Pryce hit the ‘keeper on the head and deflect wide for a corner.

The comeback was finally completed in the 65th minute when Paul Millward and Rory Maxwell won the ball and set it up for Martin Heath, who drilled a cracking low shot into the bottom left from 20 yards out.

One or two ill-tempered moments then threatened to mar what had been a good competitive match, and nine minutes from time Porter received his marching orders after clashing with Nick Ward.

The Romans weren't quite able to make their extra man count although one late effort from Maxwell was well pushed away by the diving Pryce.

Scorers: Romans – Brown (21), Heath (65). Drayton – Porter (16), Kesterton (17).

Romans: Latham; Soane; C.Allen; Ward; Brown; Bennett; Maxwell; Heath; Shaw; McMahon (Millward 55); Bagley (Hodson 72). Subs not used: Johnson; Ruddock; Sheridan.

Drayton: Pryce; Cartwright; Anslow; McMullen; Tomlin; Timmis; Porter; T.Allen (Biddle 71); Kesterton (McCormick 71); Davies (Eley 83); Williams. Subs not used: Jones; Line.

Yellow Cards: Romans – Ward. Market Drayton – Pryce, McCormick.

Red Cards: Market Drayton – Porter.

Referee: Mr. P. Hill (Cannock).

Attendance – 105.