Gresley Rovers vs Hinckley Athletic
Rathbone makes his mark - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Gresley made sure their Santa sack of seasonal Banks's League points was full to maximum with a warming Boxing Day victory over Hinckley Athletic.
That meant 15 wins and just one defeat from 17 starts and a seven-point advantage at the top of the table to take into the New Year - just the Christmas statistics manager Frank Northwood wanted to hear.
Equally pleasing was the manner of Gresley's victory amid conditions that made their fluent, short-passing soccer even more creditable and the fact that new boy Carl Rathbone registered his first goal for the club in sparkling style.
Gresley picked the lock of a dour and unimaginative Hinckley with a sweet display of approach work with right back John Barry and midfielder Craig Weston particularly prominent as a gluepot midfield area was sensibly avoided.
A string of chances came and went before and after Kieron Smith dived to convert Barry's excellent right wing cross on 19 minutes.
And although Athletic were allowed a brief period of respite during which Tony Moore was forced to make his one telling save of the game from Paul Shackleton's low shot they were then swept under by the home side.
Rathbone saw a first time effort deflected off target and Paul Acklam fired Weston's corner high and wide.
Then Rathbone timed his run through the centre perfectly to win the chase for Richard Denby's perfect through ball and shoot low into the bottom corner of the net as keeper Lol Chamberlain wallowed haplessly in No Man's Land.
Gresley Rovers (1) 2
Hinckley Athletic (0) 0
Scorers: Smith 19, Rathbone 52.
Gresley Rovers: Moore, Barry, Elliott, Denby, Land, Astley, Weston, Smith, Acklam (Beresford 75), Rathbone, Lovell (Acklam 75).
Hinckley Athletic: Chamberlain, Ison, Montgomery (Payne 75), Dawson, Stansborough, Schoular, Moon (Sockett 75), Orton, Shackleton, Hammond, Williamson.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Craig Weston.
Referee: A Black (Nuneaton).
Attendance: 314
