Wednesfield Social vs Gresley Rovers
Brian’s the boy – Rex Page – Burton Mail
Brian Beresford, the man with the golden touch, will surely receive the freedom of South Derbyshire if Gresley prove the pundits wrong and go on and win the Banks’s League Premier Division title for the first time in their history.
For it is the phenomenal scoring power of the Rovers front-runner which is preventing Atherstone United from turning the championship battle into a one-horse race.
For the third time in four games Beresford piloted Gresley to victory by the slenderest of margins, this time enabling them to negotiate one of the stiffest hurdles of the campaign at Amos Lane on Saturday.
Atherstone, with a one point advantage and games in hand, remain the firmest of favourites for the title, but while Beresford continues to strike such a rich vein of form Rovers cannot be discounted.
Rovers’ boss Frank Northwood has set the leagues most-feared marksman a 50-goal target – an apparently outrageous landmark in modern day football where caution rather than adventure is often the byword.
Yet Beresford is now standing on the brink of overhauling last season’s 39-goal tally and, with a minimum of nine games to play, the magical half-century may prove within his considerable reach.
He struck the most telling blow of a robust occasionally ill-tempered battle, at Wednesfield after only nine minutes.
For once the blustery wind did not spoil matters as Jon Laws swept a lovely pass to the right flank from where Clive Arthur delivered a perfect centre for Beresford to score a glorious header.
And the man who is fast becoming a candidate for the Moat Ground’s hall of fame could have gone on to complete a hat trick as Social’s shaky defence struggled to keep him in check.
A dazzling overhead kick was inches away from becoming Gresley’s goal of the season and, after the interval, he unaccountably failed to make contact with the goal glaring at him after Martin Devaney’s perceptive early cross had given him the chance to round goalkeeper Steve Chandler.
For all their considerable effort Wednesfield could count themselves fortunate not to have lost more heavily.
Social had most of the play, especially after the interval when the influence of Peter Sturgess in midfield threatened to break Gresley’s grip, yet it was Rovers who accounted for almost all of the scoring chances.
In fact, the second half might have been a purely academic exercise but for a huge stroke of fortune for the home side on the stroke of half time.
Steve Dolby’s low shot seemed a certain goal until it struck a divot, thudded against the base of the post and rolled invitingly into the arms of the unsuspecting Chandler.
Still, Dolby had a considerable contribution to make to Gresley’s performance, expertly orchestrating their defence into effective action whenever Social gave the barest hint of recovery.
The home side huffed and puffed almost as much as the wind but their attack was made to look distinctly ordinary.
Rovers’ ‘keeper Karl Austin, was only twice fully tested, once after seven minutes by Andy Moore’s firm low drive and much later in the game by a similar effort from Sturgess.
With Devaney working hard to shore up an attack missing the trickery of injured Gary Stevens, Rovers might have profited from Social’s desire to attack in greater numbers after the interval.
Beresford of course, missed one obvious chance and, deep into the game, Arthur also squandered a clear opportunity.
Wednesfield Social (0) 0
Gresley Rovers (1) 1
Scorer: Beresford 9.
Wednesfield Social: Chandler, Beattie (Parker 82), Bradburn, Dawson, Sandland, Sturgess, Hill, Peach, Folland, Prince, Moore.
Gresley Rovers: Austin, Bottomley, Williams, Bromley, Dolby, Devaney, Arthur, Laws (Early 82), Duggins, Beresford, Hall.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Steve Dolby.
Referee: G Banwell (Eccleshall).
Attendance: 95
