The Tigers slim
promotion hopes had a welcome boost with this gutsy
performance at The Grove. Keeper Pat Mountain kept his
place after a match winning display at Merthyr, whilst
Tommy Callinan again played through a knee injury in the
City midfield.
From the outset
City had the beating of a Yeltz side that looked a shadow
of their teams of recent years. The home side's shakey
defence was stretched early on by a surging run from Jon
Holloway, who provided a searching cross that just eluded
the in rushing Chris Burns. Halesowen were proving their
own worse enemy in the centre of the park, with City
struggling to keep possession they were often aided by
wayward passing creating openings for the lively Mings
and Mainwaring.
Halesowen failed to
create any clear openings in the first quarter, with
Mountain only once stretched by a deep cross which he
collected confidently. City soon found their feet and
were visibly heartened by the frequent mistakes made by
the Midlanders. Gloucester were soon putting the home
side under concerted pressure on both flanks. The only
method of defence was constant trips on City players, and
the Brummie defence was fortunate to see only three
bookings.
The main weapon for
City was Tony Hemmings whose sheer pace down the left was
causing all sorts of problems. Wolves veteran Paul Birch
went in the book after a particularly crude scything challenge, but while the fouls were producing a series of
corners and free kicks City couldn't seem to finish
despite good chances falling to Mings and Kemp. However
interplay from Wayne Thorne and Burns once again released
Hemmo on the left wing, and with defenders mostly on
yellow cards and reluctant to dive in he made swift
progress. Hemmo then dummied his way past the right back
and cut in direct on goal, when yet another clumsy challenge brought him down for the clearest of penalties.
Defender Wayne Lloyd was grateful to lenient refereeing
and escape a second booking, but Holloway was not so
forgiving and crashed his spot kick into the top left
corner of the net to give City a thoroughly deserved
half-time lead.
Hemmings had
obviously been the subject of some discussion in the home
dressing room and he was closely pursued through out the
second half. However as he drifted from wing to wing
there were large gaps to be exploited by Mings and any
supporting midfielders. Yeltz put some pressure on
Gloucester but weren't quite able to break through the
massed Tiger's ranks. Despite dominating possession the
better chances fell to City, with Hemmings running
through the defence once again only to see Callinan shoot
high over a gaping goal. Mainwaring also sent a 20 yard
screamer narrowly over the bar in an improved
performance, although he faded near the end of the match
and was replaced by Fergie.
Kemp starred for
Gloucester as he seemed to be all over the box putting in
blocks and crucial tackles. Halesowen did at one point hit
the bar through Lloyd's header, but generally City
defended well in depth and rarely allowed clear shots.
Mountain marshaled his lines well, punching clear
several times and pulling off one crucial diving save
from Piearce. Wayne Thorne showed his growing maturity by
resisting the temptation to dive in and instead closing
down forwards and shepherding them safely from the danger
area. Despite this both Kemp and Holloway had to clear
from inside the six yard box.
The match ended
with Tucker, Hemmings and Burns setting up camp at the
left corner flag and frustrating Halesowen as the ref
added an improbable seven minutes of injury time. The
gutsy visitors held on though, and grabbed a crucial
three points to capitalise on Bath and Nuneaton drawing.
This was a stirring gritty display from all on the pitch,
and one that almost lets you dare hope again - but the
crucial question is if the players can show this same
commitment at Meadow Park and put together a good
consistent run of results.
Mountain
