Stourport Swifts vs Gresley Rovers
Shock draw – Burton Mail
Inability to turn superiority into goals has been Gresley Rovers problem of late. On Saturday it cost them dear.
Rovers completely outplayed lowly Stourport for 45 minutes but the teams went in level at the interval.
It seemed only a matter of time before Rovers duly claimed victory but, incredibly, they trailed by two goals with just 24 minutes left.
Late goals by Neil Lovell and Tracey Norton gave Rovers a point but the two that were lost could cost Gresley the Banks’s League title.
“A shambles,” was manager Frank Northwood’s description of the performance. “They should have been dead and buried by half time. If it had been a boxing match there would have been no contest,” he said afterwards.
“Obviously we’re all disappointed. But we could have had nothing and we ended up with a point. And I feel we’re still in with a good shout for the title.”
That shout would have been all the louder if that first half procession of chances had been turned into goals.
Norton and Paul Acklam were guilty of the worst misses, but virtually every Rover was ready for a crack at goal and the aptly named Chris Ball, a rotund figure between the Swifts’ sticks, saved well from a Neil Lovell half volley and Acklam’s close range header.
Swifts, perhaps sensing that they could avoid a drubbing, displayed more purpose after the break and suddenly Rovers were caught napping. Centre forward John Maffey controlled a right wing cross in the Gresley box and was given time and space to crash a red hot shot into the top corner of the net.
Gresley immediately introduced Graham Jones in their quest for a leveller but Swifts shocked them again on 66 minutes.
There were loud appeals for a free kick as Norton was dispossessed in midfield and a strong suspicion of offside as Maffey raced clear to shoot past Bob Aston, but the goal stood.
Gresley’s reply was three minutes in coming, Norton controlling well on the byline and teeing up a tap in chance for Lovell.
But Gresley’s composure was slipping away now, Kieron Smith shooting yards over, Michael Guest hammering a shot wide and Jones heading over.
As the tension reached bursting point it was Norton who at least gave Gresley something for their pains, superbly lobbing Ball after escaping onto Richard Denby’s through ball.
Stourport Swifts (0) 2
Gresley Rovers (0) 2
Scorers: Maffey 54, 66 (Stourport Swifts); Lovell 69, Norton 89 (Gresley Rovers).
Stourport Swifts: Ball, Carter (P Jones 70), Brooks, Langford, Davies, Rice, Lowell, Lee, Maffey (Fulloway 84), Duffield, Haighway.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Bottomley, Dick, Denby, Guest, Page, Astley (G Jones 64), Norton, Acklam, Smith, Lovell. Sub not used: Moore.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Martin Dick.
Referee: E Walsh (Rednall).
Attendance: 140
