Lichfield City 3, Bromsgrove Sporting 3

SPORTING’S Lichfield hoodoo continued as they suffered a disappointing draw on Saturday.

The Rouslers have had little joy at Littleton after losing their four previous trips there and they were stunned by a Mark Rose hat-trick, despite battling back from behind.

Will Tibbetts, Ryan Mahon and Jozsef Jakab had scored to see Bromsgrove battle back from behind to take a 3-2 lead.

But they had to settle for a draw which does little to help their title hopes in the Midlands Premier when Rose completed his treble.

Several absences forced manager Paul Smith to change his team around. Jozsef Jakab had a rare start partnering newcomer Matt Gardner up front while Simon Fitter moved to right back in Danny Morris's absence.

Reece Hewitt was late after a long journey so Sam Wills took his place in mid-field.

Playing up hill but with a low sun in their eyes on a very heavy and uneven pitch, Sporting spent the first 15 minutes camped in the Lichfield half.

With two big strikers to aim for, plenty of balls were pumped into the box but in a carbon copy of last week's match against Pershore, these were capably dealt with by the two centre-backs Dan McLeod and Adam Ward.

And in another copy of last week's game, Lichfield also gave away a number of free-kicks just outside the penalty area but again Sporting failed to take advantage.

Then with 17 minutes on the clock, the inevitable happened and the home side took the lead.

A quick move out of defence saw Lewis Hayden move up field on the left and send over a useful cross into the box.

Sporting keeper Jake Bedford appeared to hesitate and fall backwards as he attempted to get the ball that fell to Mark Rose who just got enough of a touch to hit home from ten yards out.

Two minutes later, Lichfield increased their lead with something of a bizarre goal.

Liam Holt this time hit a cross in the box and there looked to be little danger for the away defence but Craig Jones' attempt to clear resulted in the ball ballooning up in the air and with a bit of wind assistance it landed on the goal line only to bounce up and hit the underside of the bar before crossing the line.

Just in case it needed any help Mark Rose was on hand to give it a final touch.

Five minutes later the Rouslers got one back and it was the hard-working Jack Wilson who managed to overcome the conditions with a useful run from the half-way line up the left-hand side, he beat one defender then made a good pass to the far side where Will Tibbetts slotted into the bottom corner of the net from 15 yards out.

With something more of an end-to end match in progress and just another 60 seconds on the clock, Lichfield could have put the match well beyond their visitors when Rose this time with a powerfully stuck header, beat Bedford only for his effort to ricochet off the bar.

Sporting continued to press forward and as in the first 15 minutes had plenty of possession and time in the Lichfield half but they saw every effort blocked by the well-disciplined City defence.

After the interval and playing downhill, Sporting attempted to keep possession and move the ball around quickly. Not easy in the conditions but their efforts paid dividends on the 54th minute when Will Tibbetts chipped a delightful ball towards the near post which Jakab glanced into the net.

Sporting then took the lead on 63 minutes again with a neat build-up and this time Jakab was the provider with accurate pass into the path of Ryan Mahon who made no mistake with a hard struck daisy-cutter from 12 yards.

Lichfield's equaliser came with 76 minutes on the clock and really this was a gift from Sporting. After a patient build-up, the Bromsgrove back line stopped the City attack. Scott Smith was looking to clear to ball up field but instead attempted to pass the ball out of defence only to give it to Rose who gratefully fired into the centre of the net for his hat-trick.

For the final fifteen minutes both sides attempted to get their noses in front but neither managed and so the two teams had to settle for a draw.

Not an unfair result and cases could be made for both teams to have won. For Sporting they should have defended better but at the risk of sounding like Louis van Gaal the conditions were far from ideal.

There is no mid-week match for Sporting so the next Saturday's game is away to the fast-improving Stafford Town and the bad news is that it will again be on a heavy pitch.

Lichfield: Beeson, Francis, Haines, McLeod, Wood, Worrall, Himson (Birch, 46), Hayden, Osbourne (Hurrin, 64), Rose, Holt.

Unused substitutes: Cooper, Haynes, Hunt.

Sporting: Bedford, Mahon, Wilson (Adams, 84), Fitter, Jones, Smith, Tibbetts, Jakab (Hewitt, 64), Gardner, Wills, Brain.

Unused substitutes: Wilson, Bradley Carter.

Referee: D Parker (Stoke-upon-Trent).

Attendance: 140 Sporting Man of the Match: Jozsef Jakab