Gresley Rovers vs Brereton Social
Rovers romp it – Mike StJohn – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers, with one eye firmly on tomorrow’s Banks’s Brewery League Cup Semi-Final second leg with Oldbury, put the brakes on to spare Brereton an even bigger defeat at the Moat Ground on Saturday.
Rovers, four goals up after just over an hour, had carried out their task as efficiently as one could hope for in conditions more akin to mid-winter than early spring.
Martin Devaney’s late first half goals gave Frank Northwood’s men a comfortable half time cushion and further strikes from Steve Dolby and Gary Stevens put Gresley in an unassailable position.
Gresley’s first goal, after 35 minutes, had been long overdue, as earlier chances had been frittered away in the Moat Ground mud.
A glorious chance presented itself when Rovers’ industrious Guy Hall sent over a wicked cross from the right. Martin Devaney, just two yards out had the ball at his feet, but Brereton keeper Martin Conneally whipped it away in an instant to stop a certain goal.
Conneally had no such luck a few minutes later, however, as Gresley’s patience produced a long awaited goal.
Devaney won a corner on the left, Clive Arthur converted and as the ball bobbled up and down in the area defender Mark Westwood got a head to it.
In the scramble that followed Devaney was correctly placed to blast the ball into the roof of the net and give Gresley the lead.
Devaney tied the Brereton defence into knots again when he twisted and turned his way towards the edge of the area. His mis-hit shot was enough to slip through a line of defenders and send a wrong-footed Conneally the wrong way.
Gresley started the second half with a bang and scored twice in an electric five-minute spell.
In the 57th minute Clive Arthur was chopped down just outside the right corner of the box by Les Knapton.
Brian Beresford curled over a lovely free kick and the ever-efficient Steve Dolby finished it off with a fine header at the left post to make it 3-0.
Rovers were not to be denied, and after winning a succession of corners, Arthur’s flag-kick floated out for Dolby whose header smacked against the bar leaving Stevens unmarked to prod the ball home from point blank range.
It really should have been 5-0 but somehow Dolby launched a shot over from one yard out. Dolby even paced the yard after his bloomer to demonstrate how close he really was.
Gresley Rovers (2) 4
Brereton Social (0) 0
Scorers: Devaney 35,44, Dolby 57, Stevens 62.
Gresley Rovers: Austin, Earley, Williams, Sales, Dolby, Devaney, Arthur, Hall, Stevens, Beresford, Laws. Sub: Duggins.
Brereton Social: Conneally, Westwood, S Glaister, Perry, Knapton, Page, J Glaister, Langston, Abbotts, Harvey (Hewitt 76), Griffiths.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Steve Dolby.
Referee: R L Price (Coventry).
Attendance: 169
