Gresley Rovers vs Oldbury United
Smart works halts Rovers romp – Richard Whitehead – Burton Mail
Gresley boss Frank Northwood and his Oldbury opposite number Ron Smart produced after-match post mortems that perfectly captured the mood in both camps following Saturday’s Banks’s League battle of the heavyweights.
On the one hand you had Northwood bemoaning the chances his side missed to win the game, thus preserving Gresley’s 100 per cent record, and the way in which they presented Oldbury with their equaliser.
Then on the other side of the fence a beaming Smart spoke of his pleasure at surviving such a difficult assignment with his side’s unbeaten record intact.
In truth both managers had plenty to be satisfied about and both will know – without having to shout it from the roof tops – that if their respective teams are not still in the top three come next spring something will have gone very wrong.
Smart admitted: “I fancied Gresley for the title right from the start of the season so I have got to be satisfied at coming here and taking a point. The fact that Tamworth only drew is obviously a bonus but I don’t think there are only three teams in the race – Lye could be dark horses and Halesowen Harriers are a good side.
Northwood’s verdict on the afternoon centred on his side’s failure to extend that winning sequence to nine games: “We missed the chances, it’s as simple as that,” he said.
“They came here looking for nothing more than a draw – in 90 minutes they never really created a chance.”
But while a point may have been the limit of Oldbury’s ambitions they did work hard to stop the Moatmen finding their usual fluency and for long periods of the match succeeded.
Their aggression and work-rate seemed to take Rovers by surprise at first but it is typical of the quality of Northwood’s side that they were able to score on their first threatening raid into enemy territory.
Martin Devaney floated over an angled cross from the right after a short corner and Neil Lovell timed his run to perfection to escape the Oldbury defence and score with a clinical header.
Soon after Rovers had to re-shuffle when talented full back Martin Dick limped off but with the resourceful John Bottomley able to switch straight into the vacant position and Clive Arthur adding pace to the front line, they made light of the setback.
Indeed with Steve Dolby and the magnificent Ray Skeemer twin pillars of authority at the heart of the defence it was difficult to see Oldbury finding a way back into the match.
However, Joe Jackson unwittingly proved to be their saviour with a slackly hit back pass three minutes before half time which Trace Norton pounced on and turned past the stranded Bob Aston.
Rovers again struggled to get into their stride as Oldbury enjoyed their best spell just after half time but as the half wore on the more they found some rhythm and those chances that left Northwood fuming afterwards fell to joint-top scorers Devaney and Lovell who both lacked their usual killer instinct.
Gresley Rovers (1) 1
Oldbury United (1) 1
Scorers: Lovell 11 (Gresley Rovers): Norton 42 (Oldbury United).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Dick (Arthur 17), Bromley, Bottomley, Dolby, Skeemer, Jackson, Laws, Lovell, Devaney, Mackenzie.
Oldbury United: Johnson, Walton, Humphries, Evans, Vowells, Astley, Secker, Norton, Tonks, Rose, Nicklin (Banks 84).
Gresley man-of-the-match: Ray Skeemer.
Referee: G Benfield (Knowles).
Attendance: 380
