Match Photos
Gresley Rovers vs Stourport Swifts
This game on paper looked a fairly certain straightforward 3 points for Gresley but in reality the game was nothing but straightforward.
There was a gale force wind blowing throughout the game, six goals two of which owed more to good fortune than skill, a defensive calamity as entertaining as an episode of Bart Simpson's dysfunctional family, a tremendous fight back and two debutants scoring all three goals for the home side.
Stourport Swifts had struggled for points before the visit to the Moat Ground and must have thought they'd found the pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow that for a time hung over the ground when they were gifted a goal courtesy of the "stiff breeze".
With only 57 seconds showing on the watch a corner from Robert Taylor was only half cleared by Jamie Barrett to Richard Ball who hooked a ball back into the area where the wind helped deceive Gresley keeper Dale Belford and the ball ended up in the net.
On 4 minutes Gary White was on target but Ryan Price managed to get a hand to the ball pushing it for a corner.
Nine minutes later, debutant Justin Rowe went close after receiving a great cross from Carl Slater but the on-loan striker could not keep his shot down and it flew over the bar.
The wind almost caught Belford out again on 15 minutes when an hopeful long high ball from Ball went over his he and bounced on the corner of bar and post and out for a goal kick.
Both side were finding the conditions extremely difficult and neither side made any further chances of note except for a couple right on the half tie whistle. The first came when Kriss Nurse also on his debut, put in a header that Price held on to, and then seconds later when Rowe turned superbly on the edge of the box but fired his shot just wide of the upright.
The second half started again with a shock for the home side. This time there were only 12 seconds on the clock when a ball down the left found Taylor who sent across a ball that once more deceived Belford as it flew over his head and into the net.
Things could have got far worse minutes later when Ball beat Andy Cheetham before putting his shot narrowly wide of an upright.
An injury to Matt Smith saw Simon Tucker coming on as a replacement but things went even darker for the home side.
On 52 minutes a nothing ball was sent down the left but a complete mix-up between Belford and Richard Wardle left Taylor with the simplest of tasks of slotting the ball home into an unguarded net.
What would be Gresley's reaction? Capitulation or a determined and gutsy fight back?
Thankfully, it was the latter and it was the 'new' boys who showed the way back.
On 62 minutes Gresley were awarded a free kick wide on the taken by third debutant midfielder John Daniels that found Nurse who made no mistake with a powerful header from close range.
Gresley started to believe the impossible and put Swifts deep defending back line under pressure for the rest of the game.
The pressure paid off on 79 minutes. A corner from the left taken by Leon Doughty was headed back into the danger zone by Daniels and Rowe was waiting to stab the ball home.
Two minutes later Rowe scored the goal of the game. He collected the ball from a throw in on the left, ran towards the area superbly beating two defenders on the way before smashing the ball home past Price.
Gresley could have taken all three points when, with only minutes remaining. White sent in a thunderous swerving shot that missed the mark by only a few inches.
Gary's view of the game
"That game had everything afternoon. We'd been bold and changed things brining new players in and giving three of them their debuts and within seconds find ourselves a goal down. If I'm being critical perhaps we could have done more to prevent the corner so early in the game. We were slightly switched off and allowed their guy to get some space on the back post albeit from a fairly wide position and all he's done is to help the ball back into the box and the elements have helped and the ball took a wicked swerve and dropped into the goal.
"The lads responded very well and we played some very good football in the first half with the new lads in particular doing well up front and John Daniels doing very well on the right. We played some good football in very difficult circumstances and I felt we were unlucky not to have snatched something.
"Within seconds of the second half my heart sunk. They pumped a long ball up field that went over Richard Wardle's head and you think there was no danger and all their lad did was to help the ball into the box and again it fell into the net. I'm thinking the world is against me and I'm going to check my tyres to see if I've run over a black cat.
"Then we go and give away a sloppy goal. There was a mix-up between Wardle and Dale Belford, but I'm not going to criticise Dale for that because he's saved more points and kept us in games this season and I think that's his first mistake that has lead to a goal and he's held his hands up and take full responsibility.
"Even at three-nil, as crazy as it sounds, we still thought we had a chance because of the magnitude of the elements. Fair play to the lads they kept going, we kept plugging away and both the new lads have got on the score sheet. Justin Rowe got two fantastic goals and that's what we've been missing. His display today shows why we've been trailing him for 3 months trying to get him on loan from Telford and perseverance has paid off and he got two fantastic goals today.
"David Nurse scored a cracker with his near post header and we are disappointed not to have taken all three points with all the chances we had in the last half hour.
"That's one of the best pairings we've seen all season. They worked hard and troubled the defenders and I'm very encouraged by their performances.
"We created a lot of chances today and we are now four games unbeaten in the league although I feel it two points dropped because they are in the bottom three but we did well to come back from three goals down."
Gresley Rovers (0) 3
Stourport Swifts (1) 3
Scorers: Nurse 62, Rowe 79, 81 (Gresley Rovers); Ball 1, Taylor 46, 52 (Stourport Swifts).
Gresley Rovers: Belford, Wardle, Cheetham, Smith (Tucker 51), Haynes, Slater, Daniels, Barrett (Doughty 64), Rowe, Nurse, White
. Subs not used: Kettle, Francis, Villers (gk).
Stourport Swifts: Price, Jones, Small, Ulfig, Powell, Harris, Dunn, Shirley, Ball, Giddings, Taylor (Mulders 81). Subs not used: Willetts, Wright, Titterton, Clarke (gk).
Rovers Star Man: Justin Rowe – marked his debut with two good goals.
Referee: C Dunn (Stoke).
Attendance: 289
