East Midlands Counties League
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 5th March 2011, 3.00pm
Gresley Made To Work Hard For Points
Gresley had to work to gain their three points against a very determined Radford side who fielded an almost different side from when the two sides met previously back in October.
Manager Gary Norton made several changes from the side that drew at Borrowash in their last game three weeks ago with Danny Holmes taking a midfield slot and Gareth Langford the right back position and Mickey Lyons replacing Rob Spencer. Football League hopeful Brian Woodall back from his successful trial at Dagenham & Redbridge also joined the starting eleven.
The home side made a storming start with Barry Woolley crashing a header against the bar from a corner with less than a minute on the clock.
Royce Turville then tested the visiting keeper James Thelan's resolve with a shot and then he turned provider setting Holmes up for a crack at goal that Thelan managed to block.
Woodall then had two chances well saved by Thelan who palmed the first away at his near post and then reacted quickly to make another good save as Gresley looked very threatening.
However, on 30 minutes Thelan could do nothing to prevent Gresley from taking a deserved lead. Holmes sent Tom Betteridge racing down the left with a superb pass and the winger cut in and blasted an unstoppable shot high into the roof of the net.
Tom Betteridge was just inches away from repeating the effort but this time his shot flashed past the far post with the keeper beaten.
Radford, to their credit, hit back and Gresley keeper did well to push away Matt Panter's very well hit 20 yard free kick.
The visitors where within a whisker of levelling on the stroke of half time. Kevin Whalin's corner from the right was met by the head of Bjorn Taylor and his powerful effort beat Hateley but Jordi Gough was well placed on the line to head away the danger.
The second half started with the playing surface getting trickier with the constant light rain making it very slippery and both sides struggling to find a firm footing.
Gresley should have doubled their score when on 47 minutes Tom Betteridge beat a static Radford backline and raced in on goal only to slip his shot wide with just Thelan to beat.
Shortly after Gresley went close again when Jordi Gough burst through into the area before firing a low shot that went the wrong side of the post.
Radford levelled on 62 minutes when Hateley made a fine block from a shot but could do nothing to prevent Taylor from smashing the rebound in from very close range.
Gresley regained the lead almost from the re-start. A pass through the middle picked out Lyons who in turn found Woodall who cut inside and curled a superb shot past the static Thelan and into the far bottom corner.
On 67 minutes Gresley added a third when Gough threaded an inch perfect ball through to Turville who strode forward before slipping the ball past the onrushing Thelan.
Two minutes later the home side almost added another after a fine passing move ended with substitute Aaron Dillon's dipping shot just clearing the bar.
Gresley looked odds on to add to their total with Holmes firing wide and Dillon powering his header from Woodall's corner just over the bar.
Radford made the last couple of minutes uncomfortable for the hosts by scoring a second goal. A corner from the right was touched onto his bar by Hateley and the ball fell kindly for Matt Ottley who smashed the ball home from three yards.
The game was wrapped up in time added on with the goal of the game. Woodall collected the ball in the centre of the pitch and picked out substitute David Blenkinsopp wide on the right of the area who unselfishly returned a ball into the middle where Dillon performed a terrific scissor kick to fire the ball past a static Thelan and into the bottom corner of the net.
Manager's View
"Today was a hard game and I expected nothing less. Julian has got them scrapping and battling and fair play to him.
"They had a lot of young lads out there and perhaps the fitness told in the end. Having said that they did pull it back to 3-2 right at the end and with four minutes of stoppage time on the clock it was getting a little bit nervy for us.
"I think what undid them was that they scored two goals and we scored within a minute after them and that knocked the stuffing out of them.
"It was a fantastic finish for the last goal but it was a bit unfortunate that especially in the first half we didn't get another couple of goals which I felt we deserved at halftime although we were winning. The dominance and the football we played, and we played some cracking stuff, the chances we made and the saves their keeper made three good ones and we hit the post from a corner in the first minute but I said to the lads at halftime that we'd had to clear one off the line in the forty-fifth minute so we could have come in at halftime despite our dominance level.
"I was worried that the same could happen like at Gedling where we were winning one-nil and dominating the game but wasting chances and we ended up being pegged back right at the end, fortunately that didn't happen today.
"Jordi Gough headed one off the line and that's his job, but with a bit of composure in the final third he could have had a hat trick today. It was great that he got into those positions with some powerful runs, fantastic but what we need to work on now is that bit of composure when he's getting his shots off. He's a very good player and he's improving and when he gets going down that left side getting past players he's a very good player. We're very pleased with Jordi at the moment.
"Brian Woodall will be staying with Gresley for the rest of the season regardless of what happens at Dagenham. If they want to take him, certainly from talking with them, it will be with a view to next season which will be good news because we want Brian to finish the season off with us. He scored an important goal for us just after they'd equalised.
"We'd switched him to the left just before and he cut in and found the corner with a good strike again there were plenty of touches and lots of evidence to show why lots of clubs are looking at Brian. We need that bit of consistency out of him and a few more goals. He's dried up a little bit so it would be nice for him to chip in with a few more goals before the end of the season regardless of what happens.
"We've now got a healthy squad in terms of injuries. I'm sure there are players looking at things with the remaining games of the season. Maybe we'll lose one or two but equally we're in for a couple of players at the moment as well. Matt Hill has had a reserve game today and fingers crossed that went well.
"We've got a decent squad but for a couple moving either way hopefully that squad will get us through to the end of the season. It was important that Danny Holmes who's available for the rest of the season got ninety minutes in today as he's not as fit as he could be but he showed his importance in there with some lovely passing today and hopefully that ninety minutes will have stood him in good stead for next week.
"We tried something different today with Tom Betteridge on the left side. Rob Spencer has been unlucky and obviously people like Adam Betteridge who have been loyal have also been unlucky bit we wanted to try a different shape today. We went back to a four-four-one-one and it worked very well in the first half and Tom's opened the scoring. I think it was a cross which I think he admits, but he's had a hand in the fourth goal as well and I've not seen a goal like that at Gresley for a long, long time.
"A cross from the left and David Blenkinsopp's volley and the ball didn't even touch the floor and Aaron Dillon has smashed it in with a scissor kick and if that's the quality people are paying their money to come and see then there can't be too many people disappointed. Hopefully we can produce a bit more of that quality between now and the end of the season."
