Rugby United vs Gresley Rovers
Gresley Rovers were very unlucky to come away from Rugby without at least a share of the points.
The visitors seemed to have the better of the opening 10 minutes or so with Leon Doughty going close when his low shot was blocked on its way to goal.
But football can be a cruel game and against the run of play the home side took the lead just minutes later.
On 13 minutes Craig Dutton laid on a pass to Robbie Beard who got past a Gresley defender before pulling the ball back for Justin Marsden.
Marsden's half-hit shot was cleared off the line by Danny Haynes to Dutton whose deflected shot from 20 yards beat Dale Belford.
Rugby began to come into the game and on 20 minutes should have doubled their advantage.
Marsden had made a run down the left and beat Belford who had raced from his line but his shot was cleared by Matt Smith but only as far as Gary Moran who put his volley embarrassingly wide of the open goal.
On 21 minutes Beard went close but his shot skimmed the cross bar. Gresley began to recover from the goal and a Harrad cross had to be hurriedly cleared over his own bar by Moran for a corner.
Shaun Harrad took the flag kick which Steve Lenagh headed down to Carl Francis who sent in a shot though a crowded area only for Moarn to clear off the line.
Rugby had the last chance before the break when Beard capitalised on a Gresley defensive mix-up, but with only Belford to beat dragged his shot well wide.
On 54 minutes the home went close to regaining the lead when Marsden's through ball was cleared for a corner by Leigh Everitt.
Gresley got their deserved equaliser a minute later.
A very poor attempted back pass went straight to Leon Doughty who fired in a shot that was blocked by a defender. Substitute Earl Alexander was on hand to fire in the rebound that beat Rugby keeper Jason Pearcey.
Alexander almost gave Gresley the lead but was denied by Pearcey after the Rugby defence had got themselves in a tangle.
Gresley's Gareth Holmes was next to go close but he put his shot wide of the target.
On 77 minutes Rugby took the lead. Rugby had been awarded a free kick that appeared to fly off the top of the head of one of Gresley's defenders. Beard managed to get beyond Everitt and get a toe end on the ball to push it past Belford.
Rugby managed to hang on to their lead and steal all three points from a very unlucky Gresley Rovers side.
Gary's views on the match
I'm disappointed with the result. I felt that they shaded it in the first half and we had a good talk about things at half time and changed a few things.
I wasn't happy about the shape we were playing so we brought Earl on to give us that balance and we got ourselves back into the game relatively early.
We knew we could get ourselves back in the game and we got the break early and I felt in the second half that we were very much in the ascendancy.
If a goal was going to come we were going to nick it. We were beaten by to sloppily conceded goals. I was especially disappointed with the second one. Everyone in the dressing room was.
They had a free kick 10yrds inside their own half and just a long hopeful ball skimmed off one of our center half's head and they reacted quickest. To concede a goal like that at any level is disappointing. But, at this standard when you are away from home playing the second in the league and in need of a point it's very deflating.
Even the first goal I felt we stood off the guy and did not press the ball. Our center halfs and even midfielders were a bit slow reacting and allowed him to pick his spot.
There were some positives out of it. Andy Cheetham has got through the 90 minutes, which is a big, plus for us. And the way we reacted in the second half. We created little bits without really getting any clear cut chances on goal and I thought we played the better football.
That's why Rugby are second in the league because they grind out results
Rugby United (1) 2
Gresley Rovers (0) 1
Scorers: Dutton 13, Beard 77 (Rugby United); Alexander 50 (Gresley Rovers).
Rugby United: Pearcey, Moran, Williams, Hart (Pearson 78), Kattos, Commander
, Squire, Dutton, Beard, Marsden, Shanahan (Hegarty 68). Subs not used: Thompson, Nelson, Thomas.
Gresley Rovers: Belford, Everitt, Cheetham, Haynes (Hebberd 83), Holmes, Doughty, Barrett, Francis (Alexander 45), Lenagh, Harrad. Subs not used: Wardle, Slater, Spacey.
Rovers Star Man: Gareth Holmes – a performance of dogged determination.
Referee: A Newbold (Loughborough).
Attendance: 259
