UniBond League Division One
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Tuesday, 14th March 2006, 7.45pm
Shell Shocked!
This entertaining game was end to end and played at a fast and furious pace with the visitors showing their play off credentials in a spectacular second half performance.
The first half largely belonged to Gresley but despite a hat full of clear-cut chances in the first half hour they just could not capitalise on them and put Woodley back on their heels. Gresley were to rue those misses as that game went on.
On 10 minutes Aaron O'Connor had a good shot blocked and the follow up from Mickey Lyons was also blocked.
The best chance came on 17 minutes when O'Connor, who was causing the visiting defence all sorts of problems managed to get down the left before sending a mouth watering cross into the area that David Holmes missed the ball with the goal at his mercy.
O'Connor was at the fore front again on 25 minutes but this time his powerful shot was palmed away by Sports keeper Liam Higginbotham but unfortunately there was no Gresley player available to pick up the loose ball.
Against the run of play Woodley took the lead just two minutes later. The lively Gavin Salmon chased a long ball from Daniel Douglas-Pringle getting the better of Matt Millns before putting the ball beyond the reach of Gresley keeper Tommy Whittle.
Luke Horrocks almost scored when he somehow managed to back heel the ball towards goal from a Mario Sergio Daniel corner but Whittle was alert and saved down by the foot of his right post
Woodley doubled their advantage on 38 minutes when another display of inadequate defending allowed Salmon acres of space to pick his spot and power home a header from the edge of the goal area.
On 40 minutes a Gary White corner was met by Allan Davies, his cross-cum-shot was tipped away by Higginbotham only across his area where Chris Brindley unbelievably fired over from just a couple of yards out.
Gresley needed a life-line before half time and it can in injury time. Lyons had made a run into the box and was brought down by Mike Lomax. The referee didn't hesitate and O'Connor blasted the spot kick home for his twenty-ninth goal of the season.
The home side were unlucky not to have gone in at the break all-square when moments later a shot from O'Connor was blocked on the line and Jamie Barrett managed to put his shot over the empty net.
Woodley blew all all of Gresley's hard work and good play away in an unbelievable second half five-minute spell. Their quick front line were causing the Gresley defence problems and on 48 minutes a shot from Douglas-Pringle was pushed away by Whittle but Daniel was waiting to knock the ball into the unguarded net.
Barely had Gresley restarted the game Woodley were again putting the fragile defence under pressure three minutes later. A Gresley move had broken down in the Woodley half and from a swift flowing attack they scored their fourth when Horrocks smashed an unstoppable shot past Whittle.
Things got worse for the Moatmen. This time it only took Woodley a further minute of play to make it five. With the Gresley side looking totally shell-shocked another fast move ended with Salmon easily beating Brindley before bagging his well deserved hat trick.
If that wasn't enough Woodley could quite easily have added another couple or three to their tally, as Gresley seemed to collapse inward.
On 63 minutes Daniel fired a dipping shot that just cleared the bar, a minute later Douglas Pringle put a header over the bar when scoring seemed an awful lot easier and from a free kick just minutes later Chris Young hit the post.
Gresley seemed to shake themselves from their stupor and made a fight of the final twenty minutes.
Substitute Paul Edwards was unlucky to see a volley clear the bar as the home side pushed forward, Gresley manager Gary Norton played all his cards by taking off the miss firing Holmes and defender Allan Davies replacing them with Andy Simpson and Steve Gomm.
However, Woodley were not finished and Whittle did extremely well to tip over a thunderous shot from Daniel on 81 minutes.
With time running out for the home side a corner from Lyons was headed over the bar by Millns and deep into injury time O'Connor scored his thirtieth goal of the season when he latched onto a through ball before comfortably beating Higginbotham to salvage some pride from what ended up as a dismal night for Gresley Rovers.
Manager's View
"I'm shell shocked to say the least to be honest. We paid the price for a suicidal kamikaze six minutes and we were made to look very ordinary. Defensively we've got to get back to basics. The back four is experienced, it's seasoned, it's a regular back four that's been playing for the last number of weeks and you'd have thought it was the first time they'd been thrown together tonight.
"It's bordering on the disgraceful, no it's the other side of the line to be honest. We got ourselves a lifeline with a massive goal on the stroke of half time from Aaron. The first twenty-five minutes there was only one side in it. We dominated things, we got bodies in the box, and okay things didn't drop for us. Their first sniff, poor defending and they got the wrong side and bang they were one-nil up and you could see the confidence drain from the lads. It was a poor second goal - some one totally unmarked from a set piece and we are two nil down and you're scratching your head wondering how we were two nil down.
"We got the lifeline at half time and we re-grouped and within six minutes we absolutely threw it away. You are looking at experienced players at the back and for that second forty-five minutes they were woeful, absolutely disgraceful and there were several others out there.
"The big difference was their (Woodley's) work rate. They are a young side, very pacey, direct and we knew all that before the kick off but the thing for me was work rate. They absolutely worked their socks off in all departments right up to the ninety- third minute and they made us look very ordinary in all honesty.
"We keep saying this week in week out that we have these little setbacks but this is a huge setback but we need to keep our heads and regroup. With ten games to go and only one clean sheet in twenty-five it looks like drastic surgery is needed in defence.
"I feel sorry for Aaron who scored two tonight and I thought Tom Betteridge was the other one who shone tonight, he was fantastic. He worked his socks off but there are very few others who came out of that game without any credit.
"I feel sorry for the supporters who held their tongues tonight when they could have ripped us to bits on that second half performance. Mick and I will do our utmost to try and put things right. We are still very confident in reaching the play offs. You can forget first or second place now but the play offs is still there.
"Aaron had one of his best games for a while and he had a number of shots blocked especially in the second half when we were up against it. Even in the first half he was running them ragged at the back."
