Metro all but assured themselves of their Northern Premier League status for the 2004 season when coming from behind to downplaying-through champions Glenfield Rovers 3-1 at Albie Turner Field on August 26, in front of the home team’s biggest crowd of the season.
What turned into a battle royal of a match began with both teams going close inside the first five minutes. Arek Kubicki fired narrowly over Glenfield’s crossbar in the second minute, after Reg Davani and Gerard Smith had combined to dispossess Phil Morcombe, who promptly rattled the crossbar with a searing twenty-five yard drive two minutes later, after a Chris Flanagan corner had been cleared to him.
Seconds later, Mark Foster spurned a great chance to open the scoring for Rovers; lifting the ball over the bar from close range after one of the champions’ most potent weapons - a long throw-in from Gareth Rowe - had picked out Jonathan Smith.
Rovers continued to dominate from this point until the fourteenth minute, when a swift Metro counter-attack saw Gerard Smith play the ball wide to Kubicki, who delivered a superb cross for Davani. The Papua New Guinea international’s shot was smothered by Paul Cadman, who quickly launched a Rovers raid.
Jonathan Smith galloped away down the right and fired in a keep cross to the far post, where Layton O’Rourke was crowded out by the combined presence of Cameron Gray and goalkeeper Craig Wilkins.
Between them, the Metro pair conceded a corner, from which O’Rourke enjoyed decidedly more joy. Flanagan’s delivery picked out Dean Dodds, whose drive was blocked on the line by Barry Donachie, although the lively midfielder didn’t know a great deal about it.
Before he could react, however, O’Rourke was onto the ball in a flash - “Bomber” showed he had lost none of the instincts which won him last season’s Northern Premier League Golden Boot award!
Glenfield retained their advantage for just six minutes. Donachie barrelled his way down the left, then checked and laid the ball back to Rab McNeill. Metro’s player-co-coach played a first-time defence-splitting pass which rendered Rovers’ rearguard redundant in this instance.
Donachie delighted in reacquainting himself with the sphere, and steered it back towards Davani. The striker swivelled and arrowed a low fifteen-yard drive between the diving figure of Paul Cadman and his near post to level the scores.
With Metro riding high on the back of this goal, plus the confidence resulting from three consecutive victories leading into this match, Glenfield found themselves in the midst of a mighty battle, one which was soon reflected by the uncompromising nature of some of the tackles which were flying in from all angles.
As he has done so often previously, referee Graham Whitford opted to apply some words of reason and common-sense in an attempt to quell the rising tempers, even to the point of issuing a general warning to all players in the 32nd minute, then calling the two captains together in the 55th minute, as the physical nature of the contest threatened to boil over into actions seen in codes where outbreaks of organised violence are more frequently witnessed.
Perhaps on this occasion, the official would have been better advised to issue some cards to help get the message across, because the impression gained from the sideline was that the aforementioned warnings got caught up in the prevailing chilling cross-field wind, such was the degree of notice afforded them by the players.
Midst the mayhem and derring-do came a second goal for Metro, six minutes before half-time. Nigel Curteis drilled in a free-kick which Dodds headed skywards. What goes up must come down, of course, and fortunately for Rovers’ playmaker, the sphere crashed against the top of the crossbar.
Unfortunately for Glenfield, lurking in wait for the rebound was Gerard Smith, who let fly with a stunning bicycle kick which sent the ball over the line from close range before John Hannah’s despairing efforts to clear the danger sent the sphere soaring into the roof of the net.
That brought about the 2-1 half-time score line in Metro’s favour, and set up a second half which, tigerish tackling notwithstanding, saw much of the play taking place in the home team’s half of the pitch.
In short, the champions laid siege to Metro’s goal, intent on ensuring that their solitary defeat in league action this season would not be doubled. But try as they might, Rovers could not score. Instead, they encountered dogged resistance, particularly from Duncan Clark, McNeill, Donachie, Noel Kilkenny - a very disciplined performance - and Richard Beeston.
For the bulk of the half, there was no way through for Rovers, so it was quite ironic that it was a McNeill free-kick - which narrowly cleared the visitors’ crossbar in the 63rd minute - which was the closest we came to seeing a goal in the second spell until the final fifteen minutes.
It was then that all hell broke loose, and Metro’s penalty area became the focus of the bulk of the attention. Jonathan Smith sent a shot sizzling over in the 76th minute, after John Lahav’s ball to Foster had seen the striker’s shot on the turn blocked by Clark.
Five minutes later, a hanging Dodds cross caused chaos in the heart of Metro’s defence, just outside the eighteen-yard box. Foster was quick to capitalise on it, but was thwarted by Wilkins, who quickly hurtled off his line to save at the striker’s feet.
After Kubicki had broken clear down the right and forced a solid save from Cadman, normal service resumed - Rovers pounding away, Metro resisting as if their very lives depended on it. A superbly timed tackle by Beeston thwarted
Hannah as he danced through four challenges in the penalty area, seconds before Wilkins produced a flying save high to his right to deny Dodds’ twenty-yard drive, which had ‘top left-hand corner’ written all over it.
Cue stoppage time, and a raking clearance from Cadman was allowed to bounce by Metro’s defenders. Foster was in, a goal looked inevitable. Incredibly, he pulled his shot wide, and could scarcely believe his ill-fortune.
Glenfield could scarcely believe what struck them in the fourth minute of stoppage time - a stunning strike from Clark which ended any doubts about the outcome. Latching onto the ball following broken play near half-way, the defender surged down the left, outpacing the trailing Rovers players. Some twenty-five yards out on the angle, he looked up and unleashed a screamer which careered past the diving Cadman and crashed into the top far corner of the net.
The scorer was engulfed by his colleagues, as Metro’s supporters roared their delight - they’d conquered the champions … and could have done so by more. For, straight from the kick-off, Gerard Smith released recent replacement Robert Rhode, who ran Rovers’ rearguard ragged before ramming a rocket past Cadman but into the stanchion behind the right-hand upright.
Not that Metro was complaining - 3-1 was a result with which they were more than happy. And while the taste of defeat was bitter for Glenfield, their consolation was that, regardless of the outcome, no-one can catch them at the top of the league table - again.

Details:

Metro: Wilkins; Beeston, Gray, Clark; Kubicki, Curteis (booked, 90), McNeill (booked, 82) (Rhodes, 88), Kilkenny, Donachie; G. Smith, Davani

Glenfield: Cadman; Hannah, Rowe, Field; Flanagan (booked, 68), Morcombe (Beckham, 73), Dodds, J, Smith, Lahav; O’Rourke, Foster

Referee: Graham Whitford

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