Gresley Rovers vs Waterlooville
The pampered and the privileged were the only ones with an excuse for deriding Gresley Rovers' first half performance against Waterlooville at the Moat Ground on Saturday.
For, unlike most of the hardy 600-odd who witnessed the latest phase in Rovers' recent revival, they may have been unaware of the blasting wind that whipped wickedly from one end of the pitch to the offer, making this the proverbial "game of two halves."
From the shelter of the press box, it only because apparent at the start of the second half, when a lofted Waterlooville clearance began to head back towards the visitors' half while still in the air.
It partly explained why the first half had been such a dull affair, and inspired the hope that, Rovers' ambitions being greater than Ville's, that the second half would be better. It was, immeasurably.
The two sides between them had managed only one shot on target in the first half, that a fairly innocuous effort from Ville's Calvin Hore that Bob Aston held without fuss, although Paul Acklam might have done better than sky his team's first chance of the period following Mark Hurst's headed pass, while Tony Marsden could only shoot straight at keeper Rob Stokes when a punched clearance fell nicely at his feet.
Gresley boss Steve Dolby later confessed: "We were well pleased to go in at 0-0." And Hurst soon showed why after the restart by skipping clear onto a massive Nigel Simms clearance and lifting the ball over Stokes and, narrowly, the crossbar.
Rovers were instantly recognisable as an improved side with this meteorological advantage on their side and Mark Blount was next to hammer home the point first with a 20-yard shot that Stokes did well to hold, then with another that flew inches wide of the keeper's left upright.
A goal looked imminent but when Graeme Rigg flighted a free kick perfectly for the unmarked Devaney Rovers' top scorer headed disappointingly wide.
It needed a burst of ill-temper to really spark the game to life. Ville skipper Simon Elley arriving late in the tackle with Rigg, then getting into an argument with trainer Gordon Ford before a yellow card settled things.
Within a minute a second followed for Simon James for a foul on Devaney but when Rigg's free kick was punched to the edge of the penalty area the striker extracted maximum revenge by lofting the ball back over the Ville defence and into the net.
The flood gates were opened and Acklam, previously quiet, suddenly produced a superb right foot shot that Stokes did well to tip away.
Blount saw a close range effort again well saved, but Rovers were full of fizz now and when Devaney's excellent first time pass sent Hurst away down the left Acklam took over as the ball reached the penalty area and hammered in a right foot shot that Stokes got a hand to but could not keep out of the net.
Ville belatedly tried to make a game of it but by the time Kevin Murphy fired home from 18 yards following Vince Hilaire cross it was far too late to stop Rovers celebrating their second consecutive home victory.
Gresley Rovers (0) 2
Waterlooville (0) 1
Scorers: Devaney 65, Acklam 72 (Gresley Rovers); Murphy 87 (Waterlooville).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Blount, Rigg, Loss, Evans, Simms, Wardle, Marsden, Hurst, Devaney, Acklam (Weston 8). Sub not used: Swainston.
Waterlooville: Stoles, James, Murphy, Gilbert, Elley, Green, Hore (Wilson 66), Hilaire, Tate, Selby, Thomas. Sub not used: Burnside.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Martin Devaney.
Referee: E B Crompton (Shirley).
Attendance: 632
