"Tim must understand that despite his current ban, he is still under contract with the club and must therefore participate in all activities. The board have been very loyal to him, despite his problems and what is required is a certain amount of commitment on his behalf. Of course we have heard all the promises before, but this time I really felt it was different. Alas this does not seem to be the case.This sort of distraction is the last thing the club needs at the moment when we are enjoying the benefits of such a fantastic cup run."

Comment in the village was as to whether this latest incident proves to be just one step too far in this stormy relationship. Fellow player and local baker Bruce Mitchell seemed to imply this was the case.

"What can you do ? Tim can be infuriating at times. We know he can play, but there cannot be rules for one and not for others. It saddens me to say it, but I think the manager has now been backed into a corner with no alternative but to get rid of him".

"Tim Horsley - a true loose canon that this proud club is better off without - and not before time! We just don't need his sort if you ask me."

"Maybe there has just been a misunderstanding.He's one of the true greats and can do things with a football that the likes of you and I can only dream of, but unfortunately with this brilliance you also have to accept a certain amount of erratic behaviour. If I was the manager, I'd stick with him, but I do accept it's a tough call."

"M & M" PROVE SWEETENERS FOR ROVERS

Rovers 2 - Smallbridge 0

The toast of the community were that lethal centre back pairing of Rev. Mullins and Mullin, or 'M & M' as they are known locally, with each scoring second half goals from dead-ball situations.

The first half had been a disappointment, with the only highlight being a bad miss from Walsh, when he had been put clean through by a beautiful ball from Lucas in the 23rd minute. With only the goalkeeper to beat, the subsequent shot was ballooned high into the terraces at the 'War Memorial' end, much to the derision of the Tunaville faithful.

It was thus not until the 55th Minute of the match that the deadlock was broken and it came from a hard won corner on the right. Dodd struck the ball both hard and with swerve to find Mullin leaping like a salmon to power the ball home with his head from the edge of the 6 yard box. It was a sight to behold and a move beautifully worked.

Rovers, having gained the advantage and sensing the vulnerability of the Smallbridge defence poured forward and in the 67th minute forced another corner on the left. Dodd once again supplied a perfect centre to find Mullins, who having slipped his marker met the ball full on to power the ball past the stranded Smallbridge keeper.

With a two goal lead Rovers were more than happy to play a more defensive game and sit back to take the sting out of the inevitable Smallbridge counter-attack. Dropping the midfield a little deeper, there was no way through the stiff tackling of both Lucas and Mitchell and thus the Rovers comfortably found themselves in the next round of the Cup.

When interviewed afterwards, player manager "Wizard" Donaldson seemed very happy with the performance of the team and the backing of the crowd.

" As a coach it's always pleasing when something such as dead-ball situations, which we spend so much time practicing, come off for real. It just goes to show that 'practice makes perfect' and the two tonight were real crackers. Mind you in little Doddy on the wing we have got a master of a set-piece situation - he could land the ball on a sixpence, if he hadn't put it in his pocket already!

The cup run is now really gaining momentum and the noise from the 'War Memorial End' is deafening. I must say I like the way they have adapted the Skuttler track '10,000 Tramps' - It has become something of an anthem for them."

Tunaville Rovers : Slaughter, McKinney, Rev.Mullins, Mullin, Tinker, Mitchell, Lucas, Neville, Dodd, Donaldson (c), Walsh.