They say penalties are the luck of the draw and it wasn’t the Rovers night however as the visitors were triumphant as they won 3-1 on penalties to book their place in the final of the playoffs.

Rovers will now have to contend with another season in the Essex Senior League. We wish Mark Williams and Buckhurst Hill all the best of luck in the final.

It was another great turnout on the night as 375 were in attendance for this important tie.

Kickoff:

Rovers were straight on the front foot from the first whilst and looked dangerous going forward. They looked to get a foothold of the game, and it didn’t take long for them to stamp their authority as they took the lead on 18 minutes.

Rovers won a free kick on the right when Ben Search was tripped and Reece Conway whipped in a superb curling cross which Thomas Barton flicked the ball in off the back post to give the Rovers an early advantage.

On 22 minutes, a corner whipped in wasn’t cleared and Ollie Fernandez went down in the box under challenge. However, the referee gave a free kick to Rovers and the defender was booked for simulation.

However, the tables slowly turned after that as the visitors responded well and looked dangerous going forward.

On 30 minutes, Tyler Dolan was found out wide on the left and ran unchallenged at goal but his curling effort was inches of the right post.

Five minutes later, the visitors went close again. Tyler Dolan once again charged at the defence and managed to skip past several defenders before playing in Joe Re through on goal. It was a close call again for the Rovers as the striker lobbed the ball over Gene Ghag just wide of the right post.

The alarm bells were ringing for the hosts as the visitors were slowly growing back into the game.

The inevitable was to happen eventually as the visitors drew the game level five minutes before the break.

Nathan Sollosi received the ball on the edge of the area before driving at the Rovers defence and dinking the ball over the top to Harry Lusher, who controlled the ball down and poked the ball into the near post.

Rovers went in search of a response and almost got back in front in stoppage time.

Ben Search whipped in a corner from the left and Harrison Topliss just headed the ball wide of the back post.

Halftime: Rovers 1-1 Buckhurst Hill

The second half was just as exciting as both teams went at it in search of the next goal.

On 55 minutes, Rovers were inches away to taking the lead when Jack Mitchell was fed down the right and crossed the ball in to Ben Search who saw his point blank effort cannon off the post and his rebound was cleared off the line by Ollie Fernandez who reacted superbly to his credit.

Rovers created chance after chance in a short space of time.

Reece Conway was played out wide by Ben Search and he delivered a dangerous out swinging cross across the area which was couldn’t be connected onto.

On 72 minutes, the visitors thought they had taken the lead when Tyler Dolan connected to a cross in the box and put the ball into the net. However, the linesman’s flag was up for being offside.

With thirteen minutes to go, the visitors had another chance when they set up a good counter attack. Sollosi was played over the top following a Rovers corner and played in Harry Lusher, who fed through Joe Re. The striker struck an effort from the edge of the area but it went wide of the right.

With 82 minutes gone, Rovers had a golden opportunity to take the lead when a long throw by Reece Conway was controlled well by Ben Search inside the area. The skipper set up Max Gnandi on the penalty spot but his first time effort curled over the bar.

The game entered stoppage time and both teams threw everything they had in the closing stages.

The visitors had a couple of chances that were either blocked or gathered by Gene Ghag and in the deep into stoppage time, Rovers thought they snatched victory.

Ben Search whipped in a superb in-swinging corner to the back post and Harrison Topliss point black header as superbly saved by Christian North to tip the ball over the bar.

Neither side could be separated so the game went to penalties.

Harvey Brown was first up for the visitors and his spot kick was well saved by Gene Ghag as he guess right to palm the ball around the right post. Harrison Topliss was first for the Rovers but he unfortunately blasted his penalty over the bar. Dimitri Nicolaou then went next for the Stags and he buried his penalty low into the bottom right. Harry Talbot went next for the Rovers and he blasted his penalty down the centre. Nathan Sollosi then went next for the Stags and he dragged his penalty of the right post. Shaye La-Rose then went next for the Rovers but his spot kick was well saved as Christian North made a strong two handed save. Marko Protic then went next for the visitors and dispatched his spot kick with ease. Jack Dickinson then went up for the Rovers but his spot kick was well saved as North guessed correctly to palm the ball away low to his right. Tyler Dolan then went up for the deciding penalty and he blasted the ball low into the bottom left to send Buckhurst Hill in their first ever Essex Senior League playoff final.

Fulltime: Rovers 1-1 Buckhurst Hill ( Buckhurst Hill win 3-1 on penalties)

It’s playoff heartache once again for the Rovers and they will need to dust themselves down. However, there is no time to dwell as they need to respond and prepare for their upcoming cup final as they take on Halstead Town on May 4th in the final of the Errington Challenge Cup.

We all wish the best of luck to Mark Williams and his side in their playoff final, many congratulations.

A fantastic turnout tonight for this tie, the support is greatly appreciated by the club.

Some photos curtesy of the Essex Senior League.