Coventry Sphinx 0
Rovers 1
Birmingham Senior Cup

ROVERS progressed to the next round of the Birmingham Senior Cup thanks to a solitary second-half strike from Dean Curtis, against industrious Midland Alliance side Coventry Sphinx.

Rovers were indebted to goalkeeper James Dormand for keeping their slender advantage.

After two weeks without a game, Rovers looked a little ring rusty but were the first to threaten the goal with Kevin Banner's volley hitting the underside of the bar and rebounding off the post in the second minute.

Sphinx gradually began to boss the game and in the 12th minute Callum Woodward fired weakly at Dormand.

Seven minutes later Dormand turned a deflected effort from Jerome Murdock around the post.

Banner fired in a free-kick that Carl O'Neill turned over the bar but the referee gave a goal-kick instead of a corner in the 21st minute.

Tom Thacker then tested Dormand's agility when he forced the goalkeeper to turn the ball around the post.

From the resulting corner Robert Stevenson headed just past the left hand post.

Murdock broke through on goal in the 39th minute but Dormand was quickly off his line to smother the shot, before Chris McHale completed the clearence.

Just before the break Kyle Rhodes saw his effort blocked by Dormand after the ball rebounded to him off a Rovers defender in the box.

Three minutes into the second-half Tom Brady wasted a golden chance to put Rovers in the lead, when he slotted the ball past the far post when it looked easier to score.

In the 52nd minute Rovers finally broke the deadlock. Dean Curtis pulled down a Banner cross from the left and in one movement turned and fired past O'Neill into the bottom left hand corner.

Thacker got to a long ball forward, Dormand spotted the danger and was quickly off his line to force the striker to lift the ball over the keeper and bar after 64 minutes.

In the 75th minute, Dormand produced a fine save to deny Thacker's effort from the edge of the area.

Coventry threatened the Rovers goal James Halton delivered the perfect free-kick to find James McAteer, who ghosted in unmarked at the far post but sent his header wide in the 78th minute.

Five minutes later Murdock broke through but Dormand managed to get something on the ball and deflect the ball onto the crossbar.

Rovers had to survive pressure from Sphinx in the final few minutes.

Stevenson twice tested the handling of Dormand, but he produced saves.

Sphinx finally got the ball in the back of the net in the sixth minute of added time but referee Patterson ruled out the effort for a foul on the Rovers goalkeeper.

Coventry Sphinx: Carl O'Neill; James McAteer; James Holmes; David Drennan (Kyle Rhodes 31); Terry Ward; Liam Kay; Callum Woodward (James Harris, 74 ); James Halton; Tom Thacker (Jez Carpenter, 81); Robert Stevenson; Jerome Murdock.

Subs unused: Luke Hopkins; David Care.

Bromsgrove Rovers James Dormand; Rapinder Gill; Davion Hamilton; Tom Brady; Chris McHale; Chris Duggan; Nicky Carter; Sam Alsop; Luke Reynolds (Reece Styche, 67); Dean Curtis (Jermaine Clarke, 81); Kevin Banner (Mat Birley, 54 ).

Sub Unused: Dean Craven.

Referee Mr R Patterson (Birmingham)