UniBond League Division One
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Tuesday, 12th April 2005, 7.45pm
eastwood take advantage
Both sides looked distinctly nervous for this crucial 'six-pointer' which produced a dull first half period with the ball high in the sky for most of the play that Eddie Waring would have described as the old 'up and under'.
Neither side produced anywhere near the exciting flowing football seen at Coronation Park only three weeks ago and it resulted in only a handful of shots on target between them for the whole ninety minutes.
Gresley went close after just 4 minutes when Chris Gray back-heeled the ball into the path of Aaron O'Connor whose rasping shot went straight at Eastwood keeper Danny Bryant.
Eight minutes later it was the turn of Gresley keeper Dale Belford to produce the goods blocking a shot from Deon Meikle. For the next half hour the game was littered with free kicks and the ball being in the air more than on the floor.
When, at last, Gresley did get the ball down it produced a fine goal from leading scorer O'Connor. On 38 minutes Paul Edwards laid on a superb ball that O'Connor took in his stride before powering his shot, from the edge of the area, past the diving Bryant.
As on Saturday against North Ferriby the equaliser came just minutes after the start of the second period. A debatable free kick was awarded to Town about 25 yards out and Matt Millins hit his shot into the top corner giving Belford no chance.
Again the play was not the best from either side but on 65 minutes some sloppy defending allowed Town to take the lead. A free kick from Lee Soar was flicked on by Peter Knox and while the Gresley defence debated who should deal with the looping ball Adie Francis nipped in to nod the ball over Belford and into the net.
The next action of any note came nearly twenty minutes later when Meikle hit a volley that whistled past an upright.
Although the night was a gloomy one for the home supporters it was brightened up by the comical attempt at finishing by Town's top scorer Knox. Twice in the space of five minutes he made a complete and embarrassing mess of trying to get the ball into the net.
Knox received a pass from Francis who looked at least 2 yards off side but with the net at his mercy contrived to loop the ball over the bar from a mere 3 yards out. And then in time added on Knox skillfully dribbled his way into the box past several defenders and the keeper before slotting his shot, not into the gaping empty net, but against the post.
Gresley went close to grabbing an underserved share of the points at the death with a Matt Smith header being blocked on the line and then O'Connor putting a volley past the post.
Manager's View
"What a day not to turn up! I can honestly say without a shadow of a doubt that that was the worst home performance of the season and I'm absolutely gutted.
"Week after week we've been half threatening to put a run together and then we take several steps back. Fortunately results went our way which was down to other sides not putting runs together and we were left with a chance going into the last five games of the season. But, on the evidence of that we are not good enough, it's as simple as that.
"We can consider ourselves unlucky last Saturday against North Ferriby not to have got a point or even won the game but no way could we count ourselves unlucky for losing that tonight. We played one piece of football and scored from it. I said to them before the game that if we try and mix it and try to play their style of football it's not going to work because they are big, strong and solid. We came in at half time one-nil up but our midfield was non-existent in the first half and we tried to get it going in the second half. But, again it was two goals from set pieces that undid us. I struggling to remember the last time a team scored against us from open play against us or we haven't made a mistake - probably the Woodley equaliser.
"I'm gutted and the criticism from the supporters was fully justified - I'm stuck for words to be honest. I'm absolutely devastated and I probably feel as low as I've felt since I've been here. I just hope it hurts the players as much. I know some players it does.
"I'm not giving anything up yet. Eastwood are now four points ahead but we still have a game in hand but they are still in the box seat. We are relying on sides around us to slip up. For three-quarters of the season we have been in control of our destiny but, since Christmas we haven't had the best of fortune or been playing well but we've been hanging in there all because other sides have not strung things together. But, on the evidence of that showing tonight we do not deserve to be in the top six.
"There was nothing there tonight. Eastwood were first to everything and there was only one side in it. You have to take your hats off to them. They've hit a good spell and gone on a good run at the right time and have gone into the top six just recently and they've took a massive stride forward tonight.
"I can't apologise to the supporters enough and even that will not be enough. But it's fully justified - we were awful tonight. The players know that was not good enough. The other home defeats possibly we deserved to get something but tonight definitely not. It was very, very poor. I feel sorry for the Chairman for all the hard work he puts in and the supporters who support us through thick and thin and after a season of so much promise because it looks as if we are going to throw it away ourselves.
"Their first goal - could we have defended it better? Could we have set up better? Who knows but the ball ended up in the top corner again. But the second goal, the ball was tossed in our box and it was not dealt with and Francis got on the end of it and it was a scrappy goal. But it was good enough for them. People criticise that style of football but it works in this league. I would have like us to have got the ball down a little bit more but we didn't try and play football. The only time we did we got a cracking goal from it.
"But, we've got to pick ourselves up and scrap for every point. We've got four massive games to come starting on Saturday."
