East Midlands Counties League Cup Semi-Final
The Town Ground, Heanor
Wednesday, 24th March 2010, 7.45pm
Cup Exit For Gresley
Gresley manager Gary Norton found himself shorn of most of his first team regulars going into this league cup semi-final at Heanor's ground.
Norton managed to bring in Markell Bailey and Reiss Morley who had played in a couple of games for the club very early in the season and had Andy Elliott recalled from Stapenhill and the still recovering Royce Turville on the bench alongside Micky Lonergan.
On a wet and sloping pitch Gedling made the early chances and from one of these took the lead on 9 minutes. A free kick from the left taken by James Jepson found Graham Epps unmarked who slotted the ball past Gresley keeper Gary Hateley from close in.
Seven minutes later Gresley should have been level when Town's keeper Scott Miles made a hash of trying to catch a high ball on the edge of his area and Chris Gray managed to get to the ball but pushed his effort wide of the far post.
Morley then went close with a shot and then twice in a couple of minutes Town's Ayokunle Abbis found himself with only the keeper to beat but on both occasions hit his final shots well wide of the target.
On 23 minutes Gray headed Bailey's cross from the right straight into the arms of Miles as Gresley began to get back into the game.
Although, on 36 minutes Gedling almost grabbed a second when a cross-cum-shot needed to be pushed away for a corner by Hateley as the ball headed for the top corner.
The second half began with Gedling pressing and a mistake from Adam Betteridge led to a second goal by Epps. Betteridge was robbed of the ball in a dangerous position and the ball played through to Epps who made no mistake slotting the ball past Hately.
Gresley then forced a corner which Jordi Gough whipped in from the left and Jamie Barrett went agonisingly close planting his header just over the bar.
Mickey Lyons pulled a goal back on 54 minutes when he made a great run through the middle before hitting a low shot that beat Miles.
Barrett again went close to scoring but this time headed Gough's corner just wide. At the other end Town went close to adding to their score when Ryan King beat Hateley to the ball but as his looping header looked odds on to end in the net, the keeper managed to race back and claw the ball out of the top corner and away for a corner.
Town were threatening the Gresley defence and were awarded a free kick 25 yards out. Jepson curled a superb free kick over the wall but once again Hateley pulled out a terrific save to deny what would have been the goal of the game.
On 74 minutes yet another controversial refereeing decision went against Gresley. A ferocious shot hit Barrett straight in the face but amazingly referee Mr Howitt adjudged that it had been handled and awarded a spot kick. In Barrett's defence the ball was fired at him from just two yards and if it hit his hands, which it didn't, it surely would have been a case of ball to hand.
Despite Gresley protestations Howitt was not moved and pointed to the spot and Jepson hit an unstoppable shot past Hateley.
Unfortunately, that goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Gresley with just a couple or so half chances from Lyons and Betteridge occurring in the last ten minutes and Gedling content to kick the ball as high and as far as they could.
Manager's View
"The last couple of days have been the hardest I've had to work to put a side out and it wasn't until arrived here tonight and counted the bodies that I was finally happy that we had a team that could give it a go.
"The two new lads I brought in, Reiss Morley played forty minutes for us having signed for us in September and got injured at Radcliffe when we were short of forwards and Markel Bailey I've never seen in my life. He signed for us in September and was going to play in the same game as Reiss at Radcliffe and then we found he was banned but fortunately we retained his registration.
"Had it not been for those two helping us out and I must thank Paul Cox at Eastwood for letting Markel to play with his blessing, we'd have been down to a bare eleven. And that bare eleven would have constitued of Andy Elliott who played ninety minutes for Stapenhill last night and Mick Lonergan, who is 35 years old and hasn't played much football this season.
"I've never had to work so hard to put a side out. We worked it out that with all the players we have registered and there are eleven or twelve regular first team squad members in that along with the reserve lads and other lads we have signed on this season we tried twenty six players who are either injured, cup tied, not signed for the twenty days needed or they were working - unbelievable.
"We put a decent side out and it's just frustrating that we gave a couple of sloppy goals away and then true to form the officiating, or the luck we are having of late a decision that dumbfounds you. You'd like to say 'you've never seen anything like it' but we have on a consistent basis.
"The third goal knocked the stuffing out of us. We were battling to get back in it at two-one and maybe we would have created some half opportunities and they would have been under a lot of pressure and the ref points to the spot when it's nearly knocked Jamie Barrett out hitting him square on the chin!
"It beggars belief that you have a linesman fifteen or twenty yards away and the referee is looking at it, every person on their (Gedling's) bench could see it, the fourth official couldn't, Mick Galloway Gedling's manager said no doubt about it, it wasn't a penalty but we've got to help ourselves by defending better.
"Our target now is to win all our remaining twelve games. It may seem crazy with the run we are in at the moment but we've got to come out of it sometime. These are good players and we went five months unbeaten in the league and into the last eight of a national competition in the FA Vase. We've had a little bit of a bad run and there were a couple of games in there which we lost that we can't complain about injuries but regardless of the injuries the side we put out tonight have got to do a bit better defensively.
"We were experimenting with players playing out of position but we've got to do the basics right and that's the frustrating thing. We've got to put the basics back a soon as we can and it would help if we could get some bodies back from injury.
"Obviously we've got Tom Land back who was cup-tied. We've got one or two more who may come back. Rob Spencer had to drop out at one o'clock today. He'd swapped shifts with somebody and that somebody didn't turn up and rang in sick so Rob was still responsible for the shift and he was devastated that he had to drop out so he'll be back on Saturday.
"Our target is to get as many points as possible. It's still mathematically possible for the league but realistically our aim is to try and pip second place. There's a lot of work to do for that but we've got to try and regroup and look towards next year.
"We've got a couple of players that we can talk to on Friday that we are hoping to bring in with a view to next year and helping us in the last few games of the season.
"We've got to build on the positives of what has been an up and down first season. The expectation when we were winning, in the semi-final of the cup and in the Vase grew to a point where people were expecting us to do something this year and it's looking like we're not going to so we've got to get over that disappointment and drive on.
"We've not made our minds up on players for next year. We've not sat down and had a discussion but the last couple of weeks has allowed us to cast half an eye on next season. I've had a lot of positive messages from some of the lads in the squad who are devastated by the run we are on now and the likelihood of us winning the league seemingly gone, there are a lot of the lads of good quality who have intimated that they want to stick around next year and with one or two additions in certain areas and little changes in the way we play, we can be a little more clinical and ruthless in defending a little more steel and if we can address those things we have confidence that with the existing players or new personnel we are looking to identify then there is no reason why we can't go on next year and have a good season.
"The expectation of the board this year was to have a good season and set ourselves up financially sound for the future but realistically we've got to go and try and win the league next year.
"One or two have asked whether success in the Vase as seemingly cost us because we've only won the two games Anstey and Borrowash since the Vase exit. We just didn't see it coming. Yes we were all disappointed but what it's done for the club financially and I'm not talking big bucks, but what it has done is put us on a financial footing.
"There are a lot of people in this league that think that we throw stupid money around but it's ridiculous. We pay travelling expenses and we're fortunate to be able to do that. There are one or two players in the squad that get a little bit more than that because of the fact that we owed them money from last year but that's it.
"We are financially sound and that's the first time anyone connected with Gresley or Gresley Rovers could say that and that's down to the Vase and the run was absolutely fantastic and getting very nearly a thousand people in the Moat Ground which hasn't been seen for years.
"Looking back with hindsight it may have been nice to have gone a couple of rounds and maybe drop out and concentrate on the league but nobody knows if that would have happened. Barwell are still in the Vase and still doing well in their league so who knows what might have happened. I've really enjoyed the Vase experience but maybe we'll be looking to get out of it a bit earlier and concentrate on the league which is ultimately where we want to be, to be promoted as soon as possible.
"We go into the new season when it comes hitting the ground running. Last year it wasn't until early June that we had a club and we started to build a side essentially from scratch with Carl Slater and Jamie Barrett and starting from there.
"This year we'll go into the new season hitting the ground running. There were a lot of sceptics among the players in terms of coming to Gresley because of what had gone on financially with the old club. Many may be seeing what happened this season before considering joining us. Martin Rowe and I are not going to have any problems attracting the type of players we want at the club in future whereas last year it was difficult because of what had gone on at the club and the stigma attached to Gresley Rovers and the reputation they had in terms of what was going on off the pitch.
"Hopefully, we've all learnt from this experience this year. It's a competitive league and I think people need to give it respect. Management, players and supporters alike have learnt a lot this year and we can't be going into next year saying we are going to romp this league and win all games.
"I've said all along we've got to give every team, every player and every ground in this league the full respect it deserves and certainly from the management and playing side of things we've tried to do that and we've got to lick our wounds and go onto next year.
"Yes, lots of positives but it's difficult to look at them on the back of a disappointing last few weeks. Congratulations to Gedling. Their form since Mick Galloway has come in has been fantastic and he's turned then around and got these lads who play for nothing really working hard and I hope they do well in the final against Dunkirk."
