Staffordshire F.A. Challenge Cup Quarter Final

Walsall Wood Reserves 3 Rocester Reserves 5

The statistics keep getting better and better for the reserves as they extended their unbeaten run to eight games with an emphatic victory over Walsall Wood Reserves at their Oak Park ground.

This latest win, Rocester's sixth in a row, moved them into the Semi-Finals of the Staffordshire F.A. Challenge Cup, where they are joined by Chasetown Reserves (Midland Combination Reserve Division), Heath Town Rangers and Bilbrook (both from the West Midlands (Regional) League Division One.

This latest success was thoroughly deserved, and in truth the final score was a little flattering to Walsall Wood who were second best throughout the game.

The game began with an icy wind gusting across the pitch which made it difficult for both sides, but it was the Romans who adapted the quickest to the conditions and they took just five minutes to nudge their way into the lead through Liam Sowter's glancing header from Mark Bailey's long throw into the box.

Rocester continued to hold the upper hand but it wasn't until the 39th minute that they found a second goal, this time Rory Maxwell was in the right place (above right) to steer the ball home after a long free kick into the area wasn't cleared properly.

Walsall started the second half well and they soon pulled a goal back when Bailey unluckily diverted a driven free kick into his own net, but almost immediately another long throw-in from Bailey enabled Tommy Smith to force in a third Rocester goal to restore the two-goal cushion.

With Paul Milward and Gavin Reynolds controlling the middle of the park and Paul Tortoishell (left) causing problems out wide it was only a matter of time before the Romans extended their lead, and it was Maxwell who delivered the fourth goal when he neatly chested down Sowter's flick-on from a corner and sent a left-footed volley crashing into the net off the underside of the bar from ten yards out.

The team were now playing with a lot of confidence, and Mark Thompson almost got his name on the scoresheet when he ended a run from his own half with a powerful drive that cannoned back off the post.

Walsall then pulled a goal back with a close-range effort, but Reynolds made it 5-2 with a tidy finish at the back post to make the game safe.

Reynolds then went from hero to villain when he gave a penalty away in the closing stages that was easily converted to give the home side their third goal.

Manager Steve Swanwick was well-pleased with the result but felt the performance wasn't as good as it might have been.

"We are playing a dangerous game at the moment," He said.

"We seem to be doing just enough to get through each match, but sooner or later we will get caught out. Last week we allowed Alsagers Bank to get back into the game and Walsall Wood could have done the same to us in this one so we need to improve that side of our game."

"An older, experienced player in the side would really do us good, someone who will settle us down and guide us through those periods during a game where we need to keep a cool head."

"On a positive note, we are scoring plenty of goals and we now have a semi-final to look forward to. As expected there are some decent sides in there with us but I'm not bothered who we draw - we can beat any of them on our day so we'll take it as it comes and try to reach the final."

Left: Paul Tortoishell (No.2 far left) heads a corner over the bar during the first half. Right: Karl Smith cuts a lonely figure in front of the old wooden stand at Oak Park. The stand, which was re-roofed during the 1980's, dates back to the late 1800's. Click on pictures to enlarge.