Late Parsons strike secures opening day win for Romans

A stunning late strike by Harry Parsons saw City come from behind to beat Sholing 2-1 this afternoon at The Mortgage Decisions Stadium. Scott Wilson’s goal just before the half hour mark cancelled out the hosts early opener before Parsons secured the opening day victory.

Sholing started the game strongly with Harvey Wiles-Richards saving well from Pendlebury on eight minutes but he was beaten two minutes later when Folivi tapped home Willard’s low cross at the back post. City continued to struggle to get a foothold in the game but as the half progressed they began to enjoy more possession. And on 29 minutes they levelled as Donovan Wilson crossed for Scott Wilson to fire into the roof of the net. This was Donovan’s last involvement as he was replaced by Reuben Reid. The rest of the first half was even with Sholing keeper Turner saving well with his legs from Parsons and Wiles-Richards denying Willard with a smart low save.

An early scuffed shot by Scott Wilson was a rare attacking threat from City as the Boatmen began to control the game following the interval. Despite winning a number of corners they struggled to turn this dominance into clear cut chances although Taylor should have done better after an hour, blazing over from 12 yards from Wylie’s perfect pull-back. City continued to defend resolutely and with four minutes left caught Sholing with a sucker-punch. Reid did well to win possession midway in the Sholing half before flicking the ball to Parsons, who sent a dipping 20-yard shot over Turner. The stunned home side couldn’t recover from this late blow and City comfortably saw out the remaining time to ensure their first Southern League game for 20 years was a successful one.