Tamworth vs Gresley Rovers
Spot on Bromley – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers have given their followers some great moments to savour over the past couple of seasons but Saturday’s epic clash with Tamworth will surely go down as one of the most memorable of them all.
Rovers hung on to their incredible unbeaten league run against all odds thanks to a performance in which Frank Northwood’s brave battlers stretched every sinew to survive.
There were plenty of heroes but the real star of the show was young defender Mark Bromley, who replaced injured goalkeeper Karl Austin for 89 nail-biting minutes and claimed his place among the Moat Ground immortals with a sensational penalty save just has it seemed that Gresley were to taste league defeat for the first time since Boxing Day.
Rovers were up against it even before the kick off. Against free-scoring Tamworth they turned out without the services of skipper Dave King, defender Ian Earley, winger Kevin Banton and, most crucially of all, goal king Brian Beresford, all injured.
And the game was not a minute old before more disaster struck Glen West’s poor clearance allowed Bobby Atkins and Trevor Crompton to exploit a wide open defence and as the striker raced clear into the penalty area Austin, diving bravely to save, suffered a crippling leg injury.
After a ten-minute stoppage Austin left the field on a stretcher, Bromley taking over and substitute Dave Smith bringing the number of Rovers debutants on the field to three.
But with new man Colin Taylor a dominant influence in midfield Rovers took the game to their hosts and took the lead on 42 minutes with a brilliant goal.
Martin Devaney chased what appeared to be a lost cause to the left touchline and turned inside his marker to set up Rob Philpott’s unstoppable 20-yard drive.
Tamworth’s response was swift and decisive, neither Bromley nor defender John Bottomley being unable to prevent Atkins heading in Corrigan Lockett’s left wing corner at the near post, an effort that Austin would probably have dealt with easily.
Gresley almost restored their lead when Clive Arthur’s 25-yard blast produced a superb save from Mark Kendall but as the game moved into the second half Tamworth began to turn the screw.
Bromley, who had been successfully protected by a defence in which Steve Dolby was outstanding, was called into action when he raced from his line to clear and then blocked a close range piledriver from Atkins.
There were more heart-stopping moments as Atkins popped up again to shoot against the foot of the post and Bromley foiled Bobby Haynes with a save of which Austin would have been proud.
Yet it all seemed in vain when Carl Rathbone climaxed a frantic period of pressure in the Gresley box with a shot that referee Pardoe judged to have been handled on the line by Dolby.
Rathbone it was that took the kick but Bromley, moving early to his right, pushed his low shot away from the foot of the post. Gresley had won the hardest-earned point they’ll ever get.
Tamworth (1) 1
Gresley Rovers (1) 1
Scorers: Lockett 44 (Tamworth): Philpott 42 (Gresley Rovers).
Gresley Rovers: Austin (Smith 1), Bottomley, Bromley, West, Dolby, Philpott, Arthur, Taylor, Devaney, Laws, Williams.
Referee: S J Pardoe (Kidderminster).
Attendance: 702
