Sat, 29 Dec 2007 @ Victoria Ground, Bromsgrove. vs Bromsgrove Rovers (2-2 (AET)). Errea Cup Third Round. By D Hucker. In a pulsating Errea Cup third round tie, Brakes lost in a penalty shoot-out after Ryan Parisi had brought the scores level with just one minute of extra time remaining.
With Vijay Sidhu cup-tied, Martin Thompson came back into the attack and Ben Mackey replaced Josh Blake behind the front two. Adam Cooper made way for returning captain, Arron Parkinson, and Ryan Parisi got the nod out on the left in place of Marcus Jackson who had gone off injured on Boxing Day.
This was a match that Brakes could, and should, have wrapped up by half-time and they had only themselves to blame for going out of the competition.
'Keeper, Richard Morris, was a virtual spectator for the first 45 minutes in which Brakes dominated and should have gone in at the interval at least four goals to the good.
For Bromsgrove, the lively Matt Birley had sent a shot flashing wide of the post after only three minutes and then saw a free-kick come back off the woodwork in the 16th, but these were the only scoring opportunities for the Premier Division side in a half which Brakes dominated.
Playing up the steep slope, Brakes turned on a display of passing football and, in a flurry of activity, Ben Mackey sent in a cracking shot from a Jamie Towers corner on 20 minutes which home 'keeper, Karl Lewis, did well to save. A minute later, Russell Dunkley had the ball in the net from another Towers corner, but the referee disallowed the goal for a foul on Lewis, who appeared to have dropped the ball of his own accord.
Lewis was again not clean in taking a Ben Mackey shot in the 23rd minute and the Brakes striker followed up to give the visitors a deserved lead. Dunkley and Mackey both had good chances to add to the tally, but Brakes had just the one goal to show for their efforts at half-time.
Bromsgrove, with a number of academy players in their side, took the second half by the scruff of the neck with Birley, rumoured to be the subject of interest from Kidderminster Harriers, always a threat. Despite the Bromsgrove pressure throughout the half, Brakes, with Martin Hier splendid in defence, looked to be on the way to a fourth round tie with Banbury United until, with a minute to go, substitute Michael Parsons sent a long lofted pass into the penalty area, which Morris called for but didn't gather, and the ball rolled into the unguarded net to take the match into extra time.
Bromsgrove looked to have snatched the tie on 107 minutes, when Morris missed a cross from the left and Ben Albutt scored an easy goal, but man-of-the-match, Ryan Parisi, gave Brakes another chance when beating two defenders and coolly slotting the ball into the corner past Lewis with just one minute left on the clock.
Brakes had not scored from the penalty spot in three attempts so far this season and, with both Guy Sanders and Dunkley failing to convert their kicks, they went out 4-2 in the penalty shoot-out.
Technical Advisor, Keith Orme, summed up what everyone was feeling, saying "We should have had it wrapped up by half-time, but let them back in. Richard Morris made a couple of mistakes which cost us, but he has been in superb form all season and this was one match that didn't go his way. It was great to watch for the neutral, with some edge-of-the-seat action, but it was definitely one that we let slip through our fingers."
Bromsgrove Rovers Karl Lewis, Chris Duggan, Les Hines (MIchael Parsons 64), Dave Bridgwater, Andrew Jones, Chris McHale [Capt.], Emre Woolf (Mark Benbow 46), Leigh Downing (Chris Mole 86), Jozsef Jakab, Ben Albutt, Matt Birley
Subs Not Used: Gary Knight, Josh Hadley
Brakes Richard Morris; Jamie Towers (Marcus Jackson 65), Arron Parkinson [Capt.], Guy Sanders, Martin Hier, Craig Dutton, Stuart Herlihy, Ben Mackey (Liam Reynolds 78), Martin Thompson (Josh Blake 67), Russell Dunkley, Ryan Parisi