Gresley Rovers vs Rocester
Rampant Romans destroy Rovers record - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Tony Hemmings and Mick Collins were the twin destroyers as rampant Rocester left Gresley's proud 100 per cent league record a shattered memory at the Moat Ground.
Gresley had no answer to Hemmings' scintillating pace or Collins ravenous finishing as the Romans outran, outfought and outthought the league leaders.
The result was a tactical triumph for Rocester boss Alan Beaman who admitted afterwards: "For five years we've been looking up at Gresley and thinking: 'We'd like to be up where they are.'
There was an element of truth, though, in Rovers coach Graham Fearn's post match claim that the better side had lost. Gresley certainly produced the more cultured and attractive football and dominated long spells of the game.
Time after time, though, Rovers' attacks foundered on the rocks of Rocester's rearguard, superbly overseen by skipper Kevin Barry. And at the other end of the field there was a dream return for blond bomber Collins who broke the hearts of fans who once idolised him.
That was testimony to the response Rocester had given Beaman's call for all-out effort to quell the leaders' fire.
But there was more than blood and thunder behind Rocester's win.
Said Beaman: "We'd watched Gresley and we knew we had to close down Richard Denby to beat them. I asked Alan Dodd to pick him up and he was surprised to get that role - but he did it so well."
Beaman's plan, though, looked like backfiring. After an explosive opening in which Savi Anastasi's run almost set up a first minute goal for Collins - Pete Perry's brave tackle saving the day but at the cost of an ankle injury that caused the full back to hobble out of the game after 29 minutes - Denby was instrumental in setting up the goal that gave Rovers a 10th minute lead.
Picking up Brian Beresford's through ball Denby threaded his way into the box and when Glenn Blackley dived at the midfielder's feet the ball ran loose for Paul Acklam who sidefooted home.
But on 21 minutes Rocester hit back with a superbly created goal. Hemmings, wide on the left, beat two defenders and kept running. There seemed no danger as he reached the left hand corner but with Gresley's tackles flying recklessly in the winger flew past two more Moatmen before crossing for Collins to finish with a flourish at the far post.
Three minutes after the restart came Rocester's killer goal. After a patient build-up Nixon hit a deep, swirling cross that appeared to deceive Gil Land and Collins brought the ball down neatly before slipping it past Aston from six yards.
Maddocks could not impose his aerial strength on a string of inviting crosses leaving Blackley to snap up everything Gresley could offer. And on 84 minutes the game ended as a contest.
Collins picked up the ball just inside the Gresley half, fed it to Hemmings and the winger did the rest, outpacing Steve Astley and rounding Aston before firing into an empty net.
Gresley Rovers (1) 1
Rocester (1) 3
Scorers: Acklam 10 (Gresley Rovers); Collins 21,48; Hemmings 84 (Rocester).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Bottomley, Perry (Adcock 19), Denby, Land, Astley, Snaith, Acklam, Maddocks, Beresford, Lovell. Sub not used; Haskins.
Rocester: Blackley, Ede, Nixon, Owen, Dodd, Barry, Chapman, Mottram, Collins, Anastasi, Hemmings. Subs not used: Shelley, Carr.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Paul Acklam.
Referee: G K Roderick (Castle Bromwich).
Attendance: 405
