Derbyshire Senior Cup Final 2nd Leg
Christchurch Meadow, Belper
Wednesday, 20th April 2005, 7.45pm
Cupp success for Gresley
Gresley Rovers took to Christchurch Meadow what in all honesty was an unassailable four goal lead having won the first leg of the Derbyshire Senior Cup by five goals to one.
It would have taken a monumental effort for Belper Town to even get close to causing an upset. This was reflected in the very poor turnout of home support. Reported as 154 I would say the vast majority of those were Gresley supporters.
Gresley started the brighter of the two sides and after just 3 minutes Nathan Tate was putting in a cross that flashed past the face of the goal. Two minutes later Chris Gray fired a shot just over the bar from 20 yards as The Nailers already looked a beaten side.
Any glimmer of hope was extinguished for the home side on 8 minutes as Paul Edwards slotted home the opener. Nathan Tate had picked up a loose pass before putting a low cross that went behind the rampaging Aaron O'Connor but perfectly for Edwards who made no mistake from the edge of the area.
The home defence complained bitterly to the assistant referee believing the Gresley players were offside. Referee Mr Mellor intervened but Rudi Coleano continued his protest at which point the official showed a straight red card for the use of foul and abusive language.
Belper did go close when Jason Maxwell's header from a Danny Hudson free kick cleared the bar by a whisker.
Gresley had the chance to double their advantage on 19 minutes. A poor back header left Belper keeper Lee Wilson needing to rush forward to try and grab the ball. O'Connor was much the quicker of the two and robbed him of the ball. The ball came to Tate who was unfortunate to see his shot go just over.
On 28 minutes O'Connor managed to hit a shot on the turn that Wilson did well to hold as Gresley were in complete control of the game.
Edwards almost finished the first half proceedings with another goal but the shot went wide.
The second period started with Gresley carrying on where they left off - on the attack and it was rewarded on 64 minutes. Tate had made good headway down the left before sending in a low cross to Edwards. As the striker ran in on goal Andy Rushbury tripped him and O'Connor sent Wilson the wrong way from the spot.
The contest was now well and truly over with only a couple or so chances for both sides in the final 15 minutes. Nailor's substitute Micky Allsop put a header over the bar and Gresley substitute Jamie Barrett saw a shot blocked on the line as did fellow substitute Chris White.
Manager's View
"I'm stuck for words to be honest. The last time the club won some trophies was in 1997 when we won the Southern League and were denied the chance to play in the Conference because of the facilities. It was the same season that we last won the Derbyshire Senior Cup. It was in the heady days of Paul Futcher and that's why every Gresley manager since has been under pressure because of the level of expectation of the supporters and rightly so because we have a bit of a tradition. People have tried to compare us with that side and to be the first manager to lift a trophy after several managers have tried and failed is a fantastic achievement.
"Just for night we can forget our position in the league. Three more wins is a tall order but for one night we can forget that and enjoy and bask in the glory of winning the Senior Cup. It's a beautiful trophy and I'm proud to be the manager.
"We put out a scratch side against Matlock and beat Staveley with a struggle but that's what cup football is all about. I still maintain to this day that the evening against Matlock was one of the proudest moments as Gresley manager. Each and every player who has taken part in this season's competition will get an award including those guys. Credit goes to the guys who played that night several reserve team players and Dave Acton and Dave Clay in the reserves as well. So tonight is not just about first team players it's about Gresley Rovers as a club.
"I'm delighted for the loyal element of the club that has followed us in recent years. I'm even more delighted for the chairman Mark Evans in his five and a bit years at the club who has taken us from the brink of oblivion caused by unfortunately the last time we did win some silverware which came at a cost that we are still paying for today. So I'm very proud to have won this for the supporters, the chairman and the club."
