Tamworth vs Gresley Rovers
Rovers chief promises better after cup exit – Richard Whitehead – Burton Mail
Glen West issued a defiant warning to his old club Tamworth after watching Gresley crash out of the FA Cup – “watch us go on the league.”
West – Northwood’s new number two – had to endure the agony of seeing his home town club comprehensively demolish lacklustre Rovers at the Lamb Ground.
But afterwards he shrugged off the taunts of the jubilant home supporters to declare “We’re not broken hearted – we want the title.”
West’s words of defiance summed up the mood in the Rovers camp after their depleted side had gone out at the first FA Cup hurdle for the second successive season.
“To be honest we just didn’t play. I don’t like to make excuses about players we had out because you should always have lads who can come in and do the job,” said West.
And Northwood echoed his assistant’s sentiments. “Going out of the FA Cup so early could have done our chances a power of good,” he said.
I’m not really disappointed at all – we will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.”
But while the management duo’s thoughts on the benefits of early cup exits are probably sound, they could not disguise the shortcomings of this Rovers performance.
True, the unexpected absence of Keith Hill, Joe Jackson and Jon Laws added to the unfillable gap left by Brian Beresford’s injury left Rovers with a lot to do against a side many rate as championship favourites.
However, all those factors couldn’t really explain a punchless Rovers performance which ominously reminiscent of those other ‘big occasions’ failures in last season’s League Cup final and in the critical Boxing Day league game against Atherstone.
Only when Neil Lovell shot weakly wide in the 35th minute after Mark Bromley and Clive Arthur had brilliantly opened up the Tamworth defence did Rovers look like grabbing the initiative.
And in the second half not even the sustained brilliance of Karl Austin could stop Tamworth romping into a three-goal lead courtesy of an Andy Maddocks tap-in and two well taken strikes by Willie Gilmour.
Rovers’ late comeback via a John Bottomley shot handed into his own net by Michael Myers and a close-range Mark Bromley effort after a terrible piece of goalkeeping frankly flattered a Gresley side who were second best for the entire afternoon.
Tamworth (0) 3
Gresley Rovers (0) 2
Scorers: Maddocks 51, Gilmour 59, 68. (Tamworth). Myers og 73, Bromley 79 (Gresley Rovers).
Tamworth: Pomroy, Lockett, Haynes, Atkins, Brown, Foote, Myers, Stanton, Maddocks, Rathbone, Gilmour. Subs: Ansell, Preece.
Gresley Rovers: Austin, Dick, Williams, Bottomley, Dolby, Bromley, Arthur, Lovell (Payne 60), Acklam, Devaney, Earley (Turner 68).
Gresley man-of-the-match: Karl Austin.
Referee: B J Adshead (Chasetown).
Attendance: 717
