FA Cup Preliminary Round
The Moat Ground
Saturday, 4th September 2004, 3.00pm
Captain Marvel - just the job!
Gresley moved into the 1st Qualifying Round of the FA Cup and a tantalising match against league rivals Ilkeston Town at the New Manor Ground at the end of the month.
But, it was a harder victory than was expected for despite dominating large periods of the game Gresley just couldn't get the breakthrough goal they were desperately searching for until Captain Marvel Matt Smith did the job.
Gresley were soon applying the pressure forcing a corner after just 4 minutes. A minute later Karl Brown fired in a stinging drive that Studley keeper Mark Sanders managed to grab at the second attempt just before Aaron O'Connor could pounce.
With the Studley defence still trying to settle Justin Rowe's cross went just out of the reach of Sean Gummer and a shot from Jamie Barrett was put behind by the keeper for a corner. The corner eventually found the head of Jamie Hood who in turn found O'Connor but his header went just over the bar.
Against the run of play Studley almost took the lead. A fine pass from Mark Neath found Robert Agger who drilled in a first time shot that caused Gresley keeper Dale Belford pull off a superb save.
On 20 minutes, after some clever play by Rowe down the right, saw Jamie Barrett put a shot just wide and moments later Brown's shot went agonisingly wide after receiving a pass fro O'Connor.
Rowe, celebrating his 21st birthday, almost opened the scoring but Sanders managed to stick out a leg to deny the striker.
On 27 minutes Smith's superb diagonal cross-field pass fell into the path of Gummer whose cross was headed over the bar by O'Connor.
Smith was involved again on 35 minutes but he couldn't direct his header from a Gummer cross on target.
Five minutes later Gummer flew down the right before sending in a low cross that went across the face of the goal beating the on rushing Gresley players.
Just on the stroke of half time Gresley went close once more but Barret's header from an Ashley Dodd cross again went wide.
Gresley came out for the second half making all the running forcing two corners in the first couple of minutes of the re-start.
The lively O'Connor was in the thick of things down the right but he saw his pass from Gummer fly over the bar and then a moment later his shot, that looked goal bound, was deflected into the side netting for a corner.
It was from the resulting corner on 57 minutes that Gresley at last broke the deadlock. Gummer swung in the corner from the right and found Smith who made no mistake powering a header into the net.
They could have doubled their advantage just two minutes later when after some good work from both Liam Hebberd and Andy Simpson Rowe blazed his shot over the bar.
On the hour Gummer was brought down just outside the area. He chose to take the kick himself and was unlucky to see his curling shot narrowly miss the mark.
Belford needed to be on form on 67 minutes making a terrific save from Neath as Studley made one of their rare attacks on goal. A minute later Barrett went close putting a shot over the bar from a Gary White pass.
Studley put the home defence under a little pressure for the next four or five minutes and as they attacked a quick break from defence found substitute Emeka Ejiofor who held the ball up cleverly before passing to O'Connor who in turn put his shot wide.
On 80 minutes a free kick from Gummer was put out for a corner. The short corner by Gummer found substitute Richard Wardle, on for O'Connor, who swung in a cross that was punched clear by Sanders but only as far as Hood. The defender headed the ball back but it just cleared the bar.
Seven minutes later as Sanders was scrambling for the ball in his own area Ejiofor tried to poke the ball into the net but the ball was blocked.
As the game drew to an end Simpson's 20-yard drive brought out a superb save from Sanders and a lob from Ejiofor just cleared the bar.
Manager's View
"The important thing is that we are through. I was disappointed with the performance but I felt we controlled most of the game and restricted them to one or two speculative efforts - we looked quite solid at the back.
"We created lots without getting anything clear-cut and on another day it could have been three or four nil.
"I'm happy. The run goes on and that's now five straight wins and we got a clean sheet today and we're through to the next round, which is the most important thing.
"I felt, performance wise, that that was the worst competitive game so far this season. We looked a little bit lethargic and a little bit off it all over the park. I had a bit of a go at half time about the tempo of the game - we looked to be taking an extra touch or an extra pass when we didn't really need to and I said let's try and get back to basics in terms of how we have been playing - getting on with the game, nice tempo and dictating the tempo but we just didn't seem to get going today.
"When you play a team from a lower level they raise their game and the pressure was on us because we were at home and we've had a great start to the season. Some of the players who have been 'top drawer' in the first four league games just didn't get going today. We just didn't get out of second gear today and there is another gear to come from all of the players - two in some instances!
"The substitutes livened things up a bit. Liam Hebberd is a good player and can play anywhere. He looks good going forward and he played well when he came on. Emeka came on for Justin who is very frustrated at the moment because he just can't get that goal. When he does his confidence will soar and we will get bags full of goals out of him - it's just not happening for him. When you have the quality on the bench like Emeka, Liam, Carl Slater and Richard Wardle dependent on the situation in the game you can do things to affect it and it was nice that we had those options today.
"Aaron O'Connor came off due to a slight injury to his thigh and we want him fit for Saturday so Richard came on and did a professional job for us. Karl Brown came off for tactical reasons. He wasn't very happy about it but he's suspended for Tuesday night so I wanted to see Sean Gummer down the left. And I felt we kept our shape a little better in the second half.
"Both central defenders have scored now in the last couple of games and that's good. We've been working on set plays with various corners we are working on. Matt Smith found himself free in the box - he doesn't score too many. I think he got one last year and he's got a goal today and that's the eighth different scorer in competitive games. The goals are coming from all over the place at the moment and that's good. It was good that it came off a corner because we've worked hard on corners and we look more potent from corners and set plays this year and we are going to get goals. Something drooped for Jamie Hood on Monday - we took that won and another nice one today.
"We've won the game without putting in the best performance in. We are through and that's the most important."
