Gresley Rovers vs Rushden & Diamonds
Rough Diamonds! - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Rushden & Diamonds came to the Moat Ground on Saturday apparently oblivious to the fact that the season of goodwill had begun.
The Northamptonshire side were fortunate to have only three players booked in a stormy first half in which Rovers striker Kieron Smith was carried off with suspected knee ligament damage after a horrendous challenge by Rushden skipper John Flower.
And things went from bad to worse in the second period with two visiting players sent off in a game marred by a Diamonds side that failed to sparkle in any respect.
It all added up to an unsavoury spectacle for the 533 crowd, although the memory of two terrific goals by the home side will hopefully endure longer than the bad taste left by Rushden's unpleasant behaviour.
Things started brightly enough after Smith was hauled down on the right corner of the penalty area Robbie Briscoe lashed Richard Denby's short free kick into the far corner of the net.
Rushden's immediate response was a flying tackle by Flower on Richard Wardle that produced the first booking of the game.
When Smith attempted to orchestrate a breakaway through the centre Flower leapt in with a challenge from behind that had the Rovers striker writhing in agony.
But referee Bayliss opted to take no action as a stretcher was produced and Smith carried off to hospital.
To make matters worse Rushden then equalised when Dave Johnson punted the ball over the top and ran through the Gresley defence to collect. Bob Aston did well to block the full back's shot but Glenville Donegal followed up to fire home the rebound.
Johnson soon turned from hero to villain, hauling back Craig Weston then booting the ball away to earn a yellow card. Adie Mann followed for a foul on Dave Swainston as Rovers sought to restore their lead, Weston seeing a half-hit shot tipped over by Kevin Shoemake.
The second half was just three minutes old when Johnson inexplicably produced a blatant handball on the halfway line leaving the referee no option but to produce a yellow, then a red card.
That spurred Rovers into more positive action and on 56 minutes they produced the highlight of the game. Richard Denby emerged from a midfield melee to release Robbie Briscoe on the left and the winger's flighted cross was fired high into the net by Wardle.
Again Rushden's response was immediate, Mann leaping in at substitute Martin Devaney straight from the kick off to become the second sending off victim.
Rovers could have had more goals against their nine-man opposition but Weston failed to convert two clear cut chances then suffered the ignominy of being punched by Flower with the referee and his linesman, not for the first time, looking the wrong way.
In the end Rovers opted to hang on to what they had and will no doubt be looking forward less eagerly to travelling to Rushden for tomorrow's league cup tie.
Gresley Rovers (1) 2
Rushden & Diamonds (1) 1
Scorers: Briscoe 8, Wardle 56 (Gresley Rovers); Donegal 27 (Rushden & Diamonds).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Rigg, Swainston, Denby, Evans, Land, Wardle, Marsden (Elliott 45), Smith (Devaney 20), Weston, Briscoe.
Rushden & Diamonds: Shoemake, Bushell, Johnson, Flower, Waite, Page, Kirkup (Wilson 55), Mann, Donegal, Leslie, York. Sub not used: Kearns.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Richard Denby.
Referee: S Bayliss
Attendance: 533
