Tamworth vs Gresley Rovers
Slaughter at the Lamb – Rex Page – Burton Mail
Gresley’s relentless accumulation of points brought a crisis week at The Lamb to an appropriate climax on Saturday.
Tamworth’s turmoil, precipitated by the sudden departure of the managerial trio, was compounded by a brilliant Gresley performance that left the home side a battered, bewildered and thoroughly beaten side.
Quite simply, Rovers were a class apart from their hosts. They outplayed them in every area of the pitch and dominated every phase of the game.
There have been many good performances by Rovers since they embarked on a spectacular run which has now been extended to 17 games without defeat and shows not the barest hint of running out of steam.
But even by their own lofty standard, Gresley have rarely played more effectively, much to the acute embarrassment of the home supporters, many of whom were streaming out of the ground long before the referee brought Tamworth’s ordeal to an end.
Only a display of over-indulgence by the Gresley attack in the final 20 minutes prevented them from doubling their score. It was as comprehensively as that.
Gresley had already twice exposed the Tamworth defence when they swept into a ninth minute lead.
The home side’s left flank was torn to shreds by an incisive move, enabling Clive Arthur to deliver a perfect centre to the feet of Brian Beresford.
The Gresley striker instantly brought the ball under control and veered away from a defender in a breathtaking demonstration of skill, before despatching a blistering eight-yard shot into the roof of the net.
With John Laws and Dave King eagerly ferrying the ball between defence and attack, Tamworth were in danger of being over-run, yet in the 41st minute they conjured up an unexpected opportunity to level the scores.
Andy Maddocks, their much-exalted leading scorer, suddenly escaped attention in the Gresley area, but the utterly reliable Karl Austin quickly sensed danger, rushing from his line to make a sprawling save.
If Tamworth thought the worst was over, a rude awakening was lurking just beyond the half time interval.
Gary Brown, much troubled by the intimidating strength and resolve of Nigel Burrows finally lost an absorbing battle inn the 55th minute.
When Arthur hoisted a teasing centre into the Tamworth area, Brown fell into the trap, climbing all over the Gresley number nine to concede an obvious penalty.
Arthur’s reward, of course, was the opportunity to take his tally of spot kicks successes this season to 11; a target he reached with the confidence of a man who clearly believes that a goalkeeper’s sole preoccupation is to retrieve the ball from the back of the net.
Tamworth fleetingly had a chance to bring themselves into contention, but Kevin Bradford shot hopelessly wide after a pass from Corrigan Lockett, their best player, had sent him sprinting clear of the Gresley defence.
Gresley were soon pushing, probing and powering their way forward again and Duncan Heath probably spared Tamworth the expense of a new net when he headed a searing left foot volley from Dave King off the line.
There was no escape, however, and Tamworth’s miserable afternoon was summed up in the 70th minute, Mark Kendall completely misjudging a left wing cross from Mark Bromley and allowing the ball to sail into the far corner. It was the full backs first ever goall for Rovers.
Tamworth (0) 0
Gresley Rovers (1) 3
Scorers: Beresford 9, Arthur 55 pen, Bromley 70.
Tamworth: Kendall, Lockett, Smith, Atkins, Brown, Heath, Ward, Mayers, Maddocks, Livingtone (Reeves-Jones 45), Bradford.
Gresley Rovers: Austin, Earley, Bromley, West, Dolby, King, Arthur, Laws, Burrows, Beresford, Banton (Philpott 81).
Referee: S D Ross (Polesworth).
Attendance: 427
