Burton Albion vs Gresley Rovers
Eton Park's game of the season failed miserably to live up to expectations last night - but no-one from South Derbyshire way was too bothered about that.
Reinforced by a precious one-goal advantage from the first leg, Gresley Rovers made sure of their place in the final of the Dr Martens Southern League Cup with a 73rd minute goal from skipper Richard Denby.
Denby's strike from a free kick gave Rovers a 2-0 aggregate advantage and put them well beyond the reach of arch-rivals Burton Albion.
It was a moment to savour for the Moatmen and conclusively erased the memory of the Beazer Premier Division drubbing suffered at the hands of Albion on Boxing Day. Albion, in contrast, were a desperate disappointment to their fans.
The Brewers never managed to put their game together with any conviction and the fact that they have now gone more than five hours without a goal is an accurate measure of their impotence in attack.
As a result it was a scruffy and uninspiring game - not helped by a blustery wind and bouncy pitch - that on many occasion would have been remembered only for its mediocrity.
Gresley will make the point, rightly, that their main objective was to make sure that they did not squander the lead secured at the Moat Ground three weeks ago.
They got enough bodies behind the ball to constantly break up Albion's rhythm and Gresley's defence, built around the impressive figure of Nick Stanborough, was rarely anything less than rock solid.
It may not have been pretty to watch, but Rovers' tactics were highly effective and, coming on the back of victories at Halesowen and Corby in previous rounds, it is hard to dispute that they are not worthy finalists at Albion's expense.
Albion, acutely aware that an early Gresley goal would spell disaster, tried to force the pace as best they could, but more often than not they were compelled to heave the ball forward only to see it eagerly devoured by Stanborough and the equally reliable Stuart Evans.
Albion's early pressure yielded only a hurried volley over the bar from Peter Howell and a shot from Darren Grocutt that dribbled disappointingly wide from the edge of the area.
With the main strikers from both teams on the sidelines, it was 27 minutes before either goalkeeper was tested and then only by a tame free kick from Robbie Briscoe that was easily fielded by Bob Aston.
Albion fleetingly brought the game and the hitherto subdued 1,700 crowd to life in the 34th minute.
Adrian Doughty's inswinging cross forced an indecisive punch from Aston, but the Gresley keeper recovered his ground brilliantly to acrobatically turn Grocutt's fierce rising drive over the bar.
Gresley responded with their most incisive attack of the half when Tony Marsden's crossfield pass found the lively Dave Holmes, whose right foot shot from the edge of the area caught the top of the bar.
Briscoe, always looking to get forward, fastened onto a head out by Stanborough but volleyed over and by the interval Gresley must have been pleasantly surprised how relatively easy it had been for them.
Albion flickered back into life in the early stages of the second half, but Marsden got a good block on a shot from Howell after Doughty's free kick had not been properly cleared and Rovers were relieved that the Brewers were unable to make anything of a Howell cross that left Aston groping after the ball leapt viciously off the unpredictable pitch.
By now Gresley had sent on Mark Hurst in the hope of exploiting his pace as Albion pushed forward, but when he hooked on Denby's cross Goodwin was down quickly to make a comfortable save.
The Brewers, so far sticking rigidly to a 5-3-2 formation, finally took the gamble of sending on top scorer Paul Gretton, out of action since the first leg and surprisingly named as one of their substitutes.
But before he could make any sort of impression Gresley killed the tie off with a goal out of the blue.
Brian Donnelly was penalised for holding as Hurst chased a long ball and a dismal night for the Brewers was completed when Denby's free kick, not particularly well struck, found its way through a flimsy defensive wall and into the bottom corner.
There was only one team in it after that and after Holmes had failed to make the most of a mix-up between Goodwin and Darren Robinson, the Gresley youngster was unlucky not to grab his first goal for the club in injury time.
He was sent clear as Hurst flicked on substitute Scott Elliott's pass, but saw his well-struck shot rebound to safety off a post.
Burton Albion (0) 0
Gresley Rovers (0) 1
(Rovers win 2-0 on aggregate)
Scorer: Denby 73
Burton Albion: Goodwin, Williams, Briscoe, Donnelly, Nelson (Gretton 70), Grocutt, Doughty, Redfern, Payne (Davies 82), Howell, Robinson.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Dick, Rigg, Denby, Evans, Stanborough, Wardle (Elliott 73), Straw, Taplin (Hurst 57), Holmes, Marsden.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Nick Stanborough
Referee: E B Crompton (Solihull)
Attendance: 1738
