Gresley Rovers vs Chelmsford City
Fortune is supposed to favour the brave. On Saturday it smiled on Gresley Rovers – and their fans – at the Moat Ground.
Rovers and, somewhat disappointingly, their lowest league crowd of the season, got their reward by responding to the letter to manager Steve Dolby's pre-match requirements.
Backed vociferously from the moment they appeared from the players' tunnel, the Moatmen reproduced the steel that had earned them League Cup glory at Eton Park the previous Tuesday against a side that, inch for inch, is comfortably the bulkiest in the Beazer Premier Division, took their chances with admirable prevision and then, in a nail-biting final quarter, rode their luck in the style of a side that is truly on a roll.
Crunch time comes again in the basement battle at Moor Green next Saturday, when Dolby will be hoping his team can come up again with the grit and polish that earned a 31st minute lead on Saturday.
They rode an early storm of attacking, during which Bob Aston was forced to scramble the ball to safety via a post when Kurt Davidson head one of a stream of crosses goalwards and an apparent Richard Denby penalty area hand ball was overlooked, then snatched the advantage through a glittering combination between skipper Denby and Mark Hurst.
Rovers' midfielder leader timed a measured pass to dissect a packed City defence and Hurst's eager running took him to the ball a split second ahead of rapidly advancing keeper Mick Desborough, his flicked shot seemingly taking an age to cross the line as a posse of defenders raced in its pursuit.
The goal visibly lifted the home side, who repulsed more muscular attacking, Aston again doing well to field into his stride at the edge of the penalty area, and began to create further problems for the visitors' well-organised defence.
Twice Tony Marsden got forward from midfield to power headers off target, and there was cause to believe the trend might continue after the interval.
Chelmsford were entertaining no such notion, however, and proceeded to pile forward in search of a leveller, only to be caught cold with 58 minutes gone.
Graeme Rigg turned defence into attack with a massive clearance from the left to set David Holmes on a chase with City defender Eddie Martin.
Holmes' pace ate up the full back's advantage and, when the pair tangled leaving Martin on the seat of his shorts, the young striker measured his shot with a calm precision to mark his home debut with an excellent goal.
Eight minutes later Rovers could, indeed should, have been in dreamland. Holmes' lofted cross bounced over Desborough's head to leave Richard Wardle clear with an open goal in front of him.
When the midfielder was flattened in the keeper's despairing attempts to retrieve the situation, all eyes were on referee Stretton, stationed bit a few yards away.
Perplexingly, the official waved away claims for what looked the most obvious penalty of the season, and Chelmsford were handed a lifeline.
It was a lifeline the Essex men did all they could to grasp, substitute Steve Restarick enlivening their attack and sparking a string of chances.
The best, saved till last, came with 92 minutes on the clock when Tony Rogers met Restarick's low cross only for the ball to rebound to safety off the foot of a post.
Gresley Rovers (1) 2
Chelmsford City (0) 1
Scorers: Hurst 3, Holmes 59 (Gresley Rovers); Garvey (Chelmsford City)
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Dick (Loss 74), Rigg, Denby, Evans, Stanborough, Wardle, Straw, Hurst (Moore 81), Holmes, Marsden
Chelmsford City: Desborough, Jacques, Martin, Mosely, Keen, Hannigan, Hoddy, Garvey, Rogers, Morrison, Davidson (Restarick 62). Sub not used: Jenkins
Gresley man-of-the-match: Stuart Evans
Referee: A Stretton (Enderby)
Attendance: 556
