Cheltenham Town vs Gresley Rovers
‘Missed opportunity!’ – Dolby – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers are becoming a hard team to beat at Beazer Premier level. The trouble is, winning isn’t coming that easily either.
Yet after Simon Osborne’s late equaliser at Whaddon Road on Saturday had earned his side their fourth draw in eight outings this term, manager Steve Dolby was left to reflect on another game that could easily have ended in victory, admitting: “We gave them too much respect – and its partly my fault.”
Rovers, at Dolby’s instruction, had set their stall out to keep it tight in the first half. Only when they were given their attacking in the second did they look like getting a result that seemed unlikely after Jimmy Smith fired the Robins ahead from a 33rd-minute penalty.
Rovers’ revised approach – and Cheltenham’s disappointingly negative attitude after taking the lead – eventually turned the game on its head and Dolby looked back ruefully afterwards on two close-range chances put over the bar by Christian Moore and a penalty that wasn’t which could have earned Rovers’ fourth league win of the season.
Another crucial factor in the eventual stalemate was referee Ford, who flourished the yellow card an astonishing five times and harshly sent off youngster Colin Loss after his second bookable offence in a game that was largely devoid of malice.
Half chances fell to both sides after Graeme Rigg had fired a first minute free kick inches over from 25-yards, yet there seemed little likelihood of a goal at either end until Nick Stanborough tripped Smith on the right side excursion into the penalty area and the centre forward fired high into Bob Aston’s net from a hotly disputed but seemingly clear cut spot kick.
Cheltenham seemed intent on holding onto their lead in the second half rather than extending it and almost paid the fitting penalty when Loss crossed from the right after a short corner and Martin Devaney made good contact with a close-range header that keeper Martin Thomas was well-placed to grasp on the line.
Three minutes later Mark Blount burst clear on the right and picked out Moore with attempting cross that the striker could not put on target from the six-yard line.
Referee Ford’s increasingly arbitrary use of the yellow card reached a peak with the dismissal of Loss after a moment of indiscipline but, as is often the case, the sending off merely served to strengthen Rovers’ resolve.
Finally, Dave Swainston’s determination won Rovers a free kick on the left and stand-in skipper Stuart Evans, taking a break from his sterling defensive duties, headed the full back’s cross powerfully across goal for substitute Simon Osborne to head in at the far post.
Rovers’ joy could have been doubled when substitutes Osborne and Richard Wardle linked to give Moore another chance but once again the striker’s header failed to trouble the keeper.
Cheltenham Town (1) 1
Gresley Rovers (0) 1
Scorers: J Smith 33 (Cheltenham Town); Osborne 87 (Gresley Rovers).
Cheltenham Town: Thomas, Bloomer (Lovell 90), Willetts, Brown, Clark, N Smith (Mortimore 92), Howells, Cooper, J Smith, J Eaton, Warren.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Blount, Swainston, Rigg (Wardle 73), Evans, Stanborough, Weston, Loss, Moore, Devaney, Hurst (Osborne 70).
Gresley man-of-the-match: Stuart Evans.
Referee: MJ Ford (Southampton).
Attendance: 689
