Gresley Rovers vs Worcester City
As if by the way of a timely reminder to manager Steve Dolby, Gresley Rovers chose their final league game of the season to display the shortcomings that have flawed their first Beazer Premier campaign.
And it could well have been the last time many of the players on view represent Rovers in a league game.
Said Dolby afterwards: "It's highlighted what we've got to do – we've got to get players who can defend. Our priority in the summer will be to improve as a team defensively and that will mean bringing in new faces.
"The game summed up our season. As a team, and I'm not wholly blaming the back four, we just didn't defend well enough. We gave goals away too easily and that's been the case all year. Going the other way, we had six or seven clear-cut chances on top of the three goals we've scored. We've perhaps had has many as 20 attempts on goal."
Rovers, in fact, had 16 shots or headers during the game, with second half substitute David Holmes also forcing City keeper to save at his feet, Worcester had just four strikes on goal – and scored with every one.
Rovers' weaknesses at the back had been exposed as early as the 10th minute, winger Tom Daly, having picked up the Worcester away supporters' player-of-the-year award before the kick off, roaming down the right and eluding a string of challenges before setting up Mick Hayde to fire into the top corner from 18 yards.
Rovers could have already been ahead, Ian Straw having first seen a first-minute shot cleared off the line, but after 21 minutes they were two down, Daly this time attacking down the left and firing in unchallenged from the 18-yard line.
Rovers' gloomy day was made all the blacker by the 29th minute withdrawal of calf strain victim Richard Denby, although Martin Dick did his best to brighten things up with a searing right foot shot 30 yards that beat Kevin Shoemake's dive.
Within two minutes, though, that man Daly was at it again, eluding Stuart Evans and lifting a perfect over Aston.
It was literally non-stop Rovers attacking thereafter, Nick Stanborough twice going agonisingly close, Holmes almost scoring with his first touch, Graeme Rigg firing straight at Shoemake and the City keeper making excellent saves from Stanborough and Holmes.
Rovers looked to have snatched a deserved point when Holmes fired home after heading Evans' lay-off against a post and Evans crashed in Devaney's cross, all in the space of two minutes.
But in injury time Aston came for Terry Muckleberg's cross only to see substitute Neil Donovan get there first to head home with his team's first goal attempt in 53 minutes of play.
Gresley Rovers (1) 3
Worcester City (3) 4
Scorers: Dick 36, Holmes 83, Evans 85 (Gresley Rovers); Hayde 10, Daly 21, 38, Donovan 90 (Worcester City).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Dick, Swainston, Denby (Moore 29), Evans, Stanborough, Wardle, Straw, Hurst (Holmes 45), Devaney, Rigg.
Worcester City: Shoemake, Muckleberg, Ridding, Davidson, Richards, Benton Daly (Smith 77), Mason, Rutter, (Donovan 77), Walker, Hayde.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Richard Wardle.
Referee: P Roberts (Northampton).
Attendance: 670
