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IN OPPOSITION TODAY - ROCESTER

League until being relegated back into the Midland Alliance in 2003 after four seasons away. However that disappointment was quickly forgotten when the Midland Alliance title was won at the first attempt, this time with promotion into the Northern Premier League. The move north signalled a big downturn in fortunes and the Romans went through a complete season without a league victory in 2004-05.

Once again relegated back into the Midland Alliance, the downward trend proved difficult to reverse and although performances improved, it wasn't until January 2006 that the team finally recorded its first league win, a 3-1 success at Quorn, to end a run of 67 league games without a win. After finishing bottom, a second successive relegation was only avoided due to league restructuring.

After two disastrous years the club began to move forward again and a respectable 12th place finish was attained along with a run to the 3rd Qualifying Round of the F.A. Cup where they lost narrowly at Kettering Town in front of over 1000 spectators.

The Romans continued to improve during 2007-08, and the season ended on a high when Kidsgrove Athletic were beaten 3-0 in the Staffs Senior Cup Final at Vale Park – the first time Rocester have ever won the prestigious trophy.

Former player Dave Langston proved the most successful of several managers over the next seven years, but his departure in 2013 decimated the squad and a complete rebuild was required. Following a poor start the team failed to recover sufficiently, and after finishing in the bottom three the Romans were spared relegation only after Gornal Athletic were deducted points and Highgate United failed to attain the necessary ground-grading - meaning the club could begin the 2014-15 campaign in the Premier Division of the newly-formed Midland Football League.

Mark Wilson’s appointment as Manager in September 2014 saw fortunes improve dramatically, and in his first season in charge his team finished 12th and reached the final of the League Cup.

Wilson resigned in January 2015 with one of his players - Danny Martin - eventually taking over until relegation in 2018 when Andy O’Connor took up the reigns once again. Andy stabilised the club but left due to personal reasons in August 2019. Paul Wright was appointed in September 2019 as his replacement, coming in from Eastwood Hanley.

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MAN OF THE MATCH

Last weeks man of the match was Harry Stewart awarded by Val and David Taylor

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