Gresley Rovers vs Cambridge City
Cambridge Blue - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers turned on the Premier power to delight the Moat Ground last night.
A superbly entertaining clash saw Rovers produce 60 minutes of quality football that, in the end, was just sufficient to give them their first home victory over a Cambridge side that came close to spoiling the party with a strong second half rally.
Goals by Tony Marsden and Mark Hurst gave Rovers the leeway to withstand City's comeback although the 835 crowd were forced to endure anxious moments in the final third of the game as the Moatmen hung on for victory.
Just as Dorchester the previous Saturday, Rovers took control only to see it slip away in the final stages.
But manager Steve Dolby was not displeased, saying afterwards: "We played better tonight than we did on Saturday. We haven't quite come to terms with the pace of the game at this level yet - the more games we play the better we'll be able to pace ourselves. But for 75 minutes I thought we were tremendous - some of the football was just what I've been looking for."
Again the action began at a blistering pace, with Martin Devaney setting the tone with a thrilling third minute charge from deep in his own half, beating two defenders before releasing Simon Osborne for a run through the inside right channel that ended with a disappointing shot straight at keeper Kevin Murray.
Osborne was soon given another glimpse of the target after Marsden and Richard Wardle linked impressively but this time the striker saw the ball cleared off his toes on the six-yard line by Wayne Goddard.
Rovers were stretching City along both flanks but the visitors soon responded and should have opened the scoring on 13 minutes when a mix-up between Nick Stanborough and Bob Aston let in top marksman Gary Grogan but the big No10 pulled his angled shot wide of an empty target after skipping clear.
Rovers bounced back to go close themselves, excellent passes from Scott Elliott and Devaney releasing Hurst but the little striker placed his shot just too close to Murray who palmed the ball to safety.
The Richard Denby weaved his way through a forest of defenders to smack in a close range drive but again the keeper was equal to the effort.
Once again Cambridge hit back only to squander a golden opening, Laurie Ryan bursting past Stanborough but firing wastefully high and wide as Aston raced from his line.
It was a costly miss for, two minutes later, Rovers were ahead. Wardle was fouled on the right and Marsden met Denby's free kick with a crashing header that flew past Murray from close range.
It could have been two in first half injury time but first Wardle fired a difficult chance wide and Hurst lifted a shot over Murray and the bar.
Hurst had done everything but score in an impressive first half but made amends with a superb goal five minutes after the restart.
Denby played the ball to the edge of the box from the right and Devaney's brilliant flick left his strike partner clear to beat the keeper with a decisive angled drive.
Rovers continued to dominate but the impression grew that they were having to go flat out to maintain supremacy.
Sure enough, with Cambridge bringing most of the play into their opponents' half, Gresley failed to clear a right wing corner effectively and when Paul Wilkin flighted the ball back into the danger area Goddard greedily buried a close-range chance.
Cambridge tails were up as Rovers creaked and skipper Steve Gawthorp was an ace away from equalising when from Goddard's long throw he hooked a 10-yard shot just off target.
Gresley Rovers (1) 2
Cambridge City (0) 1
Scorers: Marsden 40, Hurst 50 (Gresley Rovers); Goddard 72 (Cambridge City).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Dick, Elliott, Denby, Evans, Stanborough, Wardle, Marsden (Rigg 82), Osborne, Devaney (Taplin 81), Hurst.
Cambridge City: Murray, Tovey, Scott, Fallon, Beattie, Gawthrop, Wilkin, Goddard, Ryan (Hayward 66), Grogan, Coe. Sub not used: Cambridge.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Mark Hurst.
Referee: J D Wesson (Loughborough).
Attendance: 835
