Gresley Rovers vs Westfields
10 men! – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
Hereford based Westfields and Gresley Rovers are, geographically speaking, the most distant of Banks’s Premier rivals. On Saturday Gresley showed that the gap in class is even greater.
Westfields were completely and utterly drubbed to the extent that on the one occasion that Rovers keeper Bob Aston was forced to make a save the man who delivered the shot, full back Kevin Davies, injured knee ligaments in the process and had to be stretchered off to hospital. It was that sort of wretched day for the visitors.
The result begged the question: how long before Rovers can escape the Banks’s League? On this form, sooner rather than later.
But intervening there lies the not insignificant distraction of the FA Vase and the small matter of a visit from Tamworth on Saturday. Watching Lambs boss Graham Smith will certainly have taken away a lot to occupy his mind between now and Saturday’s clash at the Moat.
Rovers defended well when necessary and finished superbly. But the performances in the middle of the park will have given Smith most food for thought.
Richard Denby, Ian Wells and the diminutive Andy Moore didn’t manage a goal between them but it was their contributions that annihilated Westfields.
Paul Acklam, whose four-goal haul took his tally to 16 in just 12 appearances, was quick to give credit where it was due afterwards.
“The service couldn’t have been better,” said the Long-Eaton based striker who now heads the Moat Ground goals chart.
“Ten goals speak for themselves,” Coach Steve Dolby said before the game that the crosses hadn’t been coming in so often over the past couple of games but there were that many today we were bound to score.
“Even if we’d only taken half of them it would have been well good enough.”
As it was Rovers hit the net with impressive ease, although had it not been for a Tracey Norton penalty miss and a string of heroic saves by visiting keeper Andy Powell the statisticians could have been reaching for the record books.
How the goals were scored.
18 minutes: Dean Page finds Graham Jones in space on the left and Acklam sweeps in his instant cross right-foot from eight yards 1-0.
23 minutes: Richard Denby’s corner from the right causes havoc and Norton forces the ball in from close range. 2-0.
29 minutes: Moore’s cross and a towering Jones header into the top corner. 3-0. “We should get six against these,” observes a spectator.
35 minutes: Another Denby corner eludes the keeper and Jones shoots home from six-yards. 4-0.
49 minutes: Jones heads Moore’s corner in at the near post. 5-0.
77 minutes: Wells fouled as he bursts into the box. Norton atones for his earlier miss. 6-0. Observes the spectator: “We should get 10!”
79 minutes: Moore’s cross, Acklam sidefoots home at the near post. 7-0.
81 minutes: Denby’s free kick from the left, Acklams header. 8-0.
88 minutes: Goal of the game. Page’s superb crossfield ball to Beattie, a knock back to Paul Fernihough, dipping cross, superb control, turn and volley by Kieron Smith from 10-yards. 9-0.
89 minutes: Superb work by Wells on the right, a low cross and Acklam sidefoots another. 10-0. Observes spectator: “We should have had 20!” Maybe they should have. But only Westfields went home unhappy!
Gresley Rovers (4) 10
Westfields (0) 0
Scorers: Acklam 18, 79, 81, 90; Jones 29, 35 49; Norton 23, 77 (pen); Smith 88.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Beattie, Perry, Denby, Haskins (Fernihough 45), Page, Moore, Norton, Acklam, Wells, Jones (Smith 55).
Westfields: A Powell, Williams, K Davies (Morris 75), Rowley, Sockett, P Powell, Tabb, Malinder, Firmin (Johnson 45), Thomas, J Davies.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Richard Denby.
Referee: P J Brookes (Wordsley).
Attendance: 272
