Gresley Rovers vs Stourbridge
Rovers leave it late - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Paul Acklam was Gresley Rovers' late saviour with a winner three minutes from time against Stourbridge at the Moat Ground on Saturday.
It was the third time this season that the striker had come on as a scoring substitute, but Saturday's strike proved the most vital of all.
Acklam capped a second half comeback to grab all three points which Rovers' earlier showing barely merited.
In the first half Gresley looked just what they were - a side lacking in match practice after a weather-forced 10-day lay-off.
Stourbridge were happy to use whatever stalling tactics they could to break the rhythm of the game while looking to utilise the explosive pace of the Beazer Midland Division's top scorer, Evron Wright, as their only likely source of goals.
And with an eminently forgettable first half behind them and the second just four minutes old, the Glassboys' plan seemed to be working perfectly when keeper Andy Crannage gathered a Richard Denby free kick and launched a massive punt up field that cleared the back-pedalling Rovers defence, leaving Wright to burst clear and bury a precisely placed shot into Bob Aston's bottom left corner.
That prompted Rovers to raise their game tangibly and they should have levelled when skipper Richard Denby, looking suspiciously offside, ran clear onto Robbie Briscoe's through ball and went down after rounding Crannage.
All eyes were on referee Paul Roberts, who decided against the popular groundswell of Moat Ground opinion that there was no penalty.
There was no doubt about Rovers' leveller five minutes later, however.
Craig Weston was felled just outside the box and Gil Land stepped up from his not inconsiderable defensive duties to thump an unstoppable free kick into the top corner of the helpless Crannage's net.
The stage was set for another late winner and it duly arrived when substitute Martin Dick released Acklam in the inside right channel to beat Crannage in a race for the ball and slip the deadliest of shots over the line from 12 yards.
Yet again, Rovers had played well below par and won - surely a sign that this really could be their season.
Gresley Rovers (0) 2
Stourbridge (0) 1
Scorers: Land 65, Acklam 87 (Gresley Rovers); Wright 49 (Stourbridge).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Elliott, Swainston, Denby, S Evans, Land, Wardle (Acklam 69), Rigg (Dick 55), Weston, Devaney, Briscoe.
Stourbridge: Crannage, Lowe, Claxton, Horne, Jones, Ingram, Williams, Wright, Hall, Ducksworth, R Evans. Subs not used: Cadman, Potter.
Gresley Man-of-the-match: Stuart Evans.
Referee: P Roberts (Kilburn).
Attendance: 648
