Halesowen Harriers vs Gresley Rovers
Back on course – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Gresley coach Graham Fearn revealed the secret of his side’s success after a sparkling, back-to-form performance.
“Recently, we’ve been sitting back waiting for things to happen to us,” he said. “Today we went out to take the game to the opposition and look for openings and it came off.”
Fearn duly acknowledged the contribution of striker Kieron Smith after a goalscoring return, saying: “He gave us extra options up front.”
But the key performance was from skipper Richard Denby who set up Rovers two first half goals.
Said Fearn: “We told Richard not to worry about anything other than his own game and he responded with a tremendous performance.”
Denby has been carrying the weight of his team-mates’ worries on his shoulders throughout Rovers’ recent barren patch but on Saturday he led by example.
His 32nd- minute free kick from just inside Harriers’ half picked out lanky striker Andy Maddocks and Michael Guest, another key performer for Rovers in the middle, stylishly turned the target man’s flick past keeper Colin Baldock.
Eight minutes later Denby turned up on the left wing to pick out Smith in the centre and the pacey frontman, just back from an eight-week lay-off with a fractured cheekbone, controlled the ball perfectly before drilling home a shot from just inside the box.
Manager Frank Northwood’s claim that: “We could have been five up by half time” was not far off the mark.
Guest was foiled by a smothering save from Baldock within minutes of his opener and the keeper’s flailing feet kept out Maddock’s effort after full back John Bottomley had knocked on Smith’s cross. Meanwhile, Smith saw a long range effort tipped over and Gil Land was just off target from Steve Astley’s pinpoint cross.
Instead it was Harriers who got on the first half scoresheet, Toby Hall heading in from point blank range after Richard Madeley’s long-range effort had come back off the bar. But Rovers were in no frame of mind to let more points slip away.
Maddocks, struggling with a hamstring injury, sealed victory with 25 minutes left. Land took control in the centre during a spell of Harriers pressure and hoisted the ball wide to the right where Carl Nicklin advanced and crossed for the centre forward to pick his spot from the edge of the box.
Harriers gamely kept up the chase and keeper Bob Aston twice earned his win bonus with smart saves from Hall and Paul Waddington as Rovers visibly wilted in the final 10 minutes. By then, though, they had done enough to merit a classy win.
Halesowen Harriers (1) 1
Gresley Rovers (2) 3
Scorers: T Hall 43 (Halesowen Harriers); Guest 32, Smith 40, Maddocks 65 (Gresley Rovers).
Halesowen Harriers: Baldock, Williams, Green, Tomlinson, Young, Madeley (S Guest 74), Thomas, Nicholls, T Hall, Mason, Waddington. Subs not used: Siviter.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Bottomley, Perry (Hall 78), Denby, Land, Astley, M Guest, Nicklin, Maddocks, Smith, Lovell. Sub not used: Beresford.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Richard Denby.
Referee: M J Carrington.
Attendance: 90
