Sutton Coldfield Town vs Gresley Rovers
Keeper drops a Wright clanger - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers' appalling run of results continued at Coles Lane
as a single goalkeeping error handed a poor Sutton Coldfield Town side three
points. Ian Wright failed to gather a corner two minutes before the half-time
whistle and Gresleys' dwindling band of diehard supporters knew in their hearts
that Brian Kenning's team were never going to get back into the game after that.
Kenning has been lamenting the absence of accomplished strikers
from his squad for a good while now but never was Rovers' lack of a cutting
edge more obvious last night.
The Moatmen came close at times, twice hitting the woodwork, but
with Kenning forced to play a strike force consisting of the diminutive Mick
Sandar and the even smaller Paul Willson there was never any reasonable chance
of presenting a consistent challenge to the home side's bulky defenders on a
glue pot of a pitch made worse by swirling rain as the game went on.
What made defeat even harder to bear for Rovers was that, in terms
of possession at least, they dominated the majority of the game.
After Wright had done well to keep out a skidding shot from the
impressive Gareth King early on the Moatmen went on to force the game into the
opposition's half with Andy Cheetham an ace away from the opening goal on 12
minutes.
Matt Warren hoisted a cross field free kick from the right that
the left back met with a crashing volley which keeper Tony Rowe instinctively
pushed up onto the bar. Judd should have given the home side the lead, however,
when King set up Simon Hodson for a cross that the number seven, unmarked in
the penalty area, headed wastefully wide but shortly after came Wright's aberration,
the keeper failing to make decisive contact with dean Joynson to leave the former
Atherstone man with an empty net.
The pattern began to change after the break after Sutton substitutes
Mark Bellingham and Steve Smith beefed up the home side's attack, the pair combining
to set up a good chance for Smith that the rangy youngster fired wide, Smith
then setting up Joynson for another chance that was wasted in similar fashion.
But with time running out it was Rovers that managed to find an
extra gear in the sapping conditions with Richard Gardner seeing a shot deflected
wide after a tricky run into the Sutton box, the midfielder then meeting Mark
Peters' corner with a thumping header that beat Rowe but thumped to safety off
the crossbar.
Gresley were now pressing forward with abandon in an effort to
snatch something from the game but Rovers' hearts were finally broken when Cheetham's
pass set up a great chance for Gardner only for the midfielder's firmly struck
shot to produce an excellent parry from Rowe.
Sutton Coldfield Town (1) 1
Gresley Rovers (0) 0
Scorer: Judd (Sutton Coldfield Town) 43
Sutton Coldfield Town: Rowe, Hodson, Randall, Behan, Read,
King (Beckett 81), Judd, Warrican (Smith 58), Mitchell, Ferguson (Bellingham
61), Joynson.
Gresley Rovers: Wright, Broadhurst, Cheetham, Doughty (Coates
67), Warren, Bluck, Peters (Reynolds 91), Wardle, Sandar, Willson (Allsop 67),
Gardner.
Referee: A C Turner (Market Harborough)
Attendance: 109
