Atherstone United vs Gresley Rovers
Cup agony – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Beleaguered Gresley Rovers’ brave bid to lift the Banks’s League Cup foundered on an inexcusable and inexplicable refereeing decision at Tamworth last night.
Against all odds Rovers, stripped of seven first choice players by injury and unavailability, were still chasing a famous victory over the newly crowned league champions when referee Pardoe made his most dramatic contribution to the game with six minute remaining.
Striker Martin Devaney, who had earlier given Gresley an improbable 12th minute lead, was flattened as he chased a through ball into the Atherstone box.
But the referee turned down the Rovers’ seemingly justified appeals for a penalty and allowed play to continue back into the Gresley half where United were awarded a free kick.
Then, extraordinarily, he refused Rovers leave to treat the still injured Devaney who remained flat out at the opposite end of the field when Atherstone scored what turned out to be the winning goal.
That was cruel treatment for a Rovers side who had battled back to equalise through Ian Earley after suffering nearly an hour of Atherstone domination.
The Adders fluent and confident and roared on by a huge following, looked streets ahead of Gresley’s patchwork side almost from the off but a 12th minute blunder by keeper Lee Spencer gave Rovers a lifeline.
Guy Hall managed the merest of touches to help on Steve Dolby’s free kick and when Spencer rushing from his line, failed to hold the ball cleanly, Devaney coolly tucked away the chance.
The lead lasted just five minutes. Gary Bradder swung a free kick into the Gresley area and defender Ada Waters was allowed time and space to crash a header past stand-in keeper Alan Ryder.
More Atherstone pressure inevitably followed with Hall and Jon Laws providing only the occasional let up through their midfield endeavours.
Adders’ Mark Neal twice went within inches of giving his side the lead and Ryder produced a wonderful save to block Paul Otner’s ten-yard blockbuster.
But the keeper became the villain of the piece three minutes before the interval when he failed to reach Bob Stockley’s cross, allowing Neal’s header to open the way for Robbie Farmer to score from two yards.
Atherstone seemed ready to romp away with the cup but, incredibly, found their control of the game wrested away after half time.
Substitute Andy Taylor, replacing the ineffective Kevin Cresswell, thumped a shot into the side netting after overlapping down the left and, as Gresley’s confidence grew, Atherstone began to look vunerable.
Sure enough, with 18 minutes left, Rovers were level thanks to another defensive gaffe.
Bradder’s backpass was far too short for Spencer and Earley showed a cool head and a touch of class as he rounded the keeper and scored from a tight angle.
For the first time in the game, Gresley could scent victory but there was no accounting for Mr Pardoe’s fateful intervention with six minutes left.
Even then Rovers were just a whisker away from taking the game into extra time. In an incredible late siege on the Adders’ goalmouth, Devaney saw a piledriver deflected wide, then Ian Pearsall drove Taylor’s corner towards the top of the net only for Spencer to produce a brilliant fingertip save.
Atherstone United (2) 3
Gresley Rovers (1) 2
Scorers: Waters 17, Farmer 42, Rammel 84 (Atherstone United); Devaney 12, Earley 72 (Gresley Rovers).
Atherstone United: Spencer, Stockley, Peacock, Olner, Haskins, Waters (Rammel 75), Parker, Neal, Bradder, Farmer, Kennell.
Gresley Rovers: Ryder, Earley, Williams, Hall, Dolby, Bromley, Laws, Cresswell (Taylor 58), Stevens, Devaney, Pearsall.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Mark Bromley.
Referee: J F Pardoe (Kidderminster).
Attendance: 1238
