Clipstone Welfare vs Gresley Rovers
Robbery – Rex Page – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers marched into Robin Hood country on Saturday disguised as a gang of Dick Turpins.
For this FA Vase preliminary round clash on the fringe of Sherwood Forest was a classic case of highway robbery finding its way onto a football pitch.
How Gresley managed to avoid defeat against the Nottinghamshire miners let alone beat them will remain a mystery.
They barely had a kick in the first 20 minutes and had to survive a battering in the closing stages of the first half.
Astonishingly enough, however, Rovers went off at the interval with a 2–0 lead under their belts.
They went ahead in the 22nd minute when Brian Beresford conjured up a goal out of nothing.
There seemed no real danger when Roger Davies played the ball forward, but Clipstone were visibly stunned when Beresford manoeuvred into a shooting position and beat Chris Sprigg with an unstoppable shot from 20 yards.
Beresford played a significant role in Rovers second goal on the stroke of half time.
His low drive was scooped off the line and when a Tommy Thompson header came back off the bar. Kevin Banton celebrated his first senior appearance of the season by prodding the ball home.
Between those goals were sandwiched the first series of extraordinary escapes for Gresley.
First Carl Hanson saw his close-range shot roll agonisingly wide of the post and then John Tennant smashed a brutal left-foot volley against the bar.
More pressure was waiting for them after the interval. With a blustery wind now in their favour, Clipstone hit back with a non-stop onslaught that had Rovers reeling on the ropes.
An equaliser seemed certain in the 65th minute when a mistake by Dave Butler gave Hanson a clear 12 yards out. The Clipstone striker had only McNamara to beat, but thrashed his shot against a post.
The Nottinghamshire side’s considerable effort was finally rewarded in the 77th minute.
Gresley back-peddled once too often to the edge of their own area and Tennant seized on the chance to crash in a right-foot shot.
Three minutes after the goal that revived the home side’s hopes, Tennant was presented with a marvellous opportunity to level the scores. He was left unattended but contrived to shoot against a post.
How Gresley survived the next few seconds without conceding a goal is impossible to explain. But somehow they managed to get bodies between the line and the ball as first Andy Sage and then Terry Doyle frantically attempted to force the ball home.
Clipstone Welfare (0) 1
Gresley Rovers (2) 2
Scorers: Tennant 77 (Clipstone);Beresford 22, Banton 45 (Gresley).
Clipstone Welfare: Sprigg, Pyle, Price, Holness, Piper, Doyle, Nicholson, Hanson, Sage, Tennant, Taylor: Sub: Herons.
Gresley Rovers: McNamara, Attley, Bromley, Pegg, Davies, Thompson, Dolby, Dearn, Butler (Priest 66), Beresford, Banton.
Referee: D A Morrall (Sheffield).
