Dykes denies Hunters their treasure with super saves (From Gazette Series)

Dykes denies Hunters their treasure with super saves

Berkeley Town 1 Dursley Town 2

BERKELEY and Dursley took part in what proved to be a pulsating local derby at Station Road on Saturday with the visiting side claiming a valuable victory in their quest to catch the top three.

Dursley started brightly playing some good football in front of a large partisan crowd, but it was Berkeley who took the lead on 25 minutes when Norris was left unmarked in the box and coolly beat Dykes in the visiting goal. This was the only blot on the young goalkeepers' copy book as he turned in an awesome display as the last line of Dursley's defence.

Town were struggling to cope with the five man Berkeley midfield but nearly equalised when Booth's shot was pushed onto the bar by player-manager Stevenson. The equaliser came on the half hour when Gillingham beat the home custodian with an overhead finish.

The woodwork again denied Dursley before the referee awarded a dubious penalty to the home side. Booth was adjudged to have brought down a home forward in the box and to everyone's amazement, the referee awarded a penalty. Dykes anticipated correctly and pulled off a magnificent save. The half ended all square with both sides believing they should be leading.

Berkeley started the second half strongly, pinning Dursley back in their own half but the Town back four of Keith Thomas, Rich Crowcombe, Steve Billett and Chris Wilkins defended stoutly and when Berkeley did break through they found Dykes in unbeatable form. The visitors took the lead on the hour when a high ball was played into the box. Booth challenged Stevenson and the ball fell for Tim Woodward on the far post to tap home.

With something to hang on to, Dursley redoubled their efforts and despite losing Little with a recurrence of a shoulder injury, soaked up the Hunters pressure and attacked on the break. The determination of the Dursley side was typified by Gillingham who, despite a nasty head injury which later required hospital treatment, returned to the fray to fight for the cause.

The tireless running of Trinder and Booth up front and skipper Dolbear's huge work rate, combined with total commitment from every player, even during the seven minutes added time, ensured Dursley claimed the three points to move into fourth place.

After the game Dursley manager, Julian Davies, said: "This was a massive result for us. Everyone who took part today was magnificent. To come to the league leaders, who have been scoring for fun, and put in a performance like that was superb. We must not become complacent though, we are playing Ruardean at home next and they thumped us 5-2 away. If we lose that one, all of today's hard work will be wasted."