Oldswinford vs Gresley Rovers
Rovers stretch lead – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers seized the opportunity to stretch their lead at the top of the Banks’s League in perfect fashion at Willenhall last night.
While other title chasers have stumbled recently, Gresley appear to have chosen the perfect moment to return to winning form.
More significantly, against Oldswinford’s pitch-less nomads, they at last rediscovered the sort of form that sent them soaring to the top of the table earlier in the season.
Defender Michael Guest, whose eighteen minute strike did so much to quell any early misgivings against the side that held title favourites Blakenall to a draw just a week before, explained afterwards: “Other results went very well for us on Tuesday night with Blakenall and Paget both losing and that was the incentive for us to do well tonight. I was delighted to score so early on because it tended to calm our nerves. After that we played well and that was important too because we’ve been struggling to score in recent games.
“Full credit to Oldswinford – they were a lot better than the side we beat 10-0 at the Moat. But the pressure’s on the others now. We’re still on top of the table and our goal difference is worth a point to us at least.”
There were suggestions last night that Gresley are at last rediscovering the flair to repeat the feat.
After weathering an early attacking burst by their “hosts”, the Moatmen dominated for the rest of the game and could easily have doubled their goals count.
Guest opened the way when he profited from a disastrous mix-up in the ‘Swinford defence, controlling an inerrant backpass from Steve Woods before firing a meaty volley from 18 yards that curled into the side of the net.
Gresley began to put their football together from then on and Tracey Norton fired inches over three minutes later after Graham Jones had headed down Neil Lovell’s cross.
It was mostly one-way stuff with Richard Denby directing play from midfield for Gresley. Indeed, his penetrating pass down the right had the Gresley faithful saluting a second goal three minutes before the interval when Kieron Smith moved onto Steve Astley’s cross but the ball, incredibly, flew wide.
Briefly, the game lost coherency as injured ‘Swinford defender Rod Butcher was grounded for almost five minutes and Norton, Untypically, was booked for a retaliatory foul.
But Gresley soon got their foot back on the accelerator. Norton was a whisker away from converting Jones’ cross and Astley was unlucky not to crown an encouraging performance with a goal when his effort from Norton’s flick was disallowed for offside.
With Gresley comfortably in control it was just a matter of time before a second goal went in and Jones obliged on the hour, rising to sweetly head Smith’s cross past John Holmes after Martin Dick had made inroads down the right.
Denby rattled the bar from 20 yards when it seemed he was about to score a long overdue goal but Gresley weren’t quite finished. Holmes made a dreadful hash of Dean Page’s huge punt into the area, punching the ball back over his head, and substitute Andy Moore reached the ball ahead of a posse of Gresley attackers to claim a goal with his first touch of the game.
Oldswinford (0) 0
Gresley Rovers (1) 3
(played at Willenhall Town FC)
Scorers: Guest 8, G Jones 60, Moore 84.
Oldswinford: Holmes, Butcher (Martin 52), M Taylor, Grisdale, Weston, Bryan, K Jones, Brassington (N Taylor 45), Millichip, Woods, Sillet.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Dick, Guest, Denby, Haskins, Page, Astley, Norton (Acklam 76), Smith, Jones, Lovell (Moore 83).
Gresley man-of-the-match: Michael Guest:
Referee: R W Hodgetts (Kidderminster).
Attendance: 55
