Bridlington Town vs Gresley Rovers
Brave to the end - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers overcame a disastrous start and the sending off of defender Dave Swainston at Bridlington on Saturday to salvage at least a fighting chance of overcoming the Yorkshiremen in the second leg.
But even a disciplined and determined rearguard action following Swainston's harsh dismissal could not compensate for a hesitant opening quarter in which the home side threatened to swamp South Derbyshire's hopes of a second Wembley appearance in three years.
Despite their meticulous preparations, Rovers were still on the starting blocks when Bridlington swept to a fifth minute lead and when the abrasive Alan Radford scored his second 14 minutes later it looked like curtains for the Moatmen.
Instead, a Martin Devaney wonder goal looked to have turned the game on its head until Sheffield referee Brian Coddington - who sensationally sent off three Newcastle United players at the Baseball Ground two years ago - intervened.
Coddington missed Radford's late challenge on the Gresley full back - just has he failed to notice the striker's off-the-ball attempts to provoke Gil Land and Stuart Evans minutes earlier and his provocative gestures to Gresley supporters in the crowd - but not Swainston's retaliatory shove.
Out came the yellow card, and when the Rovers defender clumsily impeded Allan Roberts on the edge of the area just two minute later, it was followed by the red.
That was all that Rovers needed, after first seeing Radford escape on the blind side of their defence to burst clear and beat Bob Aston with a low shot to the keeper's left, then lash home a second from close range after Dave Woodcock had returned a half-cleared corner into the six-yard box - both very poor goals from a defensive point of view.
Rovers hadn't even had a shot at this stage but Tony Marsden raised morale with a 20-yard curler that keeper Ian Taylor held comfortably enough, then Roberts forced his keeper to tip the ball over the bar as he attempted to clear Devaney's right wing cross.
A minute later, though, all Taylor could do was pick the ball out of the back of the net as Craig Weston's flick sent Devaney charging unchallenged down the centre to hit a screaming 30-yard shot that dipped over his head and under the bar.
Further encouraged by the sight of defender Paul Bottomley, a Guiseley hero of Wembley and Bramall Lane, limping off, Rovers now took their turn to dominate, although they survived another scare when Radford crashed the ball against the underside of the bar only to be pulled up for offside as he prepared to nod in the rebound.
It seemed Gresley were poised to stage another of their legendary comebacks but after Swainston's sending off and the forced withdrawal of the injured Scott Elliott the initiative swung firmly back to Bridlington.
Rovers emerged for the second half with substitute Graeme Rigg at left back and midfielder Richard Wardle on the opposite flank, leaving Craig Weston with the unenviable task of trying to fill in between midfield and Paul Acklam to battle against the odds up front.
A predictable pattern was soon to emerge, with the home side dominating possession, yet Rovers, with their work rate more than matching Bridlington's and the makeshift back four heroes to a man, stubbornly refused to concede ground, with the home side eventually reduced to the occasional, long range pot shot that failed to trouble Aston.
Substitute Ian Noteman did manage to put the ball in the net after 62 minutes but only after a blatant push on Aston and there was far more merit in Devaney's effort at the opposite end 12 minutes later, the striker picking up Richard Denby's through ball and beating two defenders before firing against the foot of the post from 18 yards.
It was the closest thing to a goal that the 1,627 crowd were going to see in the second period, with Bridlington introducing a further sour note as the game ended with a string of fouls, midfield powerhouse Lee Harvey earning a booking for an appallingly late challenge on Wardle and Noteman joining him in the book after pushing the stand-in full back into the advertising hoardings as the home side's frustration grew.
The referee, who had earlier taken the name of Bridlington physio George Halley for attending an injured player without permission, then gave a further, late reminder of how badly he had controlled the game when he booked Taylor for kicking the ball away even though the keeper had clearly not heard his whistle for a foul as Marsden closed in on his goal.
An equaliser was all that Rovers' supporters prayed for but when it seemed Devaney might provide one in thrilling style after a run past a string of defenders his injury time shot flew disappointingly wide.
Bridlington Town (2) 2
Gresley Rovers (1) 1
Scorers: Radford 5, 19 (Bridlington Town); Devaney 29 (Gresley Rovers).
Bridlington Town: Taylor, Bretano, McKenzie, Harvey, Bottomley (Swailes 29), Woodcock, Grocock, Roberts (Noteman 56), Jones, Radford, Parkinson.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Elliott (Rigg 45), Swainston, Denby, Evans, Land, Wardle, Marsden (Taplin 80), Acklam, Devaney, Weston.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Richard Denby.
Referee: B Coddington (Sheffield).
Attendance: 1627
