Stourport Swifts vs Gresley Rovers
It’s a stroll for Rovers – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Rovers boss Frank Northwood could barely conceal his disdain for clueless Stourport Swifts after Rovers had romped to the easiest of Banks’s League Cup victories.
“Not even as good as a training session,” was his summing up of a game that reaped a five-goal haul for Gresley – but should easily have yielded a double-figure haul.
Substitute Jack Oldershaw was the worst offender in front of goal. He netted one screamer from 20 yards but saw three equally good opportunities go begging.
By then, though, Gresley had more than settled the issue.
Full back Dave Beattie was first to hit the net, finishing at the second attempt from point blank range after Richard Denby, Steve Astley, John Bottomley and Keiron Smith had all made contributions towards demolishing Swift’s resistance.
Astley pinged a 25-yarder against the foot of a post then brought a sprawling save from keeper Karl Moseley with an effort from even greater range but these were isolated examples of Rovers’ dominance in an opening half that had little to commend it.
Only when the lively Andy Moore’s persistence forced home skipper Vaughan Little to head over his own keeper from Bob Astons’s gigantic punt upfield five minutes before the break did the scoreline begin to reflect the one-sidedness of the encounter.
Astley set up Moore to trickily add a third just after the turnaround and that was it as a contest. Nine minutes later Beattie, neatly and nicely, added a fourth with a precise chip over the stranded Moseley from 25 yards.
Gresley introduced both substitutes in the space of three minutes but were to regret the changes. After Oldershot had shot straight at the keeper when clean through Dean Page hobbled off with a calf strain and Rovers were down to ten men.
There was no slacking in the forward momentum despite this and Oldershaw made it five after a neat exchange of passes with Keiron Smith. Within the space of a couple of minutes the former Burton Albion midfielder could have been celebrating his hat trick but saw two shots from promising positions flash inches the wrong side of the woodwork.
With Stourport beginning to make their numerical advantage felt full back Kev Noakes shot against the angle of bar and post when presented with an ideal opportunity to claim a consolatory goal when Little shot wide with only Aston to beat.
In between there was time for skipper Graham Fearn to miss a penalty, Moseley diving to make his third spot kick save of the season after Peter Perry had been fouled.
Stourport Swifts (0) 0
Gresley Rovers (2) 5
Scorers: Beattie 5, 54, Little (og) 40, Moore 46, Oldershaw 70.
Stourport Swifts: Moseley, Noakes, Colley (Langford 77), Laker, Little, Rice, Lowell, Brothers, Haycock, Edwards, Bennett. Sub not used: R Moore.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Beattie, Perry, Denby, Fernihough, Page, Fearn, Bottomley (Secker 59), Moore (Oldershaw 62), Astley, Smith.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Richard Denby.
Referee: G F A Benfield (Knowle).
Attendance: 100
