Gresley Rovers vs Blakenall
Graft pays for Gresley – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers moved inexorably closer to a second consecutive West Midlands League title with a hard won victory over Blakenall at the Moat Ground on Saturday.
It was a vital win, coming on the heels of the previous week’s defeat at Stourport, achieved by a team prepared to knuckle down and work even harder than their uncompromising opponents in difficult conditions.
Only unmitigated disaster can prevent Rovers from reclaiming their crown now but there was still no title talk from manager Frank Northwood afterwards.
He admitted: “It was three points we wanted or the pressure would have been on us. The boys were a bit jittery after last week but they battled away.”
There were signs of nerves as early as the eighth minute when Blakenall skilfully turned defence into attack through Davro Bachra’s run from deep and ex-moatman Andy Moore’s first time flick through the centre but Paul Sparrock, another ex-Rover, drilled a low shot fractionally wide.
Then Simon Harrison leapt to his left to clutch Pete Deakin’s swerving cross shot.
Rovers’ response was to take the lead. A Richard Denby corner was only half cleared and when the Rovers skipper returned the ball into the penalty area Craig Weston and Kieron Smith helped feed it through for Brian Beresford to sweep home a low shot from six yards.
That put Rovers on top and Paul Acklam twice went close, heading just over and seeing an angled drive fingertipped aside by Steve Pomroy.
Smith saw an effort disallowed at the start of the second half but Rovers’ disappointment was short-lived.
Acklam swung in a far post cross from the left and full back John Barry arrived with perfect timing to hit a dipping shot back across goal and in.
Blakenall responded like a side realising that its own title dreams were slipping away and pulled one back when Andy Moore caught Rovers’ undermanned at the back, linking with Bachra to set up Carl Dwyer for a powerful finish.
But Rovers weathered the storm and finished in the ascendancy, Jason Minton seeing another effort mysteriously ruled out in the final minutes.
Gresley Rovers (1) 2
Blakenall (0) 1
Scorers: Beresford 11, Barry 59 (Gresley Rovers); Dwyer 65 (Blakenall).
Gresley Rovers: Harrison, Barry, Elliott, Denby, Evans, Land, Weston, Smith, Acklam (Minton 83), Beresford (Wardle 56), Lovell.
Blakenall: Pomroy, Deakin, Wilkinson, McLeod, Tudor, Dwyer, P Moore, A Moore, Peach (Bannister 64), Sparrock, Bachra. Sub not used: Hopkins.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Neil Lovell.
Referee: P Rejer (Tipton).
Attendance: 389
