Hinckley Athletic vs Gresley Rovers
Hill tops – Rex Page – Burton Mail
Middlefield Lane, once regarded as an appointment with fear for Gresley Rovers, proved a happy hunting ground again for Frank Northwood’s Moat Ground marauders last night.
Two months ago Rovers produced a four-goal avalanche in the final 30 minutes to clinch a rare Banks’s League win at the home of Hinckley Athletic.
And it proved a profitable return in the second round of the League Cup when, in sharp contrast, a flurry of early goals settles a typically fraught and frenetic contest.
Gresley’s hero was striker Keith Hill who profited from the benevolence of the referee and an indifferent Hinckley defence to pilot them into a 2-0 lead with little more than 20 minutes on the clock.
But victory also owed a great deal to the grittiness of a defence in which Steve Dolby made a masterful contribution as Hinckley dragged themselves off the floor to make it a surprisingly close-run affair.
“We had enough chances to have buried them out of sight, but it was a good cup tie. I thought we battled well when they came at us hard in the second half,” said Northwood.
Rovers, in fact, could have been in front after only three, but Hill headed Neil Lovell’s left wing cross over from six yards.
That moment of carelessness was swiftly forgotten, however, when Gresley controversially seized the lead three minutes later.
Joe Jackson’s challenge sent the ball spinning off a Hinckley defender into the path of Hill, looking suspiciously offside. The linesman’s flag was raised as the striker romped into the area to beat Colin Burton with a clinical low shot, but the referee either over-ruled his colleague or chose to ignore him.
Jackson was involved again when Gresley stormed into a 2-0 lead in the 21st minute.
Hinckley’s half-hearted attempt to spring the offside trap was destroyed by Martin Dick’s lofted pass and despite Burton’s sprawling save at the feet of Jackson there was no escape for the home side.
The ball spun loose for Paul Acklam to square a pass to the unmarked Hill who could hardly fail to hit a gaping target from 15 yards.
That should have spelled the end of Hinckley’s challenge, such was Gresley’s control at this stage, but five minutes later they were firmly back in business.
Bob Aston turned the ball onto the bar when Simon Osman met Kelly Cosgrove’s corner, but he could do nothing to prevent Dave Whalley from knocking in the rebound.
Gresley looked anything but assured after as their four-man midfield found themselves trampled underfoot by Hinckley’s eagerness to throw extra players into attacking positions.
The menacing Cosgrove whipped a low drive inches wide to signal the start of the home side’s second half assault, yet they created little in the way of genuine chances.
The course of the game could have changed dramatically in the 63rd minute, however, when somehow survived an amazing melee. At least three shots were blocked and, in a tangle of bodies, Aston used his legs to deprive Whalley of what seemed a certain equaliser before climbing back onto his feet to turn Keith Scott’s clever chip over.
Gresley wasted no time in replacing Dick, twice injured earlier, with the fresh legs of Mark Bromley and, whether by coincidence or design, they looked much happier for it.
Indeed, Rovers could have put the matter beyond all reasonable doubt in the 81st minute when a move of rare quality ended with Lovell thumping the top of the bar with a superb left foot shot from 25 yards.
Hinckley Athletic(1) 1
Gresley Rovers (2) 2
Scorers: Whalley 26 (Hinckley Athletic); Hill 6, 21 (Gresley Rovers).
Hinckley Athletic: Burton, Markham, London, Osman, Adams, Taylor, Scott, Lambert, Whalley, Scott, Cosgrove. Sub: Bailey.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Bottomley, Dick (Bromley 70), Hall, Dolby, Skeemer, Jackson, Laws, Acklam, Hill, Lovell.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Steve Dolby.
Referee: M J Brandwood (Lichfield).
Attendance: 167
