Gresley Rovers vs Rushall Olympic
Champion show by Rovers – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers finally chalked up two consecutive league wins with a Rolls Royce victory over Rushall Olympic at the Moat Ground last night.
The result delighted Rovers coach Steve Dolby, who believes his side now has the foundation for a second crack at the West Midlands league title.
“Any side that can put five or six straight wins together will find itself out ahead of the rest,” he said, “that’s what we’re aiming for now.”
And he summed up the game in a nutshell when he added: “Rushall came here to play football, and they let us play too. The difference was that we were a little bit better at it than them.”
Gresley clicked into gear straight from the off and, bolstered by a second minute goal from Jason Minton – his first for the club – went on to construct a highly impressive performance, dominating Rushall from start to finish.
Minton’s opener was the reward for an opening spell in which Rushall were denied a touch of the ball, the increasingly impressive Frank Nuttall delivering a deep cross from the left and Paul Acklam neatly setting up Richard Wardle for a shot that deflected off a defender for a corner.
When Neil Lovell’s kick came over Stuart Evans flicked on at the near post and Minton powered into the six-yard box to provide the finish.
That set the game alight and Rovers hit rampant form, with John Barry and Acklam repeatedly goading the visitor’s left flank.
The luckless Kieron Smith sent a header flashing just over and Gil Land hit a typically thunderous cross shot inches wide.
Rushall, rocking on their heels, were reduced to a couple of long-range efforts before Rovers delivered goal number two on 40 minutes. Wardle held the ball up well on the right before releasing Carl Rathbone whose cross was met by a superlative header from Acklam.
Wardle’s over-ambitious backpass almost gave Rushall a barely-deserved way back into the game but Bob Aston saved well at the striker’s feet and after that Rovers resumed their dominance all the way to the final whistle without adding the conclusive third goal that their performance fully merited.
Gresley Rovers (2) 2
Rushall Olympic (0) 0
Scorers: Minton 2, Acklam 40.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Barry, Nuttall, Land, Evans, Minton, Wardle, Rathbone, Acklam (Weston 77), Smith, Lovell (Venning 81).
Rushall Olympic: Chandler, Perry, Page, Dawson, Watkiss, Bellingham, Gilbert (Barlow 65), Knight, Taylor, McRobbie (Whitehouse 75), Deeley.
Gresley man-of-the-match: John Barry.
Referee: D J Hines (Worcester).
Attendance: 463
