Burnham vs Gresley Rovers
Battling Rovers stand out - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers were forced to spend their half time break standing in an alleyway at Burnham on Saturday - but it was their inhospitable hosts who were then caught cold.
Two goals in a minute just after the restart saw Rovers into the last 32 of the FA Vase after what manager Steve Dolby described as "Just a battle - a massive battle."
Dolby explained: "They couldn't get the dressing room open at half time and we had to give our team talk in an alleyway.
"But it backfired on them - we scored more or less straight from the kick off and that was the first time either side had strung four passes together."
There was a strong suspicion that the home side had left their Gore Lane pitch unrolled precisely to stop Gresley doing what they did for the opening goal - play football.
Certainly there was little from the home side to suggest that they had any intention of playing the ball on the floor.
Burnham packed the midfield and tried to pick out their speedy front pair with long balls at every opportunity.
The ploy almost worked as early as the 13th minute, when tall centre forward Carl Lindo picked up a knock-on and fired a diagonal shot against the foot of a post, Gresley keeper Bob Aston distinguishing himself with a fine save as midfielder Mick Buckley hammered the rebound towards the bottom corner.
Rovers replied with a header from Tony Marsden - who had earlier tested keeper Trevor Roffey's reflexes with a 20-yard shot - that flew agonisingly wide and a couple of probing runs from Robbie Briscoe but Burnham continued to look dangerous on the break with Aston again doing well to grab Lindo's cross then standing his ground well as strike partner Steve Bunce bust clear.
Less than two minutes after the restart, however, it was Gresley who drew first blood, Scott Elliott breaking forward and the ball flowing via Richard Denby, Martin Devaney and Kieron Smith to Briscoe whose cross was bundled over the line by Smith.
Straight from the restart Smith flicked on Aston's kick and Devaney kept his feet well under pressure from two defenders to fire Rovers' second - a goal that was greeted with the substitution of both Burnham's central defenders.
The shake-up worked well for the home side who forced a string of corners and put themselves back in the game through Lindo's volley after a long throw had been flicked on.
That prompted some anxious moments for Gresley but Burnham's best chances came and went when first Aston charged from his line to block Bunce's advance, then midfielder Tim Cook wafted a close range shot the wrong side of the post.
Burnham (0) 1
Gresley Rovers (0) 2
Scorers: Lindo 62 (Burnham); Smith 47, Devaney 48 (Gresley Rovers).
Burnham: Roffey, Brett, Hughes, Grant (Jarvis 49), Turner (Deveroux 49), Buckley, Cook, Chandler, Lindo, Bunce, Shaw.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Elliott, Swainston, Denby, Evans, Land, Wardle, Marsden, Smith, Devaney, Briscoe (Weston 70). Sub not used: Rigg.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Bob Aston.
Referee: A E Ashley (Nuneaton).
Attendance: 208
