Archive - Monday, 4 March 2002


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Football - Bourton Rovers

Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division 1

King Stanley 0 Bourton Rovers 2

TWO sweet strikes by Mark Odom gave Rovers their first victory since Christmas and avenged an early season defeat by their Stroud opponents.

The 4-3 reversal back in November had sparked off a run of poor results with too many goals shipped by the Cotswold side that had been perched high at the top of the division.

This time around they were anxious avoid Stanley putting them in another fine mess and set about the task with a solid 4-4-2 and a commitment to the cause.

Rovers' best results this season have been on their travels with a patched up squad and Saturday was another of these occasions. Due to late withdrawals, Bourton were down to the bare eleven plus a kitted out manager, Ady Layton, cutting a lonely figure on the subs bench.

Leading scorer Winter was bed-ridden with a viral infection, so Duncan Habbitts made his first start at left back, and alongside the experienced Graham Steptoe they contained the forward thrusts from the home side to make the goalkeepers life an unexpectedly easy one for stopper Herbert - who was also nursing a heavy cold!

Odoms strikes either side of half time were excellent goals. He wrapped his left foot around a 20-yard volley for the first, and then smashed a drive into the top corner, after a neat interchange of passes for the second.

Stanley dominated possession for much of the second period, but Herbert was rarely stretched and when he might have been some timely defensive blocks thwarted the better of the home side.

The final scoreline could have had an even more flattering look abut it, when in the dying moments Hudson broke free with half the pitch to himself before finishing tamely as he tried to chip an outstanding, young Stanley goalkeeper.

This Saturday Bourton entertain championship challengers Smiths where they will be trying to gain revenge for a five-goal drubbing in the away fixture.