Gresley Rovers vs Cradley Heath
Brian draws on his experience - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Veteran goal poacher Brian Beresford rose from the bench to give Gresley a vital kick start to the new season at the Moat Ground on Saturday.
The striker, whose zest for scoring remains undimmed after 20 years of goal-grabbing, gave Rovers three points with an exquisite chip from the edge of the penalty area just when it seemed the league champions had run out of ideas.
Cradley, last season's Division One champions and back in the West Midlands League top flight after an absence of eight years, rarely looked like spoiling Bob Aston's clean sheet.
Only when full back Tony Higgins was allowed to make ground down the right just before the interval did they carve a clear cut chance, but highly rated striker Ricardo Watson powered his header well wide at the near post.
Otherwise, Gresley controlled the proceedings but Paul Acklam twice missed good chances to open his account, first being foiled by an excellent save from Alan Nicholls then delaying his shot sufficiently for Higgins to get across and block - both times after good approach work by Kieron Smith and Carl Rathbone.
After the break, Gresley went off the boil with little coming from the flanks until the introduction of substitute Ryan Venning, whose first cross pinged off the bar.
Then came Beresford's vital intervention - leaving Cradley to taste defeat for only the second time in the league since the start of the season.
Gresley Rovers (0) 1
Cradley Town (0) 0
Scorer: Beresford 80.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Dick, Elliott, Denby, Land, Astley, Weston, Smith, Acklam (Beresford 71), Rathbone, Stokes (Venning 67).
Cradley Town: Nicholls, Higgins, Ford, Street, Townsend, Woodbine, Hamilton, Convey, Watson, Legister, Williams. Subs: Salmon, Attwood.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Martin Dick.
Referee: D T Colwell (Kidderminster).
Attendance: 412
