Gresley Rovers vs Eastwood Hanley
Courage wins the day for gritty Gresley – Rex Page – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers dug deep into their reserves of stamina and determination to keep alive their FA Vase dream at the Moat Ground on Saturday.
Rovers went into today’s second round draw nursing aching limbs, but with their pride fully restored after the previous week’s Derbyshire Senior Cup debacle at Stapenhill.
And how they deserved to overcome the powerful North West Counties League side.
It was triumph for a team intent on playing the game properly against one which considered brute force and intimidation to be the passport to success.
Once Gresley’s pace and penetration had left them gasping at 2-0 down in only 21 minutes, the Potteries side decided there was only one course open to them.
And that, quite simply, was to put the boot in. They did it on Rovers’ midfield powerhouse and skipper Dave King. They did it on flying winger Kevin Banton and they did it on goalkeeper Karl Austin.
Thankfully, Banton and Austin escaped serious injury, but King was not so lucky. After being savagely hacked down by Eastwood’s minder – skipper Steve Norris – he was stretchered off with a damaged knee which swelled up like a balloon once he had reached the dressing room.
Astonishingly, referee Stretton saw fit to caution only one player – Eastwood centre-half John Foxall – and that for a handball offence which almost certainly deprived Martin Devaney the chance to give Rovers a 3-0 lead in the 28th minute.
Gresley had gone ahead after only seven minutes when a static defence allowed Banton to bundle in Clive Arthur’s centre.
They struck again with a superb goal in the 21st minute. Devaney’s lovely pass wrecked Eastwood’s attempt to play the off side trap and Jon Laws timed his run through the centre perfectly, to beat Bob Aston comprehensively from 15 yards.
But the course of the game changed once King had been removed from the midfield battleground in the 36th minute.
The referee refused to offer Rovers any form of protection as Eastwood manhandled their way back into the reckoning.
It was one-way traffic after the interval as the Potteries side poured into the attack and when Tony Cook drove in a left foot shot to reduce the arrears in the 56th minute, Gresley briefly looked in danger of collapse.
But their defence, expertly marshalled by ever-reliable Steve Dolby, was not to be found wanting again.
Despite the intensity of their pressure, Eastwood were allowed few glimpses of goal and when they managed to create shooting opportunities they found Austin at the peak of his form.
Gresley Rovers (2) 2
Eastwood Hanley (0) 1
Scorers: Banton 7, Laws 21 (Gresley Rovers); Cook 56 (Eastwood Hanley).
Gresley Rovers: Austin, Bottomley, Earley, Bromley, Dolby, King (Philpott 36), Arthur, Laws, Devaney, Beresford, Banton. Sub not used: Taylor.
Referee: F G Stretton (Hinckley).
Attendance: 310
