Lye Town vs Gresley Rovers
Gresley have that title look – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers are back on the title trail.
That was the clarion call to the rest of the Banks’s League on Saturday as a superbly-drilled performance made light of championship-chasing Lye’s pretensions of glory.
Gresley, superior in all departments to one of their main title rivals, finished ruthlessly and defended magnificently to dent the pride of fourth-in-the-table Town, who had previously conceded just ten goals in a dozen league outings.
After a traumatic last three minutes in which swallowed-tongue victim Ian Wells was stretchered off, semi-conscious, to hospital, Gresley boss Frank Northwood breathed a sigh of relief for his influential play-maker then paid full tribute to the efficiency of his rapidly-improving side.
“We didn’t get many chances, but our finishing was excellent,” said the Moat boss, who now lead the table by four points from Paget Rangers.
Paul Acklam was again Rovers’ destroyer-in-chief after his two goal salvo against Wolverhampton Casuals in midweek, claiming another impressive double and laying on a tap-in goal for hard working midfielder Andy Moore.
But as new signing Graham Jones, who has a significant hand in Rovers’ two first half goals in an impressive debut, was quick to point out afterwards, Gresley’s victory had come thanks to a splendid all-round display.
“To come to Lye and get a three-goal win is tremendous,” said the former Oldbury striker, plunged into an early debut because of Kieron Smith’s unavailability.
“A lot of teams would have settle for a point here – but we played so well. They hardly had a shot all game. Paul got the glory today, but he’ll be the first to his hand up and say it was down to a great team performance. True, they had a bit of pressure but we weathered it well.”
Rovers, with the improving Martin Haskins dominant at the back and sweeper Dean Page as sharp as a needle, had kept the home side well under control even during a lively Lye spell when the dangerous Chris Weston brought two good stops from Bob Aston and set up substitute Mark Potter to flick an angled header against the bar.
Rovers were two up by that time, though, Acklam first converting Jones’s diagonal pass 13 minutes then, after Tracey Norton had seen a shot turned against the bar by keeper Andy Crannage, picking up the new boy’s quick throw before turning his marker and setting up a close-range finish from Moore.
Search as Lye might for a way back there was none and, after Acklam had found his way into referee Bob Harris’s little black book after seeing a seemingly valid penalty claim for hands dismissed, the Long Eaton-based front runner gained suitable consolation by battling through onto Norton’s subtle prompt to score an emphatic third, his ninth goal in six outings this season.
Lye Town (0) 0
Gresley Rovers (2) 3
Scorers: Acklam 13, 82; Moore 31.
Lye Town: Crannage, Jackson, Cooper, Cartwright, Paskin, Beasley (Potter 45), Hadley, Weston, Wesson, Whitehead, Daley. Sub Winfield (Baker 65).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Bottomley, Dick, Denby, Haskins, Page, Moore, Norton, Acklam, Wells (Astley 87), Jones. Sub not used: Fernihough.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Dean Page.
Referee: R Harris (Codsall)
Attendance: 200
