Burton Albion vs Gresley Rovers
The somersaulting fortunes of rival goalkeepers Nick Goodwin and Bob Aston decided the fate of a disappointing Beazer Premier Division derby at Eton Park.
A month ago Aston broke Burton Albion's hearts with a brilliant save, while Goodwin could only watch in horror when a deflected Richard Denby free kick squeezed past him to sweep Gresley Rovers to the final of the Dr Martens Southern League Cup.
But on Saturday, the roles of hero and villain were reversed as Albion sneaked victory to give them a league double over their arch-rivals.
Goodwin confirmed his return to peak form with a brilliant 20th minute penalty save from rookie striker David Holmes.
And to add to Gresley's anguish on a day when they deserved to take another step away from relegation zone, it was an 88th minute blunder by Aston, thus far their man of the season, that plunged them to defeat.
Aston allowed a centre from Adrian Doughty to squirm from his grasp, leaving Peter Howell to complete the simplest goal of his Albion career almost under the crossbar.
It was a cruel, cruel blow to Gresley softened only by the news that teams below them in the relegation dogfight had fared no better.
The game, though more eventful than the cup contest, failed to touch any great heights.
That was partly due to difficult conditions caused by a dry and bumpy pitch, a gusting wind and intermittent hailstorms.
But it also reflected the fact that two solid defences and two hard-working midfields far outweighed the profligacy of either attack.
Gresley could have been ahead in less than two minutes, but after Denby's corner had threatened to wreak havoc, Mark Hurst saw his close-range shot blocked on the line.
Albion squandered their chance to open the game up after eight minutes, Jason Rhodes ballooning the ball high and wide from eight yards after being teed up by Simon Redfern.
But the costliest miss of all, of course, was by a Gresley from the penalty spot. Doughty was penalised for a push on Hurst, Holmes struck the spot kick hard and low but Goodwin responded with a tremendous save.
Goodwin deserved to collect the sponsors' man-of-the-match award afterwards because without his contribution there is no way Albion, judged on their current scoring record, could have gone on to win the game.
Sadly, from that point the contest did not blossom but rather withered and died with the referee's enthusiastic use of the yellow card merely adding to the frustration on and off the pitch.
Redfern and new signing Mick Shearer worked purposefully in Albion's midfield, but there was a familiar lack of penetration.
Gresley, as is now their way, were prepared to wait their moment and with two tricky and pacy forwards in Hurst and Holmes there was always a chance that they might catch Albion off guard especially when Denby, looking much more like his old self, got the accuracy of his passes right.
They had another chance to make the breakthrough in the 55th minute when Holmes disposed Jon Williams and clipped a lovely ball to the edge of the area where Hurst got in a first-time shot that was pushed round a post by Goodwin.
Goodwin continued to be the busier of the two keepers, saving from both Tony Marsden and Graeme Rigg, and Brian Donnelly – already booked – was lucky to escape with nothing more than a lecture after a trip on Holmes. There was another glimmer of a chance for Holmes in the 81st minute.
Albion looked at their most dangerous when they got the ball out wide on the right to Doughty. Twice Shearer hit superb passes into inviting space but twice Aston cut out the crosses with the Brewers desperately short of bodies in the penalty area.
But it was third time lucky for Doughty and Albion in the 88th minute. Redfern took Rovers by surprise when he set off on a seemingly lost cause to keep the ball in play close to the corner flag and got to his feet to give Doughty the chance to supply the cross that brought Aston and his colleagues to his knees.
Burton Albion (0) 1
Gresley Rovers (0) 0
Scorer: Howell 88
Burton Albion: Goodwin, Davies, Williams, Simpson, Donnelly, Shearer, Doughty, Redfern, Rhodes, Howell, Briscoe (Payne 82). Sub not used: Stride
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Dick, Swainston, Denby, Evans, Stanborough, Wardle, Rigg, Hurst, Holmes, Marsden (Devaney. Sub not used: Elliott
Gresley man-of-the-match: Richard Denby
Referee: PS Barston (Loughborough)
Attendance: 1109
