UniBond League Division One South
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 8th March 2008, 3.00pm
Gresley Rovers again struggled to contain one of the sides vying for a play-off place at the Moat Ground as Nantwich Town comfortably took all three points.
Defender Jamie Hood returned to the side but in the unaccustomed midfield slot instead of his usual central defensive position.
The visitors showed their credentials on 6 minutes when Rovers' keeper David Clarke had to palm away a shot from Nick Farquharson that flew through a crowd of players.
Clarke did well to deny Andy Kinsey on 19 minutes and the action swung to the other end where Paul Edwards had one of few chances for the home side bringing out a fine save from Town's keeper Craig Ellison.
The pressure on the Rovers' defence was relentless and Ashley Carter had a chance to grab a goal. Left in acres of space at the far post his shot was well held by Clarke.
Seconds later Town again went close when the ball bounced over the heads of two defenders to Faquharson who hit a shot into the ground and into the hands of Clarke.
Carter hit the side netting as he met a cross from Adam Beardsley again at the far post.
The inevitable goal for the visitors came on 38 minutes. Some poor defending allowed Kinsey and Farquharson to play a one-two before Kinsey burst into the area. A tackle from Dan Douglas brought the striker down but he somehow still managed to get a foot to the ball and poke it past Clarke.
The second half was much the same as the first with Town being in total control of the proceedings and it was only a matter of time before they increased their lead.
Farquharson picked up Danny Griggs through ball and the front man easily brushed off the attention of Douglas and coolly slotted the ball past Clarke.
Town defender than hit a vicious shot that skimmed the bar as Town went looking for even more goals.
Rovers were causing little if no pressure on the visiting defenders who comfortably dealt with anything in the final third of the pitch.
However, Rovers did go close once more when Hood hit a tremendous volley from the edge of the area, from Shaun Ridgway's free kick, that flew just over the bar.
It was a false dawn as Town continued to force Rovers back with Kinsey forcing a good block out of Clarke and then firing a volley just wide of the post.
The game was wrapped up in the 87th minute. Town were awarded a free kick in the 'D' which was taken by Kinsey. Clarke saved the shot but Carter was on hand to knock the ball home from close in at the far post.
Manager's View
"We still struggle against the tops sides. It's a thankless task but I've just said to the lads it's just that little bit of quality.
"We found ourselves chasing the game today and Nantwich were the better side in all honesty but two individual errors or half errors and you find yourselves two-nil down and chasing the game.
"Having said that, there were some good individual performances out there today. The crunch comes when the quality is need and we haven't quite got it at the moment but we will come through the other side of it. These are the lads that got us into the situation in terms of getting us into the play-off places and they are lads to get us out of the current situation - I'm sure they will.
"Dan Douglas was exceptional again at centre half, Jamie Hood gave us a little bit of bite in the centre of the park. I thought Blackhurst their number eight was the best player on the pitch today but Jamie won a lot of headers against him and he put himself about a bit and it was a worthwhile experiment. Jamie's got legs and he's got presence in the middle of the park and he's done a good shift for us today. They were two plus points.
"I felt elsewhere we were average. We didn't have the quality or composure that Nantwich had.
"Playing Jamie in midfield was with today's game in mind and having watched them two or three times they had Parkinson their skipper who was very impressive and bombed on a lot and gets forward very well but I think he was suspended today.
"After today's performance and the way that Dan's (Douglas) is playing at centre half it's something we may consider but having said that Miles (Chamberlain) has had a couple of sloppy games so I'll just have to weigh things up. I'm not going to reflect too much ten minutes after the final whistle.
"Obviously we're disappointed especially for the supporters who have been fantastic of late and everyone else connected with the club. We're not going to make any rash decisions we're going to consider our thoughts and gather those and we've got a free midweek with no game and a big weekend for us at Warrington.
"In some respects I'm glad we've got a free midweek but having said that we always say it's a bonus to try and get one or two injuries cleared up but I've just spoken to Danny Blair and he's got no chance for next week. And I very much doubt if Jordan Lambert will be back in contention so we'll have to go with what we've got.
"The pleasing thing is that hopefully Dave's (Blenkinsopp) come through okay. The service into the front lads was a bit poor really but he's kept going and hopefully he hasn't aggravated his foot. Jamie (Hood) as come back in today which has given us a bit of a boost.
"Injury wise apart from the two I've just mentioned we are not really waiting for anyone to come back.
"I guess having been beaten at home it's a bit like falling off a bike, you want to get back on and I fancy another game now to be honest but I'm not sure the lads would agree. It's a pity we haven't got a midweek game but it gives us time to prepare for Saturday."
