The Observer from London, Greater London, England • 24

24 OBSERVER SUNDAY 4 JUNE 1989 4 Orient UP Port Vale UP Play off finals: Palace UP The Orient forward connected with a ball from Harvey before swivelling in a manner even Kenny Dalglish would have been proud of in order to propel the ball past Salmon and Orient into the Third Division. One man had even more reason than his colleagues to ward off the prospects of extra time. Alan Comfort, the left winger, rushed off at the final whistle to head for Heathrow by helicopter, then flew to Ireland in time to get married at 5.30pm. Seems: Ur HJve (4mir0. Cooper (82).

Wrexham: Bowden (46). Leyten Orient Hsald. Howard. Dickenson (Ward. 17).

Hales. Day. Sitton. Baker, Castle. Harvey.

Cooper. Comfort. Wrexham: Salmon: Salathiel. Wright. Hunter.

Beaumont. Jones. Thackeray (Buxton). Flynn (Cooper). Kearns; Russell.

Bowden. fouled McGoldrick in the box after play had passed them both by. Madden sent Gennoe the wrong way with the penalty; Blackburn's big strong men sank into their boots. For Coppell, whose side have faltered on the brink of the First Division in the last three seasons, victory was sweet. 'It is five years tomorrow since I joined the club as manager.

I said then that promotion was a five-year Now Palace need to avoid being called the Team of the Nineties. Scorer Crystal Palace: Pardew (17mln). Madden (pen 46). Wright (117). Crystal Palace: Suckling: Pember-lon.

Burke, Madden, Hopkins, O'Reilly, McGoldrick, Pardew, Bright. Wright, Barber. Blackburn Rovers: Gennoe: Atkins; Sulley, Reid, Hendry. Mail. Gayle (Ain-scow.

105). Millar. Miller (Curry, 56), Garner. Sellars. Referee: George Courtney which West and Glover needed to be constandy alert.

Rovers had only one shot on target in the first half, providing a straightforward save for Grew from Reece. Vale's hopes spilled into the second hah', with Yates making a timely tackle on Futcher, before they were rewarded after 52 minutes when Mills's corner was flicked on by Beckford, leaving Earle to stoop and head the goal. Martyn's legs stopped Jef-fers from increasing the lead when Rovers tried a final assault, which produced only two attempts from Reece. Scorers: Port Vale; Earle (52). Port Vale: Grew: Mills.

Hughes. Walker. West. Glover, Jetlers, Earle, Futcher, Beckford. Porter (Finney.

77min). Bristol Rovers: Martyn: Alexander. Clark, Yates. White. Jones.

Holloway. Mehew. Reece, Penriee, Purnell. Hackett (Sheffield). JUSTICE was at last seen to be done when Port Vale overcame Bristol Rovers to claim the remaining Second Division place that but for the play-offs would have been theirs by right.

Any other result would have exposed the sheer folly, not to mention downright iniquity, of the play-off system Vale had 10 points more than Rovers and failed to win automatic promotion only through goal difference. The tension which often spoils play-off matches for once, not apparent in a game of quality football. It was as if-both teams' had agreed this should be decided in style. Vale had the better of the first half and would have com- Eleted it with a handsome lead ut for the agility of goal- LOUISE TAYLOR at Brisbane Road Leyton Orient Wrexham ..2 ...1 Salmon with a venomous effort from the right-hand side of the penalty area. Yet 60 seconds after the interval, the ground was in stunned silence after Kearns, Buxton and Russell constructed a move down the left and provided a cross for the unmarked Bowden to equalise at the near post.

After successfully skewering the home defence, Wrexham appeared to be angling for extra time. Their defensive approach was apparently paying dividends until the 82nd minute when the impasse was broken by a glorious goal from Cooper. MICHAEL RALPH at Selhurst Park Crystal Palace 3 Blackburn Rovers 0 (att: scon after 90 mmuta 2-0 So after 23 years the Rovers still await a return to the top flight. What will make their experience harder to bear is that they could have clinched the tie after eleven minutes when Miller, in an acre of space, drove over. Six minutes later Pardew crossed from the left and Wright, inevitably, reached it first.

When his left-footed shot hit the keeper, he simply switched to his right foot to stab in the rebound-One minute into the second half, Palace's precious second goal arrived, courtesy of Atkins, who inexplicably fo)D(i goftoOD a do (3 IlMJ mm HUGH MclLVANNEY at Wembley England 3 Poland 0 (Lineker 23min, Barnes 72, Webb 83) DEREK WALLIS at Vale Park Port Vale 1 Bristol Rovers 0. keeper Martyn, who with a mixture of the orthodox and arms and legs akimbo, frustrated them repeatedly. He knocked down Earle's shot on the turn, saved with his legs from Beckford, intervened to stop Beckford again and near half-time saved with a spectacular leap from Glover's fierce 30-yard drive. Rovers, aware that they had to score to nullify Vale's away goal from the first leg, played some delightful football. But they were unable to penetrate a resolute defence despite the height and power of White, who used both to distract and, if possible.disrupt a defence in Polished, Botham's Texaco performances 'gave us a good indication that he is returning to his best.

We are hoping that he will play a full role in all departments of the So is Botham or else one of the great Test careers will be over. Broad's return should determine how much last year's petulant man has grown up. He confesses to 'a more relaxed approach in order to enjoy my cricket', and he certainly enjoys batting against Australia. Broad's name may well be considered for one of the roll-over contracts the TCCB are drawing up. Of the rest of this squad, only four are certainties: Gower, Gatting, Foster and Russell.

England squad: Gower (capt), Gooch, Broad. Galling, Lamb. Botham. Pringle, Newport. Emburey.

OeFreitas, Russell, Foster. LTD A LARGE and joyous part of the 30,000 crowd at Sel-hurst Park stayed behind for 45 minutes to congratulate Steve Coppell on steering Crystal Palace to promotion. But then Palace supporters have grown used to waiting since their side dropped out of the First Division eight years ago, burdened with the reputation of being the Team of the Eighties. The home side truly deserved their success after overturning a 3-1 deficit from the first leg of their final play-off with a performance that left Blackburn leaden in mind and body. Having levelled the aggregate score to force extra time, Palace finished the job when Ian Wright headed his 32nd goal of the season five minutes from time.

THE historic damage that a defiant Polish goalkeeper called Tomaszewski once did to the pride and aspirations of English football is surely now far outweighed by the double revenge exacted by Gary Lineker. England's chances of qualifying for the World Cup Finals in Italy next summer were immensely improved at Wembley by a clear victory that owed much to Lineker's continuing eagerness to make the Poles pay for that night in 1973 when Tomaszewski's heroics effectively dismissed an earlier national squad from the game's greatest competition. When his executioner's skills were last employed against them in the Mexico World Cup of 1986 his hat-trick produced a 3-0 score-line. Here he took only one goal but he had a notable part in the other two and his alert, incisive influence was crucial all through the hour and a half. Though several of England's other attackers were less consistently impressive, most of them had a successful afternoon and the reservations realistic assessors must have about this win will concern defenders.

Both full-backs were erratic and frequently labouring and there were signs that Butcher's recent ordeal by injury may have begun a basic decline of his powers. Certainly here against opponents who onlyu occasionally shook off the air of condemned men he had to be profoundly grateful for Botham: Up short pass ahead to Lineker and when Bako beat away his first attempt on goal the striker emphasised the extreme sharpness that has returned to his play by pursuing and retrieving the ball near the by-line on the right. From that discouraging angle Lineker clipped the ball back with delicate firmness and it struck the far side-netting before Robson completed the plunging dive over the line he had offered as England, driven on by the urgent work of Webb and Robson from midfield, given extra variety from deep positions by the mobility of Waddle, Beardsley and Barnes and constandy en couraged by the fluent, thoughtful running and intel ligent touches of Lineker, continued to dominate but anxiety was bound to persist as long as they led by the minimum margin and left themselves exposed to a troublesome repetition of the 1-1 draw the Poles claimed at Wembley in that other World Cup qualifying collision 16 years ago. Inevitably, there were glimpses of menace from the opposition, especially when the loss of that first goal pursuaded their captain Pru-sik, who had started out policing Barnes, to free himself for more adventurous duties. It was regrettable that Walker whose play was generally so eminently rational should be guilty ot a scnooi the presence of Walker, whose stature increases with every appearance in his country's shirt.

Walker was the chief reason that Shilton was not over-taxed on the day he equalled Bobby Moore's record total of 108 caps for England. The big veteran would be delighted with the newcomer and his major share of the credit for a result that left every Englishman on the premises with the right to a warm glow. The sustained momentum of England's early attacking revealed a freshness of legs and spirit that was remarkable at the end of a long, wearing season and Poland's defenders were comprehensively panicked by the bombardment. It was ironic that one of the worst sufferers should be Tomaszewski's protege, Bako, whose involvement in the match might have been limited to nine minutes if the referee had not taken a lenient attitude to the malevolent lunge that scythed Lineker's legs from under him when he was through alone. Shortly after being cautioned for that outrage Bako punched one of his own defenders on the head but there was much more significant Polish pain in the 23rd minute when England scored.

Another penetrative break through the middle by I 1 l. 'j Barnes enaoiea aim iu sena a off: John Barnes sinks the visitors with a crisply volleyed second goal Martin (Hampsnire). encountered few problems until he had passed 50 when, having been dropped at slip off Waugh, he was caught there off a no-ball in the next over from Campbell. He then met a good ball from Campbell from which he was caught at slip. The" ease and conitbrt of his strokes contrasted with the tourists' problems earlier when Marsh's apparent dislike of anything short led to several uneasy moments against Bishop and Malcolm, both testingly quick at times.

Although Malcolm had the left-handed Taylor caught at slip off a fast-footed stroke to a full-length ball, both tended to bowl a short West Indian length rather than the fuller English length required, which was emphasised when Morten-sen and Base took over the attack. Base, with his controlled run up and high action, surprised one batsman after another with his unexpected bounce. One was Marsh who had started to settle when he was caught off a glove trying to take his bat away. He spared the umpire a difficult decision by walking. The ball was probably still doing a shade too much for the instinctive stroke players in the Australian middle order and after Waugh had edged Mortensen's out-swinger to slip and Moody was also undone by Base's bounce, Border had little option but to try to dig in and rebuild the innings.

All was well for seven overs during which he was content to attempt little more than nudges and deflections. But then, perhaps making allowances for Base's steep bounce, as Australians tend to do in their own conditions, he offered no stroke to a ball which went through at normal height and bowled him. MD THE Orient Express finally arrived in the Third Division, but only after being given a decidedly bumpy ride by a combative Wrexham side. By taking the scenic route otherwise known as the play-offs to promotion, Leyton Orient found themselves travelling first via Scarborough and then Wrexham. Last Wednesday's goalless draw in Wales meant that Frank Clark's team started the second leg of the play-off final bolstered by the psychological advantage vociferously provided by a crowd of 13,365.

The partisan gathering 10,000 above the average gate forced their lungs to work overtime a minute before half-time when Harvey unerringly rifled the ball past THE AUSTRALIANS, making no attempt to hide the disgust they felt at the below-strength team fielded against them by Warwickshire in their previous match, got rather more than the vigorous pre-Test work out they hoped for when Derbyshire slipped them in and then slipped them out for 200 in 51 overs. None of their recognised batsmen became established on a firm pitch which had gained a tinge of green after its night under the covers, with enough bounce for the ball to fly through the slips at frequent intervals. If everything had stuck their variable batting would have been punished even more. As it was, after a hectic pre-lunch session in which six wickets fell for 123 runs in 30 overs, they were indebted to a Tunbridge Wells on a dull, heavy clouded day there was precious little evidence of this prominence. Mark Nicholas, Hampshire's captain, may have erred in choosing to bat on winning the toss.

Last year both Kent and Middlesex were bowled out on the opening day of this Royal Tunbridge Wells week. Yesterday, too, the pitch showed life and movement, which is more than can be said for the crowd huddled miserably under folds of blankets. Yet it was not so much the pitch as the heavy conditions which encouraged the bowlers. Kent's Richard Ellison exploited them to the full, returning four for 39 from 17 overs, nearly emulating his season's best of five for 98. luxury, year after year your next carpet with Pexter clings to the club boyish folly that obliged the referee to take his name in the second half.

Lesniak had been pulling at Walker but the petulant trip with which the Englishman responded when the referee had already penalised the Pole will embarrass him for a while. Soon Kosecki came on for Lesniak but, far from improving their position, Poland found themselves another goal behind in the 72nd minute. A neat little header from Lineker eased the ball into Stevens's stride and his long cross from the right wing went all the way beyond the far post to be beautifully guided home by a cushioning volley from the inside of Barnes's left foot. Seven minutes from the end Lineker's persistence then made the opening for a low centre from Rocastle and the Barcelona forward deserved his luck when the ball went between his legs and made scoring a formality for Webb. Rocastle had come on as a substitute along with his Arsenal team-mate Smith to replace Waddle and Beardsley in a team already coasting home.

England still have to face away trials in Sweden and Poland but they need not be gloomy about those expeditions now. ENGLAND: Shilton (Oerby); Stevens (Glasgow Rangers), Walker (Nottingham Forest), Butcher (Glasgow Rangers), Pearce (Nottingham Forest). Webb (Nottingham Forest), Robson (capt. Manchester United), Waddle (Tottenham. Rocastle, Arsenal, 78min), Lineker (Barcelona), Beardsley (Liverpool.

Smith, Arsenal, 78), Barnes (Liverpool). POLAND: Bako; Lukaslc. Wdow- -czyk. Wijas. Wojcickl.

Matysik. Prusik (capl). Urban (Tarasiewicz. 70). Furtok.

Lesniak (Kosecki. 60), Warzycha. Releree: Agnolin (Italy). The inclusion of Ian Botham and John Embiirey is surprising only if current form is the sole criterion. Botham's highest score in eight first-class innings remains 42 after yesterday's duck, and Emburey has taken three wickets at 78, an average six points higher than Smith's with the bat.

As the world knows, form no reliable guide where Botham is concerned, although he will have to make runs at Headingley to retain his place. The four front-line bowlers picked Foster, Pringle, Newport and OeFreitas have prior claims, as do Graham Dilley, who is convalescing, and Angus Fraser. According to Dexter, seamm Rhodes, however, made it look quite enjoyable. While the rest hit wildly and perished swiftly, his competent little innings indicated an easing of the pitch. That was confirmed as Newport and Radford looked less hostile than had Watkin and Dennis.

The Glamorgan openers were occasionally beaten, sometimes bruised, but often able to stroke the ball away. To aid them, the bowlers were more wayward, partly because they had to strain harder. Newport did at last slip one past Morris, but Worcestershire then compounded their problems by missing slip catches before Pridgeon bowled the obdurate Butcher. Botham then struck twice but the balance of advantage still lies with Glamorgan -m. MICHAEL HENDERSON detects conservative thinking behind the Headingley Test team CAUGHT between the conflicting demands of choosing a team to beat Australia at Headingley next week and the laying of grapes for future vines, the England committee's first Test selection is predictably conservative.

Headingley is a course which favours certain horses: should England win, Ted Dexter will be armed to break up the Test club Out from the successful Texaco Trophy squad go Kim Barnett, Steven Rhodes and Paul Jarvis, who make way for Chris Broad, Jack Russell and Phil Newport. No surprises there. As Barnett sat out the one-dayers, Broad made three centuries; Russell is the finest wicketkeeper in the country; Newport is the leading wicket-taker with 35, TONY PAWSON apprehensive Curtis. Now he emphasised the pitch's venom by bringing one back so sharply that Curtis was lbw without playing a shot. Off fhe first 100 balls there were only five scoring strokes statistic which underlines the grimness of the struggle.

The unlucky Watkin was the main menace. D'Oliveira, in particular, had difficulty making any contact with the ball and was often fortunate not to. In an hour of torment he scored only four runs before emulating Curtis's misjudgment. Hick's score of 43 may seem minuscule compared to his great flow of runs last season but in the conditions this was an innings ot great quai was an innings ot great quai- IBarwicEt sforoGtes Dried) Smith fails the toughest MICHAEL CAREY at Derby rather more orthodox, English-type accumulation by Healy and Campbell before Barnett, with an accomplished 50 from 58 balls, led Derbyshire's spirited reply. Although the ball moved around less later, it still bounced from time to time and they ended at 153 for four wickets, with Barnett's 76 his highest first class score of the season.

Ted Dexter was among those who saw him do much as he liked in making 50 out of 76. Although Alderman often swung the ball, Rackemann was not as effective as might have been expected for a big man who hits the pitch hard. So Barnett, timing cuts and drives and whipping the ball profitably through mid-wicket, of tests Smith's brother, Chris, attempted to stave off the forceful Kent triumvirate of Perm, Igglesden and Ellison, with a deadpan innings of 30 from 32 overs. He survived a chance a seal would have caught when on four. Richard Davis at first slip was the culprit.

Kent's wicketkeeper, Steve Marsh, tumbled acrobatically as the ball darted and dodged about, hanging on to three fine catches to remove Terry, Smith and Nicholas. Only towards the end did the West Indian pace bowler Malcolm Marshall redress the balance slightly with a well-judged knock of 28 not out. Significantly, in the deteriorating light he received no bouncers. Altruism on the part of the Kent attack? Self-preservation more like. IRlDAIRl.

ISAGATfcS COMPANY PRODUCT including 11 against the Australians. The other omission is damning. Robin Smith's demotion is rooted in the faulty premise that, for one more Test at least, the club must not be disbanded. With more than a thousand runs in all cricket, Smith's advocacy is justified by a timely coalition of talent and form. Allan Lamb's inclusion ahead of him betrays the muddled thinking one hoped had gone west with Peter May.

Lamb made an outstanding century at Trent Bridge, as such an experienced one-day player is likely to, but his Test record is modest. Smith, nine years younger at 25, must be the better long-term bet. at Worcester ity. He was patient and composed throughout and showed fine judgment in selecting the balls to hit. Hick dominated a partnership of 46 with Neale, who so often revives a disintegrating innings, but just when the pair seemed well launched- on another rescue act Barwick shattered that illusion.

Hick played across the line for once while Neale clipped the ball into long leg's hands. Botham is likely to be short of batting practice before the Test for he lasted only seven balls. Barwick then made one lift to have him lob a simple catch to cover. His glare at the wicket no doubt helped to convince most of the others lost cause of Tredaire, behind the is WORCESTERSHIRE may regret a decision to bat first which contributed to their lowest score of the season, 127. But their rout was mainly due to an inspired 19-ball spell by Barwick during which he took five wickets including the vital ones of Hick, Neale and Botham.

An elderly spectator next to whom I parked said: 'Let's hope this is a batsman's pitch. I'm tired of seeing wickets fall There was early indication that he was in for another exhausting day. Bent avoided a personal hat-trick of ducks with a neat leg glance but touched a catch as soon as he tried an aggressive stroke. Watkin had already demonstrated the uneven bounce by making a couple fly past the Smith: Down MICK CLEARY at He might also ponder his omission from the England squad for the Headingley Test. Before yesterday, Smith was second in the national averages (72.77), 23 places higher than Alan Lamb (41.57).

Smith received a call from theEngland captain, David Gower, on Friday evening. If the news rankled it did not show. 'I'm realistic about said Smith, 'and I knew it would be difficult if the selectors kept Botham. I will have to work even harder to prove Smith's blistering form he was the first to reach 1,000 runs this season in all forms of cricket helped propel Hampshire to fifth place in the championship. But its original comfort and vear.

So bring out the best in RHODODENDRONS were in full bloom at Tunbridge Wells but the same could not be said for Hampshire, or for the deposed England middle-order batsman Robin Smith. Hampshire trudged bale-fully to 139 for seven before bad light ended play prematurely with 57 overs lost during the day. Smith enjoyed a brief two-ball flowering. A mid-morning two-hour break for rain punctuated his 11 -ball innings. On the resumption, he got off the mark with a disdainful swipe to the cover boundary, a shot he repeated forthwith.

The next delivery from Kent's Richard Ellison clipped his off-bail and Smith trudged slowly back to the pavilion to ponder his dismissal. all after. uiai uauuig that batting was a Look at your carpet. Is it wearing well or just Europe's well worn? Only best selling quality underlay, Tredaire is formulated to actually It probably i depends on whether you've given prolong carpet life by up to 4096, working hard i it the unique support and protection scenes to make sure your carpet keeps Tredaire THE underlay..