Atherstone United vs Gresley Rovers
Andy Parker-Burton Mail
Back to form Gresley Rovers took a giant stride up the Beazer Premier League Premier Division on the back of two excellent goals from Martin Devaney at Sheepy Road last night.
Rovers have blown hot and cold of late but last night they produced the necessary blend of defensive grit and attacking flair to overcome an Atherstone side that turned out to be a shadow of last season’s title chasers.
Only a late goal from Adders substitute Danny Donovan took the gloss of what was otherwise a near perfect evening for Steve Dolby’s team and consigned Rovers fans to a tense few minutes at the close when it seemed like the home side might just snatch an undeserved point.
Rovers had hitherto coped comfortably enough with an Atherstone team that is clearly out of sorts and were handed a perfect start when Devaney fired them ahead after just 13 minutes.
Striker Steve Cambell, Rovers’ destroyer in the corresponding fixture last season, and his burly partner Colin Taylor posed an early threat for the Adders, but they were put to the sword by Devaney’s well-constructed opener.
Nick Stanborough turned defence into attack with a ball-winning tackle just inside Rovers’ half and Richard Denby and Graeme Rigg smoothly supplied the ball wide to David Holmes. He streaked past Leigh Everitt before providing a perfect lay-off for Devaney to arrow an angled shot into the bottom corner of the net.
That was the cue for Rovers to take charge with a neat passing game that began to stretch Atherstone’s experienced defence, Devaney going close to netting his second with a thumping header from Andy Garner’s pass that drifted just wide of Lee Spencer’s top corner.
Garner saw a shot deflected wide and another lofted effort fly too high as Rovers ended the half on top and, apart from Taylor with that Bob Aston gathered with ease as he dived to his left, the pattern continued after the break.
Holmes supplied another destructive cross that Devaney, at the near post, was a whisker from converting as Rigg laid the ball into his path.
Atherstone briefly threatened when Everitt inspired a sweeping move that ended with Taylor pushing the full-back’s right-wing cross just wide of the far post.
Donavan escaped with a ticking off after clearly kicking Rigg, but Rovers soon exacted retribution of their own with another well taken goal. Martin Dick lit the touch paper with a pass into Holmes’s path and the striker unselfishly picked out Devaney who held off a defender before firing across Spencer’s dive.
It all seemed cut and dried for Rovers, but the Adders staged a late rally and Malc Randle ought to have done better with a free header from a corner. Rovers did not heed the warning and Donovan set the visitors’ nerves jangling when he met Everitt’s right-wing cross with a neat near-post header.
Then the unthinkable almost happened when Stuart Evans gave the ball way in his own half but Taylor, hurtling in at the far post, was just short of Nick Whitehurst’s cross. It was an unnecessary frantic finish, but Rovers were spared to breathe the heady air of 11th place in the table.
Scorers: Devaney 13, 83 (Gresley); Dovnovan 87 (Atherstone).
Atherstone United: Spencer, Everitt, Upton. Knight, Jackson, Randle, Fry (Donovan 63), Whitehurst, Campbell, Taylor, Russell. Sub not used: Burke.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Dick. Harbey, Denby, Evans, Stanborough, R Wardle, Rigg, Holmes, Garner, Devaney. Subs not used: Hurst, P Wardle.
Star Man:Devaney.
Referee:J Soloman (Cannock).
Attendance: 345
