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Tuesday’s Derbyshire Senior Cup draw with Buxton focussed attention sharply on Gresley Rovers’ big problem at the moment – scoring goals.
While the Multipart League side penned Rovers back for much of the game there was no doubt at the end of 90 minutes that the Moatmen had still carved out enough chances to have won the game with something to spare.And sadly the man who must bear the brunt of the blame for this problem is the same player who earlier in the season seemed able to score goals as and when it suited him.
Brian Beresford’s early season purple patch enabled Gresley to shrug off the disappointment of losing the services of Phil Gee.
After missing the first three games of the season with injury the widely travelled marksman announced his arrival with two goals after coming on as substitute in the eight-goal rout of Friar Lane Old Boys.
He then embarked on a stunning run of success, which ended with a hat trick against GKN Sankey on the night he received the Burton Mail player-of-the-month award for October.
That brought Beresford’s tally to 12 goals in 13 games and then you take into account that those included in the FA Cup winner against Worksop, one against Clipstone in the FA Vase and a string of vital league goals then his value to the Rovers’ glory march is vividly illustrated.
However, things have fallen off dramatically since the night Beresford received that Mail award and since then he’s managed just one goal in eight games.
And indeed that goal illustrated Beresford’s problem at the moment.
By his standards the chance, which came his way in the last minute of the game at Halesowen, was an easy one but an out-of-touch Beresford contrived to hit the ball at the goalkeeper before scoring gratefully when the rebound presented itself.
That same crisis of confidence was again obvious in Tuesday’s scoreless draw with Buxton.
In just about his only worthwhile contributions of the night Neil Bailey threaded a delightful ball through the Buxton defence giving Beresford a clear opportunity to break clear into the box.
But the former Dudley striker’s first touch was such a poor one that the ball ran away from his foot and the visitors’ defence was able to clear easily.
Of course it’s unfair to lump all the blame for Rovers’ problems in front of goal on to Beresford.
Dave Butler’s goal touch also seems to have temporarily deserted him and in his isolated appearances Reg Priest has looked a target-man type of striker rather than a regular goal scorer.
