FA Vase 3rd Round
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 5th December 2009, 3.00pm
Glorious Gresley
For Gresley this was the biggest game of the fledgling club's short history and they didn't let anyone down as the put one of the favourites out of the competition.
Substitute Rob Spencer sent the Gresley supporters into raptures as he knocked in what proved to be the winner on 71 minutes.
Gresley started well and had Spennymoor Town back on their heels for the first twenty or so minutes with Brian Woodall's free kick and a shot from Royce Turville both warming the hands of visiting keeper Craig Turns early on.
On 8 minutes a Gresley corner from the right picked out Gareth Langford in the 'd' and he hit a tremendous shot that needed a brave block from a Town defender. Minutes later another block denied Woodall as Gresley threatened.
Slowly but surely Town came more and more into the game playing some fine swift passing football and Keith Graydon tried his luck with a free kick from 30 yards that sailed over the bar.
Both defences and midfielders were working hard as good moves were broken down before they proved to be of any danger.
On 33 minutes Town had a good chance but the dangerous Gavin Cogdon could only fire into the side netting.
Spennymoor looked far more like the side their position at the top of the Northern League demanded and they started to take control of the early stages of the second period.
Anthony Peacock fired just wide before a swift and accurate passing move saw the visitors break out of defence and onto the attack but as the Gresley defence pushed up Cogdon saw Gresley keeper off his line but his attempted chip went straight into Gary Hateley's hands.
Hateley then pulled off a breath taking save on 53 minutes clawing the ball out of the top corner as Cogdon looked an absolute cert to score. From the resultant corner Ian Dixon planted a header just wide of the upright.
Spennymoor continued to have the upper hand and missed a golden chance on 64 minutes when a cross from Kallum Griffiths found Cogdon in acres of space in the areas but the striker disappointingly put his header over the bar.
Credit to both sides as they tried and succeeded to play football on the deck despite the heavy pitch and slippery conditions.
Gresley settled and began to apply pressure of their own and the visitors had their keeper to thank on 68 minutes as he made a fine double save firstly from Lyons and then from Woodall.
The goal, which proved to be the winner, came on 71 minutes. A shot from the edge of the box was once more blocked by Turns but somehow substitute Rob Spencer, who had only been on the pitch five minutes somehow managed to push the ball home at the foot of the near post despite the valiant attempt from a Town defender to try and clear the ball off the line.
Gresley almost doubled their advantage when Woodall's tremendously hit shot was blocked and the follow up shot superbly pushed away for a corner by Town's man-of-the-match Turns.
Going into the final ten minutes as expected it was all hands to the pump as Spennymoor looked for the equaliser and it took a sterling effort from every Gresley player to withstand the final onslaught but they did and the home side find themselves in the hat on Monday.
Manager's View
"That performance was down to the team more than me! There been a few memorable ones here Hinckley in the FA Trophy a few years ago and it was a few years ago but we are delighted with that one today.
"We were massive underdogs going into the game playing the favourites in the whole competition. Someone told me last Sunday that they were joint second favourites 12/1 and it shortened in the week as a lot of money went on them and it was down to 8/1 and we were there at 50/1. And I don't think many people outside of the local vicinity were giving us a chance.
"The guys executed the game plan to a tee. The idea was to try and keep compact because we knew what a good side they were from the work we've done on them - their interplay and their passing.
"We've had a little bit of luck today as well because they had some decent half chances. Gary (Hateley) made a good save which was as good as a goal but having said that for the first twenty minutes I thought we were the better side and the last twenty minutes of the first half I thought they started to pull us about a little bit and we did well to go in at nil-nil at half time.
"But second half it was more of a battle and they seemed to be the team on top but we managed to get the goal and defended brilliantly to keep the clean sheet.
"Rob Spencer got the goal and he's delighted in the dressing room. He's the hero of the hour; hero of the club and he's cleaning my boots now just to bring him back down to earth.
"That goal will give Rob's confidence a massive boost. He's had an injury and he's had some work commitments but Rob's a fantastic player and a massive asset to us and while we've been playing this formation of late, Rob and Stefan (Marshall) who also has had some injury problems, have been waiting patiently on the bench but what an asset to bring on.
"It was a bit of a risk to bring Jordi (Gough) off but he's been ill in the week. He went for a run last night and said he felt alright but he was tiring a bit and giving the ball away so we brought Rob on and switched Brian (Woodall) over to the right and Rob pops up with the winner.
"Rob will be the first to say it's not about who got the goal but about the fact that it was a great team performance. Every single one of them were the man-of-the-match today.
"Since Gareth Langford's been at the club we've never played him in there and we didn't want to adjust the system even though Martin Gadsby been doing well for us but we know from previously what Gareth can do in the middle of the park and we spoke to him in the week about the role we wanted him to do and I thought he did it really well. He broke things up, he put his head on things and he picked up where Martin left off.
"He had to come off near the end. He made a smashing tackle in the box and he came of worst and has done his ankle and we'll have to see how he is for Tuesday night. It's important to enjoy tonight and as soon as we wake up tomorrow we'll be preparing for a league cup quarter final on Tuesday night.
"Jack Coulson missed last weekend as he was out of the country and Gareth played very well in there and kept us a clean sheet. We were a little worried about throwing Jack back there but in view of the fact that we had to put Gareth in midfield and we've still got Mark Blount injured we really didn't have much choice but Jack and Jamie (Barrett) did fantastic today as did the whole back four and that was probably the hardest earned clean sheet of the season.
"If we could get a home draw in the next round that would be fantastic for us. There are still a lot of very good sides still left in the competition but to get into the last thirty two of a national competition is fantastic for the club, fantastic for Gresley FC in terms of our fledgling season and one or two more people will now sit up and take notice.
"There are still some good sides left in the competition who we'd like to avoid but as said in the build up to this if you are going to do anything in this competition you've got to beat some good sides and Spennymoor are a good side, they are a fantastic side.
"They are very well supported which is a credit to the region and they will go on from strength to strength and let's not forget as much as we really, really, really deserve defensively the performance today we had a little bit of luck. They had some good chances but weren't firing on all cylinders and on another day it might have been another story but we'll take it and enjoy it and today was our day.
"We had magnificent support today. It was fantastic vocal support. I don't know how many of that was made up from Spennymoor but we are desperate to attract some people back to Gresley. The past has gone and whatever happened in the past to cause people to stay away those reasons have gone now. Get behind your new club and let's take the journey together.
"We had one of the junior teams as mascots today and that's something the chairman and the board really want to make this club a community club and not just say we are a community club but back it up.
"A lot of hard work has been done to make those links with the reserves, youth and junior sides and it's important to us and the kids and hopefully it adds one or two more on the gate as well."
