Match Report  |  Gresley Rovers vs Bourne Town

Frustration, the only word that sums up the game against high-flying Bourne Town as for the second game Rovers were more than a match for their visitors with arguably the best performance under manager James Jeppson.

The side battled hard and put Town under pressure almost from the start with some good play. Yes, there was the odd dissenting voice criticising the recent comings and goings, but they were in the minority as the decent crowd of 326 appreciated what they were watching.

A first half which Rovers shaded saw a turning point just before the break when Tarun Rohilla was adjudged to have made a tackle which saw him see red after having a good game until that point.

What was surprising was the alleged explanation of his dismissal. Apparently, both players went into a good 50-50 hard tackle each with both feet off the ground, but amazingly, Rohilla’s feet were slightly higher, so he was shown a straight red card with the Bourne player rolling around the pitch only to rise spectacularly showing no signs of a serious injury his antics had indicated and not receiving even a yellow card for his tackle! To rub salt in the gaping Rovers’ wound some of the visiting management agreed that it wasn’t a red card.
Rovers now had a huge mountain to climb but they stuck to their guns and continued to play their game rather than succumb to their misfortune.

It was a welcome return to the squad for Jack Andrews who added a solid defender to the back line alongside Alby Lansdowne. The luck Rovers have been having for some games now have seen them without defenders Louis Anthony and Jack Bostock due to long-term injury. Goalkeeper Louie Turner has returned to his parent club Shepshed Dynamo, so Karamo Ceesay was handed his debut.

It was also good to see goalkeeper Charlie Wood return to the squad after recovering from a serious injury suffered in the last minute away at Heanor on August Bank Holiday Monday.

Rovers started well with Jack Thatcher hitting a shot from distance which flew just over the bar. More pressure saw a goal bound shot blocked by visiting keeper Dan Swan. Thatcher was causing the Bourne defence problems with his direct attacking and he went close again on 21 minutes firing just past the far post.

After a breathless 20 minutes or so Bourne showed why they are at the top of the pile at present. A quick break ended with Zac Allen hitting a blistering shot which beat Ceesay but clattered off the near post and away.
Just as the first half was about to come to a close, Rohilla had to make his undeserved departure from the pitch much to the anger of the Rovers faithful who thought he’d been hard done to.

Rovers made a change for the start of the second half with Jenson Cooper replacing debutant Jake O’Reilly but they were caught out by a good quick move down the right which was finished by a cross into the box where Will Bird was waiting to tap the ball home from close in with just two minutes of the half gone.

The goal seemed to unsettle the home side and they were almost caught out again almost immediately when Bourne fired a low shot that fizzed across the face of the goal missing the far post by inches.

On 56 minutes Rovers were handed a chance to get on terms when Thatcher was hacked down as he cut into area from the right and referee Lewis Saunders-Johnson pointed to the spot. Thatcher took the kick himself and hit a well struck low shot to the left bottom corner of the net, but Swan pulled off a superb diving save to turn the ball away for a corner.

With five minutes remaining the score was given an unjust look with the visitors getting a second goal. A ball into the middle just outside the area was hit by Tom Siddons and the deflection off the unlucky Dylan Hunniford took it out of the reach of Ceesay.

More changes for both sides as Bourne were trying to see the game out but Rovers went close to at least getting a deserved consolation goal. Thatcher hitting a ferocious curling goal bound shot but that man again, Swan, made an almost identical save to his penalty one earlier, to deny the hard-working Rovers’ man.

Bourne were down to 10 men on the 96th minute when substitute Calrick Dunkley got the better of his marker, Richard Jones, but was cynically brought down as he raced goalward, but it was too little to late for Rovers who have still to get a point in the new year after playing three of the top teams in this tough league.