Rocester 1 Gresley Rovers 3

Two late goals sealed a deserved victory for the visitors, it was a second hard-working performance from the Romans this week but their opponents, who currently play their football two leagues higher, always held the upper hand.

Manager Damian Grocott's squad was shorn of 15 players due to a mixture of holidays, work commitments and injuries, but not too concerned with results at this stage he was generally very happy with the way the game went; "We kept their chances down to a minimum, had another good work-out and we were able to have a look at some players as well. It was another big test for us and I thought we did ok over all."

Chances were at a premium throughout the opening half-hour, and unsurprisingly it was the visitors who enjoyed the better of them.

In the 7th minute Gresley's Jamie Barrett fired a twenty-yard effort that looked goal-bound until it took a deflection from a Rocester head and went wide, which was not spotted by the officials who awarded a goal-kick.

Then in the 26th minute Matt Millns grazed the outside of Romans' keeper Steve Harris's right-hand post from a free kick before Harris was again in action, racing from his goal to deny Richard Lonsdale as he burst clear.

Rocester came back well before the break but Adam Baum's effort from just outside the box went wide and Carl Allen fired over from the left after some excellent build-up play.

Former Rocester favourite Tony Hemmings appeared for the visitors after the break but it was another substitute, Andy Spencer, who opened the scoring in the 57th minute. Receiving the ball a good 25 yards from goal, his shot on the turn appeared comfortable enough for Harris to save but it took a wicked deflection off a defender and ended up in the back of the net.

The hot conditions took a lot out of the players, but with just ten minutes to go substitute Sean Price found himself in acres of space on the right and he lifted the ball over the advancing goalkeeper and into the net to bring Rocester level.

Rocester's joy was short-lived, however, as the visitors promptly scored two more goals in as many minutes through Damian Powell and Ravi Sangha.