Rocket man ignites victory

Cherries' FA Cup trump card lit the blue touch paper to this first round triumph just hours after Alderman Robert Finch had officially marked the start to his year of office.

And as revellers enjoyed London's most spectacular annual display of pyrotechnics over The Thames, Cherries fans were left to marvel at Elliott's first-half rocket.

The 24-year-old winger celebrated his 150th start for Cherries by grabbing a 37th-minute wonder goal to help Sean O'Driscoll's charges safely negotiate a tricky first hurdle.

For the second season in succession, Elliott popped up with a memorable decider to book Cherries a place in the second round at the expense of plucky lower league opposition.

Rovers goalkeeper Kevin Miller, who single-handedly prevented Cherries from running up a cricket score on his previous visit to Dean Court with Exeter, was firmly rooted to the spot as Elliott's thunderbolt fizzed past him.

And while Miller may have heroically saved a Warren Feeney penalty from 12 yards during his former club's 2-0 defeat nine months ago, he was powerless to stop Elliott breaching his defences from twice that distance on Saturday.

Elliott's stunning strike - his fourth in the FA Cup - boosted the club coffers to the tune of £12,500, but was the only real highlight during an often tedious first-half when the two sides cancelled each other out for long periods.

But the general consensus among home supporters was that the victory was far more important than the performance as it resulted in Cherries moving a step closer to the possibility of securing a lucrative third round tie.

With the exception of Elliott's goal, the opening 45 minutes did little to warm the cockles of another bumper Dean Court crowd, although the heat was certainly turned up after the break as the Rovers faithful became increasingly hot under the collar.

Firstly, the excitement levels among the army of vociferous travelling supporters rose to fever pitch as teenage striker Lewis Haldane headed towards the Cherries goal after profiting from a stray pass from Lewis Buxton in the 62nd minute.

But with just Neil Moss to beat, the 18-year-old was denied his moment of glory on Match of the Day when the Cherries goalkeeper hared off his line and bravely smothered at the feet of Haldane just outside his 18-yard box.

It was a key moment and the significance of Moss's save was not lost on Rovers' assistant manager John Still, who deputised for boss Ray Graydon at the post-match press conference.

Still said: "It was the best chance of the game. We were playing against a good side and knew we wouldn't get too many opportunities.

"If there's a disappointment about our performance it would be that we didn't make the most of the opportunities which came our way."

O'Driscoll also saw it as a turning point: "Maybe a more experienced striker would have scored. I thought it was their best chance and they didn't take it. From that moment on, I thought we'd win."

Rovers were then left to fume after referee Joe Ross had waved away their claims for a penalty after David Gilroy had gone down in a heap under a challenge from Karl Broadhurst, the Pirates substitute earning nothing more than a yellow card for his efforts for taking a dive.

Still was diplomatic in his assessment of the incident: "David said he was brought down and that he didn't dive. Whether it was a penalty or not is a matter of opinion and, in the referee's opinion, it wasn't a penalty so I'm happy with that."

However, Gilroy's team-mate Andy Rammell was slightly less subtle: "Dave is as honest as the day is long. It was definitely a penalty, there is no doubt about it."

The visitors' misery was complete when defender Kevin Austin, who was in desperate need of a bigger pair of shorts, was sent off after receiving a straight red card for committing a professional foul on Elliott 17 minutes from time.

Again, opinion was divided with Rammell convinced referee Ross had made a mistake: "Kev was just too strong.

"He's a big lad and the other lad isn't so big and that's all it came down to. It was diabolical."

Still again sat on the fence: "Kevin didn't think it was a foul. He thought it was six of one and half-a-dozen of the other. If the referee saw it as a foul, I've got no argument with that. Once he gave it, the referee was going to send him off."

O'Driscoll described the decision as "harsh", while Elliott's answers to questions about the flashpoint gave little away. When asked how he would have felt if the boot had been on the other foot, he said: "I don't think there would have been much chance of me knocking Kevin off the ball."

When asked how he would have felt to have been sent off in similar circumstance, he said: "There was a quarter-of-an-hour left in a cup tie and you are 1-0 down so you are going to be upset to have any man sent off especially a decision which was difficult for the referee to make."

When asked if he fancied a career in politics, he chuckled.

Despite the conjecture, Elliott could have put the tie out of Rovers' reach just four minutes into the second half when he rattled the crossbar with a rasping right-foot volley from close range after he had been picked out by Feeney's sublime crossfield pass.

And earlier, he almost turned provider for Steve Fletcher to double Cherries' advantage, but Miller was on hand to save the targetman's firm downwards header on the stroke of half-time.

As Cherries looked to make the most of their numerical advantage following Austin's demise, Feeney headed wide from Elliott's cross before Steve Purches sent a right-foot shot inches over the crossbar.

Cherries were almost made to pay for their profligacy after Rammell squandered a glorious opportunity to equalise when he headed wide with the goal at his mercy after Ryan Williams's corner had found him in the clear at the far post just two minutes from time.