EMC League Cup Quarter Final
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Tuesday, 8th December 2009, 7.45pm
Semi-Final Place For Gresley
Gresley started the game well with and were soon forcing Barrow's keeper former Moatman Brad Clarke into an early save.
On 13 minutes Clarke did well again making a good save from a low shot by Jordi Gough but it was the visitors who took the lead three minutes later.
A long punt out of defence saw Adie Adelukan looking suspiciously offside race forward and put his low shot past the onrushing Gresley keeper Gary Hateley.
Gresley almost replied after just two minutes when Royce Turville was put through but Clarke managed to get the faintest of touches enough to guide the ball away for a corner.
Unfortunately Clarke gifted Gresley an equaliser on 27 minutes when his awful attempted clearance only skewed into the path of Turville and the front man simply side footed the ball into the gaping goal.
Worse was to come for Clarke as three minutes later he was to play no further part in the game. Turville was once more put through and as he raced goalwards the keeper brought him down in the area giving the referee Mr Clarke no option but to point to the spot and show the keeper a red card.
Turville chose to take the spot kick himself sending the replacement keeper Adam Hall the wrong way.
Gareth Langford then added to Gresley's total on 34 minutes when he dribbled into the area before beating Hall with a crisp shot.
The home side were caught napping at the start of the second half as Barrow scored with just thirty or so seconds on the clock. A quick throw resulted in a cross into the box where Adelukan totally unmarked powered a header past Hateley.
If the visitors hoped that would herald a revival they were to be disappointed as it just spurred Gresley on with Langford forcing a good save out of Hall.
On 55 minutes the home side increased their advantage when a cross from the right by Matt Hill was met at the far post by Jordi Gough who hammered a vicious volley into the roof of the net. Seconds later the youngster went close again but Hall managed to make a good block to deny him.
The goal of the night came on 65 minutes. Gresley's Brian Woodall collected the ball on the right edge of the area and danced across the back line of the Barrow defence before unleashing an unstoppable shot that left Hall and his defenders as mere spectators.
With the opposition clearly tiring on a heavy pitch Gresley threatened to add more to their score with Jack Coulson's header at the far post having to be cleared off the line and then Hall making a fine save to deny Mickey Lyons. With time almost up Hall made one more good block to deny substitute Rob Spencer.
Gresley now face Gedling Town away in the semi-final scheduled for Wednesday 24th March 2010.
Manager's View
"Someone said to me today that it's a bit like Radcliffe who we've played three times already this season and now Barrow. We are glad to see the back of them. They are not a bad side at all and they work tremendously hard and even when they went down to ten men their work rate and ethic all over the place was fantastic they've got some really fit young lads.
"It was a tricky one for us tonight and obviously they've taken the lead - we dropped off defensively. We've been magnificent defensively in the last few games and tonight for some reason all over the pitch we started a little bit on the back foot, a little bit casual.
"We were fortunate to get back in the game in the manner we did with the mistake from the goalkeeper and I felt at that stage we didn't deserve to be back in the game but it came our way and we'll take it.
"Obviously the sending off - I think it's the second time a keeper has been sent off here when they've visited this year has probably been the turning point of the game but they've come back straight away in the second half and got an early goal and as I said at the time it was a little bit worrying for us. The energy levels that Barrow have had all over the pitch, they were closing everything down, they wanted a lot of things more than us.
"I complained the last time about their physical approach but I've got no complaints about that tonight maybe just the odd one. They'll have their view that we are prima donnas and squeal for everything but a lot of the time the work rate is that high that they are going to commit fouls and go through things that if they approached things a little bit slower they wouldn't.
"I've got no complaints tonight. I thought the referee and the two officials handle the game fairly well but yes we are pleased to be through to the semi-final and I think it's Gedling away but I don't know when it is but it'll be a tough one but we're pleased to be through.
"There was a touch of irony that Brad Clarke was sent off. I get on well with Brad and it was lovely to see him start tonight but I felt really sorry for Brad. To get sent off so early in the game in that manner. I don't think either bench had any qualms with the decision as he denied a goal scoring opportunity and obviously Royce (Turville) has tucked the penalty away.
"They scored early in the second half and fortunately it didn't change things. On another night against eleven men maybe it may have been a costly goal. I came in less than a minute and we'd spoken at half time about being switched on and making sure we're on our toes and organised.
"It was a sloppy start for the first half and a sloppy start to the second half but fortunately we then had a ten fifteen minute spell when we took control of the game and got the fourth goal and then it was never in doubt after that.
"That was down largely to the ten or fifteen minute spell when we pulled them about a little bit and in fairness to the Barrow lads they tired obviously because of the work rate they'd put in on a very heavy pitch.
"Gareth (Langford) got on the score sheet. Gareth can get you goals. He had a good chance on Saturday and was unfortunate not to get on the score sheet. He's done well to night but tired at the end of Saturday's game and he tired along with a number of players involved on Saturday. I was trying to keep them going on the touch line but we'll forgive them the last ten or fifteen minutes of the second half when they took the foot off the gas as they'd come through two very tough games in the space of two or three games.
"We spoke after the game that some of our football in recent weeks has been fantastic and we've been fortunate to have played on some quite firm pitches which suits our football bit as we get into winter there are going to be a number of heavy pitches like that tonight and we are going to face sides like Barrow and Blackwell who are going to dig in and work very hard and the disappointing thing for me tonight, although it's difficult to criticise we your sat on the touch line and you don't know difficult it is on the pitch, is that we gave the ball away so cheaply at times today whereas in recent games the passing and the movement and the fluidity we had has been good.
"But, I guess we been blessed in recent times with some of the football we've played but we've got to get used to maybe digging in a little bit and maybe scrapping some games out when we are not always going to be able to play nice football on these sorts of surfaces.
"Obviously the pitch was very heavy tonight. It was touch and go whether it would be on or not. There was a four o'clock pitch inspection and it was just about playable and then we've had a deluge for over an hour tonight which hasn't don't it much good."
