Oldbury United vs Gresley Rovers
Magic Moatmen! – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Emotions are hard to stir in a howling wind and blasting rain. Yet Gresley Rovers drummed up a performance of such passion and fire at Oldbury last night that even the most impassionate of observers was sure to be moved.
Against the odds and against the elements – and most importantly against one of their main Banks’s League title rivals – Rovers produced a performance that was truly magnificent as it was timely.
Any spies from Saturday’s FA Vase opponents Northampton Spencer that may have lurked among the 143 hardy spectators will certainly be filing a daunting report of a team showing grit in abundance to deny an Oldbury side determined to go one better than last week’s League Cup quarter-final Moat Ground draw.
No wonder Frank Northwood was bursting with superlatives afterwards: “The lads were magnificent: they all gave 110 per cent.”
Northwood’s delight was justified: his team’s performance was full of bonuses. Not the least was a five-star strike showing from born again goal-grabber Brian Beresford, returning from the scrap heap to register his second brace in as many comeback appearances.
There were magnificent individual performances, too, from virtually every other Rover, leaving the reporter with the hardest job of all in selecting a man-of-the-match from a match full of mighty men.
With a gale blasting straight down the Cricketts Ground it seemed that Beresford’s scampering 32nd minute opener, struck clinically into an open net after Mark Bromley’s huge clearance, would surely be insufficient when the league leaders resumed the fray with the elements in their favour after half time.
But skipper Steve Dolby summed up the scenario perfectly afterwards when he said: “We knew we were going to be under pressure in the second half but we fancied our chances of snatching another goal. Then we defended really well and the midfield battled superbly.”
And he encapsulated the significance of the result when he added: “What’s most pleasing of all is that the result puts pressure on Oldbury and Tamworth – they’re going to worry about us now. We’ve played Oldbury seven times over the last two seasons and they still haven’t beaten us and that’s given us a real psychological advantage. True, we’ve been through a slack patch over the last month or six weeks. But we’re back on course now.”
Rovers had looked on course for nothing but a thrashing in the opening ten minutes in the most difficult of conditions but had a let off when United’s Graham Jones had a goal disallowed for handball.
After that it was all Gresley, the wind at their backs, with Beresford bringing smart saves from Johnson twice in a minute. Then, a minute after the striker’s opening goal, there was more home frustration as Trace Norton netted a micro-second after the whistle had blown.
Oldbury piled on the pressure after the turn around but even the departure of Martin Dick with a leg strain could not dent Rovers’ resolve and there was even the luxury of Beresford, after a piece of superb anticipation in intercepting a crossfield pass, squandering a 56th minute chance to double their lead.
Headers and shots went inches high and wide of Bob Aston’s goal as Gresley defended as if there were truly no tomorrow and joy was unbounded as Beresford, denied just a minute earlier by a great save from Johnson, finished off a move inspired by Neil Lovell and the guesting Johnny Branch with a clinical 15-yard shot off the post.
Oldbury’s frustration showed an ugly face and Bobby Evans was booked for a nasty foul on the industrious Jon Laws but Gresley were through to a two-legged semi-final with Tamworth now even though Bob Aston was twice called upon in the dying minutes to finally lay the ghost of Karl Austin with brave, brilliant saves.
Oldbury United (0) 0
Gresley Rovers (1) 2
Scorers: Beresford 32, 75.
Oldbury United: Johnson, Alton, Humphries, Evans, Vowles, Astley, Secker, Norton, Bullock, Jones, Banks. Sub: Southall.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Bottomley, Dick (Arthur 56), Hall, Dolby, Bromley, Laws, Lovell, Branch, Beresford, Jennings.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Bob Aston.
Referee: K H Hoare (King’s Norton).
Attendance: 143
