East Midlands Counties League
The Asterdale Sports Ground, Spondon
Saturday, 25th September 2010, 3.00pm
Woodall Spot On For Gresley
A second half Brian Woodall penalty double helped Gresley to all three points at the Asterdale Stadium.
Gresley looked a little jittery for the first ten or fifteen minutes and if it wasn't for keeper Gary Hateley's fingertip they could have been a goal down after just 4 minutes.
Jordi Gough's late challenge on Kyle Holmes gave away a free kick in a dangerous position. Holmes who had recovered sufficiently curled a good kick over the wall and Hateley at full stretch managed to get a touch on the ball to tip it onto the bar at the expense of a corner.
Three minutes later it was Prims keeper David Kinder who made an almost identical save to deny Gough's stupendous shot hitting the back of the net.
Gresley were still finding it difficult to settle and a slip from Gough allowed Chris Briggs to send over a cross from the right that found Robert Fretwell in acres of space but instead of finding the back of the net with a simple header conspired somehow to put the ball over the bar.
That close call seemed to wake Gresley up and a good move saw Royce Turville set up David Blenkinsopp but the ball seemed to be held up slightly in the long grass and although he managed to get a shot off it lacked power and surprisingly Kinder fumbled the ball but he was let off the hook by a team mate who hoofed the ball away from danger before a Gresley player could react.
Barry Woolley, making his first appearance since returning to the club went agonisingly close for Gresley. A corner from the right by Matt Hill eventually found its way to the big defender who tried to poke the ball home but his effort went the wrong side of the upright.
On 37 minutes Gresley took the lead when a free kick from the right by Gough was flicked on by the faintest of touches by Woolley and Jamie Barrett was on hand to guide the ball home at the far post.
Blenkinsopp went close to extending the lead on the stroke of half time but again the length of the grass seemed to hinder his control and he put his shot wide.
Early in the second half Turville hit a shot straight at the keeper and minutes later Kinder was almost responsible for a Gresley goal when his poor punch came to Woodall who flashed the rebound just wide.
On 57 minutes Gresley were awarded a free kick and Matt Hill slid the ball down the left to Turville who was just inside the area but Kinder came rushing out and brought the striker down giving the referee Mr Purkiss no option but to point to the spot with the keeper counting himself lucky to only have been shown a yellow card for his foul. Woodall took the spot kick smashing the ball down the middle for Gresley's second goal of the afternoon.
Woodall went close again moments later hitting a stinging shot that Kinder did well to block but Turville following up could only manage to fire the rebound wide.
Another moment of slack defending allowed Prims back into the game on 65 minutes. A run down the right by Robert Fretwell should have been dealt with by the Gresley defence but it wasn't and the resultant cross was easily slotted in from close in by substitute Matt Adcock.
Two minutes later Gresley had the ball in the net again when Carl Slater hit a trademark long range thunderbolt only for the referee to disallow the goal for apparently a hand ball from a Gresley team mate.
However, Gresley's next attempt could not be ruled out. Hill's free kick found Turville who then fed a most inviting ball through for Gareth Langford who strolled into the area before coolly smashing his shot past Kinder and into the roof of the net.
On 80 minutes Gresley were awarded their second penalty of the game when Blenkinsopp was crudely hacked down from behind just 12 yards out by Prims substitute Dan Tranter. This time the referee was not so lenient and showed a straight red card for a tackle that could prove costly for the Gresley front man who hobbled away from the game afterwards. Woodall once more smashed the ball home sending the keeper the wrong way.
Prims were now visibly tiring and substitute Richard Hanslow almost made it five with just about his first touch of the game when he latched onto a through ball but with two defenders in close attendance the youngster could put his attempted lob well over the bar.
It was two more Gresley substitutes who combined for the fifth goal. In time added on Mickey Lyons's clever ball through the middle picked out Rob Spencer who controlled the ball superbly just inside the area before finishing what arguably was the goal of the game smashing the ball past Kinder.
Manager's View
"For the most part we were pleased with the reaction from Tuesday night. Obviously you could see in the first period of the game that confidence was a little low as the lads were very down after the result and performance the other night.
"During the nights and days since everyone has had a look at things and with the Greenwood game in the back of our minds we knew things had got to change and we've got to get that consistency I've spoken about all season.
"It was a tentative first half. The nerves settled a little bit with the opening goal from Barry Woolley. He should have actually scored before that when the ball dropped to him six or seven yards out but he put it wide somehow from the previous corner.
"It was still a little bit nervy at half time and we knew on a difficult surface that it would be difficult to get it down and play quick tempo passing football and it wasn't helped by the fact that Prims were very workman like, working hard off the ball and kept their shape fairly well and we didn't really cause them too many problems chance wise.
"Obviously we got the second with the penalty and it seemed to settle us a little bit then what's becoming the custom at Gresley we gave a soft goal away. Jordi Gough had the ball at left back and had lots of time and very little pressure to do something with it but he dwelt on it and got caught and its' resulted in us conceding a goal but fortunately we went on to control the rest of the half and got the goal we needed.
"Every time Gareth Langford plays in midfield he does well for us. The thing I like about Gareth is that he'll give you a good midrange performance at least wherever you put him and you rarely get a bad game and with Richard Butler's imminent suspension and the fact that he picked a knock up in midweek it's giving Gareth an opportunity in there and we were pleased with how we did. We had Gareth in doing some shape work on Thursday in training and he was in there with Carl Slater.
"What Gareth gives you is that he presses the ball very well and he's combative and he'll put a foot in when needed like Richard but he gives us a bit more in the air than Richard does. We were pleased with Gareth today and it was a good battling performance from a number of the lads in actual fact.
"Gareth took his goal really well. He does like to get forward and try to get on the end of things and try and make those breaks from deep positions so I'm please he got on the score sheet and it was a very good performance from him today.
"I said to the lads before I name the side that anyone from the other night could argue if they were left out. I don't expect people to be happy if they're left out the side but they are professional lads and they know it happens at football clubs. You make the changes based on what you see and sometimes for tactical reasons and sometimes based on performances. We've had no adverse reactions from the squad.
"We left Tom Betteridge completely out of the squad today to allow him to fully recover from his calf problem. He was on the bench the other night and could have done a job for us if needed but at training on Thursday he had to drop out of a couple of times to go in and see the physio which gave us an indication that his calf is not fully recovered but with a clear week in terms of no game it gives us the opportunity to clear things up.
"Similarly with Liam Hebberd. Although he's almost fully recovered from his dead leg his groin is very, very tight and we really didn't want to risk him today unnecessarily knowing we've got this clear midweek.
"There are a few knocks in the dressing room. We think David Blenkinsopp may have to go to hospital for an x-ray as he thinks he may have fractured his foot which is obviously a concern and a scare to us so we'll have a look at that. Gareth has hurt his neck from a first half challenge and Carl Slater has gone over on his ankle. At training we'll see who we've got fit and react accordingly.
"Oliver Hancock trained on Thursday and he was one who had to drop out of the work we were doing a couple of times as he is still struggling with his hamstring. I think we've been playing for the last five or six midweeks but with the benefit of this clear week - we haven't involved him in the reserves today - hopefully Olli can get clear. It's frustrating because after recovering from his groin problem he came on and did a cracking job against Radcliffe but unfortunately felt tight hamstrings. He's ahead of schedule but he is injured at the moment so hopefully in the next few weeks he'll be knocking at the door again.
"Chris Bate had a game with the reserves today. Lee Sutton was given the weekend off. We've had an approach for Lee from another club. Obviously he's on the fringe of things at the moment and we've told him we'd like him to stay and fight for his shirt. A lot can happen in a few weeks at a football club. At the moment he's not in the squad but that could change but it's down to Lee. If he decides that he's got the opportunity to play regular games elsewhere - he's a lovely lad with a great work ethic.
"Obviously if David's foot is fractured then that could change the picture and lee could get a sniff again. Lee sensibly wanted the weekend off to think about things and he's done that. Jack Coulson was offered a reserve game today but also had the opportunity to work so Jack's done that.
"We'll get the lads together at training and go on from there but I do expect one or two to leave because of the numbers we have at the moment and they just want to play football. So numbers will probably dwindle over the coming weeks."
