Burton Albion vs Gresley Rovers
Gresley Rovers maintained their Dr Martens Cup stranglehold over Burton Albion in convincing fashion at Eton Park last night. The marauding Moatmen chalked up their fifth successive victory in the competition over their arch-rivals to put themselves in a commanding position for the first round return leg at the Moat Ground on October 31st.
Ahead to a penalty won by debutant striker Steve Bradshaw and converted by top scorer Dave Taylor in only four minutes, Rovers left the Brewers with a mountain and to climb when Tony Marsden plundered their second goal the 85th minute.
The game was everything that manager Steve Dolby would have wished after a weekend of soul-searching in the wake of the slide in form illuminated by the defeat at home to Newport.
He boldly made sweeping changes with star signing Ady Man among the casualties and was rewarded with a display of bulldog spirit that hounded Albion into submission.
In contrast, it was a night of abject misery for the brewers. Not only were they made to look at poor team, but they also picked up more injuries.
Carl Rookyard limped off after 33 minutes and, more seriously, Albion lost the services of top scorer Jason Rhodes 11 minutes into the second half.
For the time being, the Moat Ground can wait because the greater concern for manager John Barton will be to field a team that can produce the right result in the FA Cup against RC Warwick on Saturday.
And on the evidence of last night's game not even that can be predicted with any great certainty. They saw plenty of the ball, but had neither the skill or the vision to do anything with it and usually came off second best in the individual battles.
Gresley performed well as a unit, combining rock solid defence with a disciplined effort in midfield that denied Albion the time and space to manoeuvre. And in Bradshaw they had the ace up manager Dolby's sleeve. He was the one forward on either side capable of igniting what was, in all honesty, a pretty dour affair, which an inconsistent and whistle-happy referee made substantially worse.
Bradshaw laid the foundation for a Gresley victory when Taylor cleverly overstepped Brian Hoseman's pass out of defence. His muscular power and raw pace enabled him to get the better of Jon Williams, who in shear desperation could do no more than bring the Rovers man down from behind for a penalty sweetly converted by Taylor.
Albion could have been in deeper trouble when Richard Denby's inswinging free kick searched out Tony Marsden at the far post in the eight minute, but the midfielder's header was cleared off the line by Alan Davies.
Rhodes failed to make the most of a half chance when the ball skidded off Nick Stanborough's head, but the early goal gave Gresley the confidence to play more controlled football.
Mostly Albion had to rely on Davies sorties forward as their main weapon, but after a particularly fine run by the full back his low cross flashed across the face of goal like an unaccepted gift. And another brought more frustration for the home fans when Dave Hadley, for once unmarked, dithered beyond the far post, eventually settling for a pass to Dougie Keast whose shot was deflected wide.
Albion needed to change the pattern of the game, but with Keast ineffective and skipper Simon Redfern well shackled by Rovers new boy Paul Dowell, they struggled desperately to thread any moves together.
Davies continued to be the one man Gresley had to worry about, starting the second half with another powerful run this time to try a shot himself that found the side netting.
Hadley disappointingly failed to make a proper connection after Matthew Smith's header briefly unlocked the Gresley defence.
Neither keeper had much of a part to play and when Rhodes went off, there was never much of a risk that Stuart Ford in the Gresley goal would suddenly find his services in great demand.
Albion took on an increasingly ragged and disjointed look, persevering with their own debutant Richard Smith - usually a defender - in an attacking role and in turn switching Mark Wood and Matthew Smith to the centre of midfield. Neither move proved successful and as they chased the game Albion were almost caught out by a swift counter-attack in the 67th minute. Richard Wardle skated past Williams before sweeping a pass to Mark Hurst, on for the injured Bradshaw, but the striker Albion tried to sign in the summer fired straight at Darren Acton.
Nathan Foster made a timely clearance after Ford dropped a Davies free kick, but that was a rare moment of danger for Gresley.
And, as if to emphasise, what a dreadful night it had been for the Brewers they produced a catalogue of errors to allow Rovers their second goal with five minutes remaining.
Matthew Smith's poor pass put Albion on the retreat, substitute Steve Brown lost possession to Denby and Wood was slow to react to Marsden's run. Acton stood his ground well to parry the midfielder's first shot, but Marsden was the first to the loose ball to stab it into the empty net from eight yards.
Rovers could have virtually rendered the second leg academic but after fastening onto Dowell's pass, Taylor saw a faint deflection off Wood take his shot agonisingly wide.
Burton Albion (0) 0
Gresley Rovers (1) 2
Scorers: Taylor (pen) 4, Marsden 85
Burton Albion: Acton, Davies, Williams, Wood, M Smith, Keast, Harrison, Redfern, Rhodes (Brown 56), Hadley, Rookyard (R Smith 33). Sub not used: Pepper.
Gresley Rovers: Ford, Foster, Horseman, Denby, P Wardle, Stanborough, R Wardle, Marsden, Bradshaw (Hurst 64), Dowell, Taylor. Subs not used: Evans, Mann.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Richard Wardle
Referee: D J Adcock (Long Eaton)
Attendance: 1143
