Charity Cup

Alkerton Rangers 2

Rodborough Old Boys Res 3

On another day Alkerton would have put this tie to bed before the break but failure to convert gilt-edged opportunities cost them dearly.

It all looked good when on five minutes Lewis Vanstone controlled Dave Potter’s flick on, rounded his man and drilled the ball into the far corner.

Statuesque defending shortly afterwards enabled Rodborough to level following a precise pass.

At the other end, Kirk Wilkinson’s deliveries were creating alarm in the Rodborough defence but the green-and-whites could not profit.

Rangers did not learn the earlier lesson as the away side took the lead on the half hour after a defensive lapse.

Almost immediately Chris Stark produced a point blank stop to keep the Snakey Lane outfit within touching distance. Henry Turner then had two glorious chances to restore parity but directed his efforts wide when clean through.

Early in the second period Rodborough doubled their lead as the Alkerton back line was again spliced apart by slick play.

On 66 minutes the lead was halved when from Kirk Wilkinson’s pinpoint left-wing cross, Dave Potter headed home at the far post. With Alkerton searching for the equaliser Rodborough exploited the space and would have gone further ahead if not for the determination of Stark, Vaughan Wilkinson and Kev Potter.

As the game drew to a close Turner saw his low shot deflected for a corner, and right on the final whistle headed another Kirk Wilkinson ball wide when it looked easier to score.