Oldbury United vs Gresley Rovers
Dolby determined – Burton Mail
Gresley skipper Steve Dolby leads his side into tomorrow night’s Banks’s League Cup semi-final showdown with Oldbury grimly determined that there will be no second leg slip-ups.
Rovers take a slender 2-1 lead to the Moat Ground and give themselves a distinct physiological advantage over Oldbury by storming back from 2-0 down to grab a point in Saturday’s key title battle at York Road.
Dolby said afterwards: “They won’t relish coming to the Moat Ground knowing they have got to come at us. The way we came back today will have worried them as well. It won’t be easy and there’s no room for complacency but I reckon we’ll go through.”
But if Rovers are to book their first cup final appearance in years, Dolby and his defensive colleagues must keep a tighter reign on Oldbury marksman Dave Morrison.
They completely failed to heed the warning of his brilliant goal three weeks before in that semi-final first leg and so as a result found themselves two goals down inside 13 minutes on Saturday.
First Morrison beat two defenders at the far post to steer a header wide of Karl Austin, then finished a delightful move by controlling Graham Jones’ masterly pass on his chest and coolly completing his 42nd goal of the season.
At that point Rovers looked on course for a defeat which would have dealt a mortal blow to their championship aspirations but it was a tribute to their character as well as the quality of the side that they were soon back in the hunt.
Martin Devaney gave them something to aim for just before the break when he gobbled up the rebound after Brian Beresford’s shot had been pushed away by Jeff Allard.
Then on the hour Clive Arthur’s diagonal pass pierced the Oldbury defence and Beresford brilliantly stepped back inside a defender before driving low past the advancing Allard.
After that Rovers could and probably should have won the game and on a day when Atherstone United were surprisingly losing at Wednesfield they may live to regret the wasted chances.
Oldbury United (2) 2
Gresley Rovers (1) 2
Scorers: Morrison 4, 12 (Oldbury United): Devaney 38, Beresford 60 (Gresley Rovers).
Oldbury United: Allard, Walton, Hunphries, Nicklin, Vowles, Astley, Secker, Norton, Morrison, Jones, Banks (East 68).
Gresley Rovers: Austin, Bottomley, Williams, Hall, Dolby, Devaney, Arthur, Duggins (Laws 56), Stevens, Beresford, Bromley.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Keith Williams.
Referee: P B Fisher (Walsall).
Attendance: 152
