Bilston Town vs Gresley Rovers
Rovers left to fight for scraps - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
A scrappy goal decided a scrappy game at the grim Black Country home of Bilston Town, one of the sides Gresley Rovers may yet encounter on the FA Vase trail to Wembley.
Should that be the case, Rovers boss Steve Dolby will have to hope his team find the killer instinct absent from Saturday's performance.
Though Bilston were prepared to have a go at goal from any angle and any range, Rovers carved out the best chances of the game - notably a gilt edged second half opportunity for in-form striker Martin Devaney - but could not find a way past Town keeper Alan Pemberton.
Twice in the opening quarter Pemberton produced good saves to deny first Craig Weston, getting down well to hold the striker's shot on the run from Devaney's pass, then Scott Elliott, who saw a swerving 20-yard effort pushed for a corner.
Danny Williams posed Town's greatest test, giving Dave Swainston a thorough examination on Rovers' left flank only to produce a string of wayward crosses.
Instead it was Rovers, with Devaney and Weston probing away at the edge of Bilston's defence, that looked the likelier, Richard Wardle twice almost profiting from balls across the face of goal then bursting through on the right onto Robbie Briscoe's only to be robbed by a last-ditch tackle.
Swainston's half clearance then almost presented Williams with a close range chance but the winger shot wide under pressure from Martin Dick leaving the scoreline blank at the interval.
Dolby's half time edict to his players was to get the ball down play it around but with Bilston's philosophy a contrasting one chances were at a premium.
Devaney had the best, running clear after Mike Hart made a hash of intercepting Richard Denby's through ball only to fire disappointingly into the side netting after Pemberton had forced him wide.
Rovers soon paid the high price for their profligacy; keeper Bob Aston, under pressure, carrying the ball over the line after Bilston's Gary Jones had curled a corner under the bar.
Bilston had taken the lead without having a shot on target but while Gresley went on to produce better pressure on their hosts than they had before falling behind Pemberton continued to reign supreme, twice getting down to save efforts from substitute Mike Taplin as Rovers finally ran out of time to snatch the draw they probably deserved.
Bilston Town (0) 1
Gresley Rovers (0) 0
Scorer: Jones 64.
Bilston Town: Pemberton, Coniff, Jones, Hart, Bowater, Rhodes (Wilde 45), Williams, Snaith, Stanton, Baker, Bradley. Sub not used: Ratcliff.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Dick (Rigg 50), Swainston (Taplin 72), Denby, Evans, Land, Wardle, Elliott, Weston, Devaney, Briscoe.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Stuart Evans.
Referee: RJ Morris (Redditch).
Attendance: 257
