Gresley Rovers vs Wednesfield Social
It’s double six! – Rex Page – Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers turned the frozen wastes of the Moat Ground into a winter wonderland last night with another awesome display of scoring power.
Fresh from a 6-0 pummelling of Wednesfield on the mud swamps of Amos Lane three days earlier, Rovers skated over their own snowbound pitch with the ease and the elegance of Torville and Dean to clinch a Banks’s League Cup quarterfinal trip to Oldbury.
Gresley were irresistible: a glittering combination of pace, power and skill that would surely have left much better sides gasping for breath.
They may not quite have touched the heights of Saturday’s brilliance, but their poise and balance enabled them to turn the potentially treacherous conditions to their own advantage.
“We simply had too much ammunition for them,” was manager Frank Northwood’s brief appraisal of his side’s latest goal orgy.
The bulk of it was provided by Paul Acklam, who had to wait until the 89th minute for a place on the scoresheet, but by then had already laid on three of the goals that helped to satisfy the hunger of his colleagues.
The only real blemish was surprisingly provided by the normally ultra-reliable sweeper Dean Page after only six minutes.
Rovers chairman Peter Hall and his hardy band of helpers had done well to get the pitch in a playable condition, but briefly they must have wondered whether it had all been worth the trouble when Page’s act of benevolence gave Social the lead.
Under no real pressure, Page deposited a back pass at the feet of Rob Rowley, whose squared pass gave Wayne Roberts the chance to steer a simple six-yarder wide of Bob Aston.
It was not long, however, before Gresley’s slick goal machine was humming along like a finely tuned Rolls Royce.
They were level in the 15th minute when a combination of Andy Moore’s persistence and Acklam’s superbly flighted cross gave Tracey Norton the chance to bury a perfectly directed header.
Social must have known from that moment that they were heading for another substantial defeat and the wonder that Rovers had only a 21st minute Norton penalty – after the stylish Ian Wells had been felled by Rowley – to show for their endeavours up to the interval.
Gresley’s imaginative passing and eager running tore the Black Country side to shreds after the break.
Acklam’s right wing cross was brilliantly volleyed in by Graham Jones in the 48th minute and two minutes later Moore became the latest beneficiary of the rampant Acklam with a simple tap-in after the striker’s shot had been blocked on the line.
Acklam and Norton could have stretched their lead in the next ten minutes, but further punishment was dished out in the closing stages.
Richard Denby’s glorious through ball was ruthlessly despatched in the 84th minute by substitute Kieron Smith, who then set up Acklam for a richly-deserved share of the scoring honours a minute from time.
Gresley Rovers (2) 6
Wednesfield Social (1) 1
Scorers: Norton 15, 21 (pen); Jones 48; Moore 50; Smith 84; Acklam 89 (Gresley Rovers): Roberts 6 (Wednesfield Social).
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Beattie, Dick, Haskins, Page, Moore (Astley 71), Norton, Acklam, Wells, Jones (Smith 67).
Westfield Social: Lunn, Mason, Lowe, Walker, Banks, Platt (Curtiss 74), M Smith, Bridges (Thurston 70), Rowe, Rowley, Roberts.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Paul Acklam.
Referee: J Brandwood (Lichfield).
Attendance: 215
