East Midlands Counties League
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 27th March 2010, 3.00pm
Blenko Is Back!
Gary Norton included new signing and a former Moat favourite David Blenkinsopp and the striker soon reclaimed that accolade with two goals that saw Gresley claim a valuable three points against third placed Greenwood Meadows at the Moat Ground.
Gresley started well putting Meadows under pressure almost from the off with Stefan Marshall firing wide and Mickey Lyons shooting straight at keeper Paul Farnsworth all within the first ten minutes.
Two minutes later Marshall was the width of the bar from giving his side the lead when Lyons picked out the tall striker who continued his run forward and delicately chipped the keeper and was unlucky to see the ball come back off the junction of bar and upright.
Greenwood began to get back into the game and went close on 16 minutes when Kieran Walker connected with Ash Harrison's cross but the header went over the bar.
It was the turn of Gresley's Gareth Langford to test the keeper when he did superbly well to volley Adam Betteridge's but straight at Farnsworth.
On the half hour the visitors went close through Jourdain Blair who fired Harrison's cross agonisingly wide of the mark.
The first goal came from a good move down the right. Lyons picked out Rob Spencer who raced down the right before putting in a cross into the area that Blenkinsopp superbly controlled before hitting an unstoppable volley on the turn that gave Farnsworth no chance whatsoever.
Just before the break Meadows had two decent chances to go into the break on equal terms but Gresley keeper Gary Hateley blocked Phil Bignall's close range effort and then Blair fired over the bar.
The second half was only six minutes old when Gresley's Rob Spencer was booked for a foul but it went from bad to worse just two minutes later when the referee saw Spencer kick out at a Meadows player after a bit of a tussle giving Mr Langton no alternative but to show a second yellow and in turn a red card to Spencer.
Gresley then had nearly the entire second half to play with a man short but to their credit they almost grabbed another goal when a good move between Blenkinsopp and Carl Slater ended with Slater hitting a weak shot straight into the goalkeeper's midriff.
As was expected Greenwood applied constant pressure on a Gresley defence that was defending deeper and deeper and that pressure paid dividends on 68 minutes.
A good move ended with a cross from Blair picking out substitute Chris Atkins who blasted the ball past Hateley.
Although a man down Gresley showed tremendous resolve and pressed forward themselves and they took the lead with the move of the game.
On 72 minutes Hateley rolled the ball out to Lyons who turned and sent Langford racing down the right. The defender got deep into the Greenwood half before putting in a low cross that Blenkinsopp, showing all of his predatory skill, smashed home at the near post.
The width of a post denied Blenkinsopp a dream Gresley start late on when he smashed Royce Turville's cross from the left against the woodwork.
Manager's View
"I was definitely please to see David Blenkinsopp back. It's given us a real lift with the injury situation we still have. We had a couple of players on the bench who are not fully fit. Brian Woodall was only going to an emergency. He's nearly there he's only got a problem as he strikes through the ball. He can run, he can turn, he can twist, he can side foot but with the bodies we haven't got around at the minute we had to have him on the bench.
"We had Matt Hill on the bench who in an emergency we'd have brought him on for ten or fifteen minutes in a defensive cover position so to have Dave drop in our lap on Thursday we moved quickly when we heard he was potentially available and we're delighted that he agreed to come.
"I've spoken to a couple of players now that the seven days have run out. In fairness one of the players has had a few clubs this year and he's had four weeks at his current club and he wants to settle in and get to know everybody there so we'll talk again at the end of the season. It's disappointing because we felt that he he'd come and got to know us in the last few games of the season and we got to know him we'd hit the floor running in pre-season so there is still work to do on that one.
"The other one who is an attacking player in the mould we think we need physically when I spoke to him he wanted to play for his existing club today and have a think over the weekend and have a chat with his family and we'll talk in the next couple of days so we'll see on that one.
"If that one doesn't come off it doesn't necessarily mean its dead and it well may mean we go back for him in the summer.
"Brian Woodall had a fitness test today and was on the bench and those extra few days may make all the difference. Matt Hill will be that little bit nearer. Rhys Powell was out there doing a little bit of work although he's probably not going to ready yet. Jack Coulson is continuing his work but he's suspended.
"There probably won't be many more back so we'll have to pull one or two lads out of the reserves or the other lads we've had signed on who have helped us out recently.
"We wanted to try something new today so we went three at the back and it worked fairly well and certainly from open play and defensive set plays I thought the guys did really well. They came in for some criticism off me the other night but each and every one of them especially the back three. Jamie Barrett was superb today. He talked and organised and backed up ably by Gareth Langford and Tom Land.
"I thought Tom Land did especially well. He's done well since he's come in and I think that was his third start and his third very good game for us, that's quite positive. Gaz Langford has done really well at the back and when we were down to ten men and having been pegged back to one-one he surged forward.
"Martin Rowe was doing his nut when Langy went marauding down the right wing and he put a cracking ball over and Blenks has done what he does best and poached a similar goal to his first goal so a great three points with ten men.
"I didn't see the sending off in fairness. Rob Spencer is one of the most laid back person and he wouldn't hurt a fly but by his own admission he's reacted and kicked out a little bit and the referee had no option but to issue a minimum of a yellow card but that's one saving grace that it wasn't a straight red.
"For a team that's gone six or seven months without a red card I think that's four in the recent three or four weeks. Obviously I want to address that because we were proud of the disciplinary record prior to this latest spate of red cards. We've got to take that red card on the chin and Rob's got no complaints with it. He got frustrated which is most unlike Rob but that's football.
"We are going to review Andy Elliott's situation week by week. There is a silly rule in the Leicestershire Senior League that players can't play for a club a league above as they then have to wait fifteen days before they can go back playing with the lower club.
"I feel like we've stitched Any up a little bit as he was playing really well, scoring goals and building up his fitness with Stapenhill then the other night he was only our fit substitute left. The young lads who had come in had run out of steam and were cramping up so with six or seven minutes left we had to throw him on but we thought that if we could get the ball in the box to him the form he was in he might just get us a goal and maybe let us get back in the game. That six minutes now means he's got to wait another fourteen days before he can play again.
"We'll see what our options are. Andy needs to play some football between now and the end of the season and then hopefully have a good pre-season. He can score goals but he's had a terrible season in terms of injuries - he's had some real misfortune there and he's still not quite fit now but he's been building that up with Stapenhill so we hope those fourteen days go quick and he'll be back playing for them again. But having said that, I'm sure that if we need him, he is our player, he'll be there for us.
"It was a great bonus having Royce Turville back. He was quite close the other night and obviously we didn't want to risk that for those last few minutes that's why we didn't put him on because it would have set him back.
"Emma Smith our new physio has assessed him today and he's come through and we feel confident so obviously we decided to start him on the bench. Stefan Marshall had been waiting for a chance and we changed the system today playing with two up front. Stef looked a little bit rusty and that comes from not having too many games but what a substitute to bring on (Turville).
"For a period of that after Rob had been sent off Royce he dropped in to the left side for us and made it two banks of four and then Dave (Blenkinsopp) had to come off near the end because he'd run himself into the ground and Royce went back up front in a familiar lone striker role. Ideally we want to do that with eleven men on the pitch not ten!
"We are pleased with that and it's given some food for thought whether we start him from the bench or upfront on Saturday and we haven't had those options in the last few weeks and slowly we're getting the injured players back."
