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Bezza is still going strong
Story courtesy of Burton Mail
Brian Beresford has scored hundreds of goals in a glittering career. But none surely could have been any sweeter than the two he scored to propel Gresley Rovers towards their third successive Derbyshire Senior Cup triumph at the Moat Ground on Wednesday night.
Beresford celebrates his 36th birthday soon yet the instincts that have served him so well have still not been dulled by decades of wear and tear.“I suppose I must have scored more than 400 goals in my career,” said Beresford as he bathed in the aftermath of Gresley’s night of glory. “But at this stage of my career everyone’s a bit more special, especially in a cup final.
“It’s 20 years now since I started winning cups with Brereton and Armitage, but when you’re young things tend to pass you by a bit because you think you’ve got a long career and a lot more football in front of you. As you get older occasions like this mean an awful lot more to a player.”
Whether Beresford’s career extends to another Moat Ground campaign remains to be seen, but whatever the future may hold he is guaranteed a special place in the hearts of Gresley followers.
His goalscoring feats in the early days of the Frank Northwood-inspired revival in fortunes, put Beresford alongside such illustrious company as Gordon Duggins in the club’s roll of honour.
A fractured relationship with Northwood eventually forced Beresford to defect to Stapenhill, where he enjoyed a 50-goal campaign as the Swans marched to their second Leicestershire Senior League title under Mick Allsopp.
But the former Worcester, Shepshed, Willenhall and Dudley star always harboured a secret hope that in the twilight of his career he would still be able to play a leading role in Gresley’s quest for honours.
Now in eight breathtaking minutes he has fulfilled that dream, perhaps with an even bigger prize to come if Rovers can climax their campaign by seizing the Banks’s League title this weekend.
