UniBond League Division One
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Tuesday, 26th September 2006, 7.45pm
Sangha strikes to earn the points
Gresley Rovers made hard work of beating bottom placed Wakefield FC at the Moat Ground. Manager Gary Norton had to patch up his side as several players were absent due to injury, unavailability or sickness. The latest victim being Jamie Barrett who had reacted badly to a course of antibiotics just before the game making him unable to play. Defender Matt Smith was drafted in to help bolster the decimated back line.
The visitors proved to be a determined, hard working outfit that looked to have earned themselves a point until the predatory instincts of substitute Ravi Sangha struck with just two minutes left of the game to claim all three points for the Moatmen.
Wakesfield's late arrival meant an eight o'clock start but the delay did not prevent the visitors from forcing two corners in the first couple of minutes as they looked to rectify their appalling start to the season.
However, it was the Gresley that had the first chance of the game when Aaron O'Connor made his way into the box before firing wide on 8 minutes.
Three minutes later another corner for the visitors taken by Liam Brompton found Matt Hoyle but the striker could only put his header wide of the post.
O'Connor was causing the Wakefield defence problems and on 12 minutes had a shot on the turn blocked the rebound finding Tom Betteridge who's 20-yard shot flashed just wide.
A corner from the left by Paul Edwards on 18 minutes found Matt Millns on the far side of the area; his header back into the box was headed over by O'Connor.
Gresley's injury problems were made worse on 35 minutes when Shaun Ridgway was the victim of an atrocious two-footed lunge that referee Mr Steans unbelievably adjudged to have been a fair one much to the anger of the home supporters. The young midfield had to eventually leave the field, with a full set of stud marks on his leg and sent to hospital for x-rays on his ankle, to be replaced by Andy Simpson.
Wakefield had one more chance before the end of the half when Nial O'Brien put his shot over the bar from Chris Fawcus's corner. But it was Gresley who had the last chance when Betteridge's cross found the head of Carl Slater who unfortunately put his header straight into the midriff of Wakefield keeper Andy Woods.
Gresley came out for the second period trying to break down Wakefield's stubborn resistance and went close twice in as many minutes straight from the start. Edwards first shooting just wide and then firing in a stinging volley that Woods did well to hold on to.
On 64 minutes Woods made the first of two superb saves when he managed to tip away a goal-bound shot from Edwards. Edwards was denied by a post just three minutes later when he beat Woods with a shot from 25 yards but the woodwork prevented Gresley from taking the lead. Wakefield then rode their luck as shot after shot was somehow blocked in the box.
On 72 minutes Wakefield almost took an unlikely lead as substitute Steve Kenworthy fired a shot that appeared to be clearing the Gresley keeper but Whittle pulled off a remarkable full stretch save pushing the ball onto the bar and away to safety.
Gresley took the lead on 77 minutes and it was the instincts of Sangha, who had been on the field for just 10 minutes, who got the goal the home side desperately wanted. O'Connor's shot forced a superb block by Woods but Sangha fastened on to the rebound thumping the ball home.
If the home supporters thought that Wakefield would now lie down, roll over and succumb to defeat the Yorkshire men had other ideas because seven minutes later they were back on terms. They forced a corner taken from the right by Brighton Mudgadza. His ball into the box found Paul Stoneman unmarked at the far post and the visiting skipper powered home a comfortable header.
Just has everyone had resigned themselves to sharing the points up popped Sangha to lift the spirits of the home supporters and dash the hopes of the handful that had travelled down from Wakefield.
With just two minutes remaining Edwards forced Woods into his second superb save of the night as the keeper managed to somehow claw the goal bound shot out of the far top corner but the rebound was again latched onto by the effervescent Sangha who smashed the ball gleefully home despite the impossible angle.
Manager's View
"I think they were a little unlucky to go away from here with nothing. I thought they were worth a point.
"It was a very tense bench for obvious reasons for ourselves but their (Wakefield) work ethic was second to none and I was warned about that by one or two people who have played them recently. They never give anything up - they are physical and they worked hard. They had one or two near things, nothing really clear-cut but they've had plenty of pops and put the ball into good areas and tried to get the ball into danger zones quite quickly.
"The disappointing thing for me was that once we'd got that break was our defending. We talked at half time about being touch tight from set plays, set plays were always going to hurt us and it almost proved very, very costly.
"Fortunately Mr Sangha's popped up at the end with a great strike. It was another fantastic save from their keeper. He's plucked two out of the top corner from, I think, Paul Edwards but Ravi has reacted superbly well and from the angle I was at he was too tight to score but when I saw the back of the net bulge the relief was massive.
"Aaron deserves huge credit for the first goal - that's what he's about. I'm quite pleased with it because we kept plugging away and we kept going and we kept going bearing in mind that we've got a patched up side, a massively patched up side. In my three and a bit years as manager here I've never had to patch a side up so yes I'm quite relieved with three points.
"The referee was absolute garbage, absolute garbage for both sides to be honest.
Shaun Ridgway has gone to hospital with a suspected fractured ankle. The referee said that he (Wakefield player) had played the ball and didn't touch the man. The linesman on this side saw the same view as I did and said 'I'll have a word with him at half time'. Their player played the man then the ball - two feet and if the referee, as I went in to see him at half time he said didn't catch him with his studs, if he wants to have a look at that guy's ankle and shin with a lovely, perfect imprint of studs. I don't think their guy meant it he just went in full-blooded and what did Shaun a little bit was that he pulled out slightly and it probably looked worse than it did but it's two feet at the end of the day. Shaun could be out for quite a while; we are waiting the results of the x-rays.
"They (Wakefield) are competitive - I wish my lads were like that. I feel sorry for them because make no bones they deserved a point tonight. Their work rate and ethic is something I'm trying to drill into these lads because it can close gaps in terms of quality and then you're looking for those bits of quality to try and win you games. When we got the ball down tonight and worked it like we did on occasions we looked fairly good. Tonight's win will give us some confidence but sometimes you have to win ugly. Tonight we've had a scrap and we're very pleased that a little bit of the luck has landed on our side for a change and we've snatched it at the end. Football is about results and no matter how they come it's two wins out of two."
