Garforth suffered an unlucky reverse in questionable circumstances at the hands of Midlands outfit Romulus, after staging a brave second half comeback. The fates were against the home side, as seemingly every deflection, decision and decisive moment went against, and it was to the credit of Town that they mounted such an impressive and spirited showing when the chips were down.
A much-changed line-up started the match, with Town bereft of SIX key players. Proceedings did not improve when the visitors bagged three horrendous goals, all of which stemmed from unfortunate mistakes. At this stage the game seemed unsalvageable.
A spirited showing saw Garforth find the visitors net on no less than five occasions. Chris Brown seemed to have scored his first of the season, only for his header to be disallowed on the grounds that another player was offside. Wasn’t there an alteration to the offside rule two years ago? Ruud van Nistlerooy would have scored about six career goals had this ruling been in effect.
Garforth, galvanised, found the net again when Wayne Harrat converted a header from a corner. The ball was diverted into the roof of the net via the hand of a Romulus defender, who was NOT sent off. The goal did not stand either, and with the subsequent penalty missed, it seemed that the gods of Olympus were against Town, laughing from afar.
Garforth’s third, and first officially recognised goal was adroitly taken. Olly Hotchkiss curled a sweet ball into the box, and Andy Rowan powered a volley back across goal that lashed in off the post to give Town hope.
Jason St Juste, in his best effort since returning, jinked past several Romulus midfielders on the left channel before firing a Kewell-esque low left footed drive that found the bottom right corner. The tie was now well and truly on.
Sadly, the dramatic late finish was ruined when a blatantly offside attacker was free to beat Phillis from a one on one encounter. Garforth showed spunk to fire back once more, with Hotchkiss finding the net from outside the area with a driven effort.
The visiting players and management were responsible for a substantial amount of criminal damage after the game, it should be noted.
The game may well represent the end of a cup run, but the feisty and uncompromising late performance was affirming of the spirit and potential of the squad. These aforementioned qualities and the return of several key players should mark the beginning of some dominant form in the league games to come as Garforth look to move up to bigger and better.
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