Oldbury United vs Gresley Rovers
Rovers worst of the season – Niall Hickman – Burton Mail
The oldest footballing cliché: “it’s a funny old game” continue to be the great leveller as high flying Rovers crashed to their first league defeat.
Gresley, seemingly coasting to victory at half time, allowed Oldbury to score their first home goal of the season, equalling Scott Elliott’s fourth minute opener.
It had taken United nearly 500 minutes to score at York Road this season , but they waited only a further 60 seconds before taking the lead with a superb looping back post header from former Rovers favourite Graham Jones.
Try as they might, Gresley fluffed and flinched in front of goal, before Oldbury’s Matthew Hall scored his second in the last minute to flatter the Black Country outfit.
Rovers’ manager Frank Northwood said the obvious by accepting: “It was undoubtedly our worst performance of the season.”
Midfield playmaker Richard Denby, returning from a seven match absence, looked crucially short of full fitness, while his team mates, with the exception of new boy Craig Weston and Astley, appeared to lack the urgency required to beat their modest opponents.
In truth, Gresley had only themselves to blame after sitting on their early lead provided by Elliott, who squeezed the ball home from a testing Acklam cross.
They were guilty of missing the target on at least three clear-cut occasions, player manager Jones being the main culprit with one effort from six yards out which almost traversed the nearby M5 motorway.
Only three minutes after the break Gil Land mad a terrible hash of an attempted back-pass, to offer Hall a shooting chance just inside the area and he accepted the charity by slotting home inside Aston’s right post.
Jones then rose to loop in a header from Evans’ cross a minute later.
Gresley went hunting for an equaliser, but remained thoroughly unconvincing in the opponent’s penalty area.
Oldbury scored a breakaway goal seconds from time when Hall again took advantage of some dismal marking.
Oldbury United (0) 3
Gresley Rovers (1) 1
Scorers: Hall 48, 90, Jones 49 (Oldbury United); Elliott 4 (Gresley Rovers).
Oldbury United: Johnson, Loughran, Lippitt, Lockett, Hopson, Nicklin, Brookes, Evans (Beckford 69), Hall, Jones, Unitt. Sub not used: Simpson.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Barry, Lovell, Land, Astley, Denby, Weston, Smith (Maddocks 62), Acklam, Adcock, Elliott (Moore 45).
Gresley man-of-the-match: Craig Weston.
Referee: J Holbrook (Ludlow).
Attendance: 234
