Pre-Season Friendly
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Tuesday, 7th August 2012, 7.45pm
Badgers Bite
Looking at the score you would think Gresley had been thoroughly turned over by their Evo-Stik Premier visitors Eastwood Town but that was not the case at all with the score line quite flattering in the end.
Gifted three goals by the home side it could well have been a different story altogether as Gresley could have been at least three goals ahead by half time with two chances that should have been finished and a controversially disallowed goal.
The fist of those golden chances fell to Phil Massingham on 11 minutes when he latched onto a woefully short back pass by a defender to his keeper but after racing through with just the keeper to beat unfortunately fire wide of the post.
A minute later Massingham hit a shot that the keeper fumbled and Rob Spencer was on hand to stab the ball home. However, referee Kev Wright had very harshly awarded a free kick for an apparent hand ball so the goal was disallowed.
Marc Goodfellow then went close when he noticed the keeper off his line but the attempt went wide. Goodfellow than dribbled his way into the area but the final shot from a good position went high and wide.
Gresley were to rue those misses as Eastwood began to come back into the game and took the lead with their first shot on target on 26 minutes when the home defence allowed Greg Simmons to run through the middle before beating keeper Andy Taylor with a low shot.
Richard Hanslow almost equalised after Massingham had sent Spencer racing down the right before sending a low cross into the area but Hanslow's shot was cleared off the line.
Goal number two for the visitors was scored by former Moatman Paolo Pilero two minutes before the break but from the re-start Jepson tried an audacious lob from the centre spot which bounced off the bar with the referee convinced the keeper had got a finger to. From the flag kick Michael Nottingham went close heading just over the bar.
Another piece of poor defending saw Curtis Shaw allowed the time and space to cut in from the right unchallenged before firing past Taylor.
On 69 minutes it was 4-0 when Taylor hesitated slightly coming out to try and clear the ball and was beaten but the Eastwood player took the ball out to the edge of the area before finding substitute Paris Simmons who made no mistake firing into the net.
Eastwood's fifth and final goal came as a result of another mistake. Taylor came out for a cross but failed to collect the ball giving Paris Simmons the easiest chance of the night which he gleefully took has he fired home into the unguarded net.
With the game coming to an end Gresley had one more chance to get on the score sheet. Substitute Kyle Bryant made a fine run down the right but his shot flashed across the face of the Eastwood goal.
