Gresley Rovers vs Belper Town
Rovers go on late spree – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers showed their reserves of strength to bring a smile back to the Moat Ground last night.
After the gloom precipitated by Saturday’s FA Trophy exit at the hands of Goole Town, Rovers steadied the ship with a comprehensive victory over Belper Town – although the flood of goals called for by manager Steve Dolby did not arrive until the closing stages.
Mike Taplin gave Rovers a flying start by picking up Corin Holness’s cross and rounding Darren Hodgkinson with just five minutes gone but while the Belper keeper was by far the busier in the first half Mark Wheatley had to make a smart save with his feet to deny Rob Allen after the striker had outpaced Gil Land.
The expected rash of substitutions at half time gave Dolby the chance to run the rule over the form of more reserve team youngsters with former Derby County midfielder Colin Loss immediately catching the eye, first setting up Simon Osborne to shoot narrowly off target then trying his luck with a dipping 22-yarder that flew just over.
A mistake by Nick Stanborough – who had been under anaesthetic only hours before having a cyst removed – allowed Belper back into the game, former Burton Albion frontrunner Roger Sallis beating Wheatley with a terrific shot from outside the penalty area, but that merely prompted Rovers to take full control.
Osborne and Acklam both failed to take advantage of good openings and it was left to teenager Paul Galloway to point out the location of the net, firing in off the keeper after Osborne’s right wing break then taking the Belper defence on to score with a fine solo effort.
The twin strike proved an inspiration to his more senior colleagues with Osborne finally profiting from Loss’s through ball then Acklam firing in a rising drive from Galloway’s pass.
Gresley Rovers (1) 5
Belper Town (0) 1
Scorers: Wheatley, Smith (Mead 60), Holness, Weston, Land (Stanborough 45), Blount, Wardle (Galloway 45), Devaney, Acklam, Taplin (Osborne 45), Moore (Loss 45).
Belper Town: Hodgkinson, Gordon, Shaw, Wooley, Armstead, Baxter, Morgan, Barber, Sallis, Allen, Cooper. Subs: Kelsey, Watson, Rowe.
Referee: I Jones (Woodville).
Attendance: 274
