Gresley Rovers vs Malvern Town
Top of the flops – Rex Page – Burton Mail
Modest Malvern Town inflicted serious damage on Gresley Rovers’ Banks’s League title hopes at a wind-blasted Moat Ground last night.
Malvern, inspired by a hugely controversial penalty, overturned a 1-0 deficit to send top-of-the-table Rovers tumbling to their second successive home defeat.
Manager Frank Northwood made no attempt to disguise his anger at an insipid performance that suggested Gresley are entering a dangerously erratic spell of form at a critical stage of the campaign.
“They showed commitment and we didn’t,” snarled the veteran boss. The penalty was a joke and probably turned the game, but the real problem was that we didn’t produce an ounce of decent football.”
Despite the gusting wind, it looked as though it would be a night of plain sailing for Rovers when Steve Astley brilliantly gave then the lead in the 17th minute with a superbly struck dipping volley from the edge of the area.
But it all started to go horribly wrong three minutes later when, to astonished silence, Ray Skeemer’s routine challenge on tricky Joe Rawle was adjudged a penalty which the Malvern striker duly converted.
Gresley suddenly looked vulnerable as Malvern twice went close to snatching a half time lead, Sean Cotterill blasting one chance much too high and Bob Aston turning over Darren Bullock’s free kick after Richard Denby’s indiscretion two yards outside the area.
With the elements in their favour after the interval, Gresley set their stall out to take the game to the visitors but succeeded only in shooting themselves in the foot.
Malvern went in front after 72 minutes when Trevor Kerby’s awkward cross slithered through the hands of Aston for Chris Sheppard to bundle in a close range shot.
Substitute Brian Beresford, back in the first team after a three-month absence, went close to a headed equaliser, but Malvern struck again on the break with eight minutes to go, Paul Scarrott failing to connect properly with Bullock’s cross but still managing to loop the ball over the head of Aston.
Rovers threw everyone forward in a desperate bid to salvage a point – and it almost paid dividends.
Paul Acklam turned neatly 12 yards out to steer home Gresley’s second in the 83rd minute, but hopes of a point vanished when Dave Gray superbly kept out another searing effort from Astley.
Gresley Rovers (1) 2
Malvern Town (1) 3
Scorers: Astley 17, Acklam 83 (Gresley Rovers); Rawle (pen) 20, Shepherd 72, Scarrott 82 (Malvern Town).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Bottomley, Dick, Denby, Land, Skeemer (Beresford 75), Astley, Norton, Maddocks, Acklam, Lovell. Sub not used: Hall.
Malvern Town: Gray, Costello, Kerby, Jones, Burton, Stallard (Scarrott 45), Russell, Cotterill, Rawle, Sheppard, Bullock. Sub not used: Butterworth.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Steve Astley.
Referee: J Sheffield (Chasetown).
Attendance: 269
