Gresley Rovers vs Borrowash Victoria
Acklam agony and ecstasy – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers, who first won the Derbyshire Senior Cup in 1988 amid scenes of great excitement and joy, repeated the feat for a record-equalling fourth consecutive season last night with an air of almost contemptuous ease.
Memorable battles in which Rovers had triumphed over the utmost adversity to lift the trophy had preceded the appearance of Borrowash Victoria at the Moat Ground for the 1991 final. One thing was certain – this was hardly likely to be one of those.
Indeed, it was not – right from the moment when Vic’s keeper Steve Rimmington committed a monstrously embarrassing error to gift Gresley their opening goal of the night – with just 25 seconds gone.
Manager Frank Northwood was forced to admit: “It was more like an exhibition game than a cup final. Scoring in the first minute probably killed the match off – after that it was hard for the lads to motivate themselves.
“At half time we felt we had to do something for the crowd and we justified that by sticking a few goals in in the second half.”
And keeper Bob Aston observed: “We won the game in the first leg. With a 2-0 lead from that game it was always going to be a formality tonight.”
Yet the 1,434 crowd – Gresley’s best ever for Derbyshire Senior Cup final – had much to cheer – not the least of that being the end of a marvellous, historic season.
Even if this game was not as thrilling as, say, the previous year’s epic victory over Matlock Town, the season as a whole has been a superb feast of entertainment for a steadily growing band of Moat Ground supporters, and the slaying of Borrowash – for whom it was extremely difficult not to feel the deepest pity – was as much a celebration of that as anything else.
Sympathy was certainly due to Rimmington after his first-minute blunder.
A straightforward backpass should have presented no difficulty but the keeper, attempting to gather the ball without actually picking it up, suddenly lost control and his worst nightmare was enacted as Paul Acklam dashed in to steal it away and force it over the line.
That was the game over for Borrowash and their motivational problems must have been just as great as Gresley’s.
But, to their immense credit, the Derby side then survived a storm of attacking to actually force Rovers back on their heels.
Former Moatman Dave King missed a great chance to equalise on the night when he prodded Neil Danvers’ free kick wide of an open goal and, after Bob Aston had produced a terrific save to keep out John Bookbinder’s header, Steve Astley cleared Ian Grostate’s follow-up effort off the line.
Gresley’s response was to put more pressure on the Vics, but the unfortunate upshot of that was a serious injury to Acklam, stretchered off with knee ligament damage sustained during the blitz on the Borrowash goal.
Enter Neil Lovell into the fray to allow Steve Adcock to move forward into attack – and another goal, Adcock controlling Astley’s giant clearance and taking the ball into the penalty area where Richard Denby set up Carl Rathbone for an emphatic, close range finish.
Borrowash continued to search for a consolation after the interval but were then punished on the break as Astley strode clear onto Craig Weston’s pass.
Full back Barry Greaves succeeded in getting back to rob the sweeper in the penalty area. But Kieron Smith merely lashed the loose ball home.
Within a minute it was 4-0, Lovell seeing a header deflected past Rimmington after Weston’s cross, then Lovell repeated the trick, converting a Denby free kick at the near post, to make it 5-0.
Borrowash must have realised by now it was not their night. Nothing would go their way but they finally reaped scant reward in the final minute when Viv Rayson shot fired an unstoppable shot past Aston from 25 yards.
By that time, though, Rovers’ celebrations were well under way.
Gresley Rovers (2) 5
Borrowash (0) 1
Scorers: Acklam 1, Rathbone 44, Smith 54, Lovell 55, 70 (Gresley Rovers), Rayson 90 (Borrowash Victoria).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Barry (Dick 62), Stokes, Denby, Land, Astley, Weston, Smith, Acklam (Lovell 35), Rathbone, Adcock.
Borrowash Victoria: Rimmington, Greaves, Brown (Foulds 60), Meek, Spooner, Danvers, Rayson, Grostate, Ride, King, Bookbinder (Smith 60).
Gresley man-of-the-match: Richard Denby.
Referee: P Robinson (Duffield).
Attendance: 1434
