Match Photos
Gresley Rovers vs Hinckley United
Rovers pay for clanger - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
John
McGinlay should remind his Gresley Rovers players that Christmas comes but once
a year.
McGinlay's team - and with five players signed since the former Scotland striker's
arrival that is a much more apt description now - produced their best performance
for some time against the Dr martens Western Division leaders at a storm-lashed
Moat Ground on Tuesday night only for a fourth-minute gift to ultimately hand
the double to the Knitters.
Defender Barry Woolley shouldered the blame, allowing Hinckley striker Dave
Sadler to steal the ball off his toes and close then failing to retrieve the
situation with Richard Gardner's attempted interception only setting up a simple
chance for United skipper Morton Titterton.
Said McGinlay: "We gave them the goal. The ball bobbed then got caught up in
Barry's feet and the boy's robbed him and squared it for a tap-in.
"After that I thought we had the best of the game, even in the second half
with the wind and rain against us. We've matched them in every way."
Whether or not his manager's assessment of the game is valid, Woolley nonetheless
had every reason to feel pained - Sadler had similarly robbed him inside the
first minute but the warning went unheeded.
Rovers went on to produce much good work in appalling conditions after that
but the early damage was never repaired, making it five straight league defeats
for the Moatmen.
In
all fairness, Rovers never looked like pulling off a surprise draw until late
on in the game, by which time Hinckley should have had the points wrapped up.
After 16 minutes the visitors had four attackers breaking against only two
defenders, Karl Brennan releasing Lucas and the impressive James Lindley producing
the first of several good saves.
Then Lucas's sharp ball to Sadler inside the penalty area produced a first-time
shot and another good stop from the keeper.
When Sadler again broke clear against an undermanned defence at the start of
the second half Lindley was there once more to deny Lucas, a one-time Gresley
target.
The same pair combined again after Karl Brennan had run from his own half in
a typically swift United break. Sadler rolling the ball past the exposed keeper
this time only for Richard Wardle, racing back, to clear off the line.
Rovers had their attacking moments albeit few and far between, with home debutants
Ravhi Sanghar and Shaun Bedward showing promise against one of the division's
most unpromising defences.
New boy David Donaldson saw a tight-angled free kick excellently pushed from
under the bar by keeper Wayne Starkey, who then recovered from a hapless flap
at Donaldson's corner to block Matt Warren's shot but that summed up Rovers'
first half openings.
The
fact that the home side's chances did not arrive until the late introduction
of a hitherto frustrated Simon Tucker was no coincidence.
Out to prove - and perhaps earn his side - a point, Rovers' top scorer soon
opened up the left side of Hinckley's defence, only Jamie Lenton's last-gasp
tackle preventing the Cumbrian from picking out the unmarked Neil Broadhurst
in front of an empty net.
Gardner's excellent ball released Mark Peters to ease past Lavery but his angled
shot was chopped off the line, again by Lenton, then Woolley's equally good
pass realised Tucker on the right but this time, as he rolled the ball into
the path of Broadhurst, it was Lavery who summed up the visitors' determination
with a selfless block.
Hinckley substitute Paul Hunter had the chance to settle the game when he picked
up on Lindley's sliced clearance only to fire high and wide. But a second Hinckley
goal would have been harsh on Rovers, whose battling qualities will need to
be sustained until the end of the season.
Gresley Rovers (0) 0
Hinckley United (1) 1
Scorer: Titterton 4
Gresley Rovers: Lindley, Broadhurst, Gardner, Donaldson, Woolley, Warren,
Wardle, Peters, Bedward, Sanghar (Tucker 73), Coates; Subs not used: Middleton,
Roberts.
Hinckley United: Starkey, Storer, Lenton, Lavery, Smith, Preston, Barry,
Titterton, Sadler, Lucas (Hunter 73), Brennan; subs not used: Steane, Cartwright.
Rovers
Star Man: Steve Coates - battled for 90 minutes.
Referee: S Dorr (Worcester)
Attendance: 378
