Halesowen Town vs Gresley Rovers
Veteran pair grab the points – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Halesowen veterans Paul Joinson and Malcolm Hazelwood were presented with silver salvers to mark their long service before Saturday’s game at The Grove – and promptly issued a reminder that their contribution to the Town cause was far from over.
Joinson, on his 567th appearance for the Yeltz, scored his 342nd goal to put the skids under Gresley and Hazlewood, in his 514th game, scored goal number 151 from the penalty spot to ensure the pair’s memorable day would be complete with a win.
As for Rovers, they were yet again left to rue a cruel rub of the green against their West Midlands opponents.
Only four weeks before Joinson’s late, late equaliser had deprived Rovers of a win at the Moat Ground after the referee inexplicably extended the game by six minutes.
And controversy raged again on Saturday as the most dubious of penalty decisions cost Rovers dearly.
Halesowen’s players and supporters were doing their best afterwards to convince everyone who would listen that Dave Swainston’s 64th-minute challenge on skipper Shane Abell merited a penalty.
But members of the opposite camp just could not share the view, mindful of the fact that Abell, already under pressure on the right edge of the penalty area as striker Martin Devaney defended back, had appeared to let the ball run out of play before producing what looked like a late, despairing dive.
Rovers’ protests, though, fell on deaf ears as Hazlewood fired home from the spot kick.
Five minutes earlier the midfielder had played a key role in his team’s opener, returning Joinson’s pass on the edge of the box for the seasoned goal grabber to nip clear of a packed Rovers defence and skip the ball past Aston for a considerably less debateable strike.
At least the goals brought to life what had previously been an uninspiring affair, Town’s adept use of the offside trap and sporadically fluent attacking play having given them a narrow edge in possession.
Rovers had wasted the best chances, however, Paul Acklam failing to make proper contact with Richard Wardle’s tempting right wing cross and glancing the ball wide and Graeme Rigg firing high over the bar from close range from Acklam’s cross.
Two goals down with little over a quarter of the game to go, however, Rovers threw caution to the wind to come agonisingly close to earning a draw.
Substitutes Mark Hurst and Christian Moore linked only for Andy Bradley to block Moore’s effort on the line, then Rigg’s astute pass finally beat the offside trap, Tony Marsden’s shot was parried by keeper Tony Rowe and Devaney fired home the loose ball after Moore’s follow up had come back off the crossbar.
Bob Aston saved superbly from Joinson as the game suddenly opened up, but it was Rovers who took the game to their hosts in the final quarter and it took Rowe’s goal-line save to deprive Stuart Evans of a headed equaliser in the final minute.
Halesowen Town (0) 2
Gresley Rovers (0) 1
Scorers: Joinson 59, Hazlewood 64 (pen) (Halesowen Town); Devaney 69 (Gresley Rovers).
Halesowen Town: Rowe, Abell, Bowen, Wood, Snape, Jones, Hazlewood, Bradley, Massey (Smith 89), Joinson (Wright 75), Patrick.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Blount, Swainston, Rigg, Evans, Stanborough, Wardle, Weston (Moore 68), Acklam (Hurst 58), Devaney, Marsden.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Stuart Evans.
Referee: G Osman (Thame).
Attendance: 894
