Gresley Rovers vs Halesowen Harriers
Toppled! – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Inevitably, Gresley Rovers long unbeaten Banks’s League record came to an end at the Moat Ground last night.
But while manager Frank Northwood was putting on a brave public face afterwards, he will have been furious at the manner in which his team lost for the first time in 15 games.
While high-flying Harriers were unquestionably the better side on the night, all three of their goals came from the type of slack defending that has lately blighted Rovers progress at the Moat.
Within a minute of Martin Devaney’s brilliantly opportunist opener, Harriers’ Paul Waddington was given time and space to strike the first goal of a memorable hat-trick from the edge of the penalty area.
And with the second half turning into a one-man nightmare for Rovers Ray Skeemer, Halesowen twice made goals out of the big defender’s misery.
“They showed more commitment,” said Northwood afterwards. We had too many players having an off night. I don’t think we strung two passes together throughout the game.”
The writing was on the wall almost from the off as the visitors, quicker than their hosts to exploit the expanses of the middle of the park, brought the lion’s share of the action into Gresley’s penalty area.
It may have been different if keeper Tim Clarke hadn’t pulled off a fourth-minute reflex save from Devaney, but after that it was Rovers who were forced to perspire.
Steve Dolby’s blunder immediately let Nicky David in to shoot across an unguarded net, then a misplaced pass from Steve Dolby gave the impressive Chris Mason time to send a shot screaming just over.
Mason was at the hub again when Harriers went close to scoring a bizarre opener on 21 minutes.
Dolby cleared from his goal area, but the ball rebounded off the unwitting number ten and keeper Bob Aston, called in at the last minute because of Karl Austin’s unavailability, was forced to make an undignified, scrambling save from beneath the bar.
Gresley were having their fair share of possession but found the tall Clarke an insuperable barrier until strike duo Keith Hill and Devaney superbly carved a way past the keeper on 35 minutes.
Hill’s tricky run from the left took him into an angled shooting position and although Devaney was last in line behind the keeper and an attendant defender for the rebound on his partner’s waspish shot, speed of thought and the stretch of sinew enabled him to slide in and poke the ball home.
Delight, as it so often does, was soon to turn to alarm and recrimination, however. David’s trickery was unmatched on the 18-yard line, and Waddington’s skill and accuracy found Aston stranded off his line for the equaliser.
Joe Jackson failed to hit the target when presented by Hill with a chance to restore Rovers lead and when Steve Daley’s free kick proved more accurate, Clarke scrambled the ball away from Hill.
But there was nothing to prevent the unmarked Waddington from bulging the net from two yards out after Mason had gone past Skeemer on the left and centred low and hard to the far post with the second half just ten minutes old.
Two minutes later the result was effectively settled when Skeemer apparently unintentionally handled Steve Brain’s right wing cross and Waddington’s finish from the penalty spot was clinical.
Rovers were never able to raise themselves into contention after that, especially as Harriers then introduced a more cynical aspect to their game that gave away three bookings but made absolute certain of two points.
Gresley Rovers (1) 1
Halesowen Harriers(1) 3
Scorers: Devaney 35 (Gresley Rovers); Waddington 36, 56, 58 (pen) (Hallesowen Harriers).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Bottomley, Dick. Skeemer, Dolby, Daley, Jackson, Hall, Devaney (Beresford 53), Hill, Lovell.
Hallesowen Harriers: Clarke, Williams, Taylor, Field, Waddington, Brain, Hall, Cooper, David, Mason, Thomlinson. Sub: Duncombe.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Martin Dick.
Referee: J T Boulton (Sparkhill).
Attendance: 362
