Match Photos
Gresley Rovers vs Cinderford Town
Moatmen end in style - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers completed their Dr Martens Western Division campaign with their
best win of the season at the Moat Ground on Saturday. But boss John McGinlay
was far from carried away.
The Moat chief simply observed his players tended not to perform when the pressure
was on, unlike Saturday's meaningless fixture against a Cinderford side fielding
four youth team players and with a full back playing at centre forward.
Certainly, the fixture sheet had left Rovers' easiest game of the season until
last and at least another healthy Moat crowd was able to enjoy the afternoon
sunshine and, unusually, go home happy.
The fact remains, however, McGinlay has a mountain of work ahead of him and
he will waste no time in revolutionising the playing side, starting with a shake-up
of his first team squad.
McGinlay's current pool of talent contains too many enigmas, although two of
them combined superbly for the opening goal on 17 minutes.
Mark Peters picked up Ian Bluck's excellent cross field ball and skated pats
his marker before delivering a superb far post cross Simon Tucker converted
with a neat header for his 23rd goal of the season.
The second arrived eight minutes from the interval with recently promoted striker
Paul Willson taking much of the credit.
The diminutive frontman chased and harried as Danny Iddles shaped to clear
Bluck's long through ball and in the confusion that followed, Peters nipped
in to score with a precise low shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Cinderford's single threatening move of the game came in first half stoppage
time with Mark Sheils making a smart save at the foot of a post from Daryl Addis'
shot but normal service was resumed after the break with Rovers dominating and
sealing the points with a bizarre second goal from Tucker.
The striker tussled with Dave Bird on the Gresley left and when keeper Andy
Reid came to collect he still had only one hand on the ball when Tucker whipped
it away and walked it into the unguarded net.
Five minutes later substitute Neil Kitching rounded things off on a high note
when he collected Peters' pinpoint cross field pass and buried a low cross-shot.
Gresley Rovers (2) 4
Cinderford Town (0) 0
Scorers: Tucker 17, 71, Peters 37, Kitching 75.
Gresley Rovers: Sheils, Bluck, Gardner, Broadhurst (Grant 46), Woolley,
Middleton, Wardle, Peters, Willson (Kitching 75), Tucker, Coates: sub not used:
Warren.
Cinderford Town: Reid, Iddles (Donnelly 46), Howells, Richards, Hook,
Hunt, Campbell, Hayward, Coles (Whyman 46, Tomkins 65), Addis, Bird.
Rovers
Star Man: Richard Gardner - typically dynamic display.
Referee: D Whitestone (Northants).
Attendance: 353
