Football
Sporting are held by Police

Buy photos » Chris Conway celebrates opening the scoring for Bromsgrove Sporting on Saturday. Picture by Andre Roberts.

Bromsgrove Sporting 1 West Midlands Police 1

Midland Combination Division One

POOR finishing proved costly for Sporting on Saturday as they saw their promotion hopes hit with the loss of two points.

Chris Conway's first half goal seemed to have set the Victoria Ground outfit on their way to victory but an improved Police outfit hit back in the second half to grab a share of the spoils.

The result leaves Sporting, who entertain FC Glades Sporting on Saturday, fifth in the table and with four of the five sides above them having between one and three games in hand, with a mountain to climb in their quest for a place in the Premier Division.

A host of opportunities came Sporting's way in the first 15 minutes as they created numerous openings but a combination of poor finishing, desperate defending and sheer bad luck kept the scores level.

Sporting were dealt a blow in the 22nd minute when Dan Wilkes was forced off with an ankle injury but that allowed Aaron Roberts to make his comeback after leaving the club 15 months ago.

Roberts made an immediate impression in midfield and supplied the delightful pass for Conway to slot past Police stopper Stewart Parker in the 33rd minute.

Going behind served as a bit of a wake-up call to the visitors who began building better attacking moves but Sporting still had their opportunities, even if they were unable to make them count.

The Police looked more organised and determined in the second half and grabbed themselves an equaliser when Steve Nurse got on the end of a poor clearance following a goalmouth scramble and found the back of the net through a crowded penalty area.

Chances became rare from that point as defences began to dominate and it was clear at the final whistle that neither side was happy with the outcome.