TWO goals on the stroke of half time killed off any hopes Rovers had of a long Dr Martens Cup run this season.

Burly Halesowen midfielder Ross Collins was the thorn in Bromsgrove's side, pouncing twice to deflate the Victoria Ground's entourage.

If the home side had not wasted some good chances in the first half, the script could quite easily have been different.

New Rovers signing Matt Southwick had a chance to open the scoring after ten minutes but his effort was deflected for a corner.

Then Craig Pountney was denied by Andrew Quy in the Halesowen goal and Mark Benbow couldn't find direction on his header from the resulting corner kick.

At the other end, Nore Gabbidon had to be at his best to keep out efforts from ex-Rovers man Stuart Payne and later shots from Jason Owen and Ian Aldridge.

But just as Rovers looked to be in the ascendancy, Collins drilled the ball home from close range after the defence failed to clear Les Hinds' corner on 44 minutes.

It was hard on Bromsgrove, but worse followed when Collins rose highest to nod home another Hinds corner for a 2-0 interval lead.

Anxiety crept into Rovers play after the break, with the long ball game rearing its ugly head after the intricate passing of the first half. Halesowen mopped up everything that came their way and played the match out comfortably to go through to round two.

Rovers: Gabbidon, Southwick (sub J Beard 59 mins), Ulfig, Townsend, S Frost, Turpin, Benbow, Burgess, Pountney, Burrow, Biddle (Cameron 88 mins). Attendance: 233.

Rovers man of the match: Steve Frost.

Report by CHRIS VAUGHAN