Lye Town vs Gresley Rovers
Gritty Gresley grab points – Mike StJohn – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers amazingly three goals ahead after a sizzling opening 26 minute spell, stemmed Lye Town’s impressive fightback to maintain their 100 percent Banks’s League record at Stourbridge Road last night.
Frank Northwood’s team looked every bit the team capable of topping the West Midlands League as the brilliant opening spell gave way to an incredible backs-to-the-wall defensive display after the interval.
Referee Wilkes played his part to turn the game into the sort of thriller everyone had expected with a series of quite inconsistent and debatable decisions to keep this top-of-the-table clash poised on a knife-edge.
Latecomers missed Gresley’s opener – after just three minutes – and it could have so easily been the equalising goal as Karl Austin seconds earlier had pulled off a brilliant save from danger man centre forward John Wesson.
Lye’s goalkeeper handled outside his area and Martin Devaney seized on the opportunity with the crispest of free kicks from 20-yards over a six-man Lye wall that beat the diving keeper via the underside of the bar.
On the 20 minute mark Devaney turned creator to pull the ball back from the right byeline for the impressive Jackson to crack a superb 18-yarder into the left corner.
Rampant Rovers made it 3-0 after 26 minutes. Jackson again showed great poise to side foot the ball home following a magnificent run and cross from John Bottomley on the right.
There was never a dull moment and the referee must have taken pity on the home side to award a penalty following French’s quite innocuous challenge with Wesson on the left side of the area.
Disgruntled Gresley had every right to be annoyed as former Wolves man Geoff Palmer cracked home his spot kick hard and low via Austin’s body.
The second half was only eight minutes old when Lye pulled a goal back.
Wesson slid home the ball from close range following a free kick, and Austin must take the blame as he casually responded to the threat with a half-hearted parry as the cleverly worked goal boosted Lye’s confidence.
A series of let offs in the Gresley goalmouth denied attacking Lye the equaliser they had worked so incredibly hard for.
Lye Town (1) 2
Gresley Rovers (3) 3
Scorers: Palmer (pen) 27, Wesson 53 (Lye Town): Devaney 3, Jackson 20,26 (Gresley Rovers).
Lye Town: Crannage, Homer, Cooper, Randle, Paskin, Palmer, Ingram, Skett, Wesson, Stokes (Pound 67), Weston.
Gresley Rovers: Austin, Dick, Bromley, Bottomley, Dolby, French (Skeemer 45), Jackson, Laws, Acklam, Devaney, Lovell.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Joe Jackson.
Referee: C R Wilkes (Gloucester).
