Evo-Stik NPL Division One South
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 16th February 2013, 3.00pm
Unlucky Gresley Slip At Home
Gresley can consider themselves very unlucky not to have had a share of the spoils as they held their high-flying visitors until the last minute of the game when Jordan Yong's strike stole all three points for the Norfolk based side.
Marc Goodfellows second half goal had cancelled out Town's first half lead through Russell Dunkley with Gresley going close to taking the lead themselves.
Gresley made changes to the side that started against Halesowen last week with young keeper George Woodward replacing the injured Gary Hateley. Michael Nottingham was on the bench with Ryan Walker taking his place.
Mickey Lyons came into midfield with Jamie Barrett slotting in at right back. The suspended Phil Massingham was replaced by Louis Hamilton.
Big spending Town were soon stretching the home back line forcing two early corners and from the second Phil Gulliver fired a shot over the bar.
Some good play from Lyons down the right saw him slip the ball to Hamilton who in turn found Royce Turville but the striker's shot also cleared the cross bar.
A slip from Dean Rathbone allowed Stephen Spriggs a chance but his shot brought out the first of a few excellent saves from Woodward. Two minutes later Woodward did well again when he got down to deny Spriggs again.
A clever free kick from Gresley saw Turville head the ball into the area to Marc Strzyzewski who was unlucky to see his header just clear the bar. Turville went inches from giving his side the lead when a good clearing header from Barrett cleared the Town back line and Turville raced after the ball and fired a low shot that beat keeper Danny Gay but unfortunately flew the wrong side of the far upright.
Gresley fell behind in somewhat fortuitous circumstances. A quick break down the right by the lively Spriggs ended with a shot that Woodward did well to palm away but big front man Russell Dunkley managed to bundle the ball into the net.
Town should have doubled their score moments later but after Danny White had laid the ball in nicely to Dunkley in a great position 12 yards out the striker conspired to put his shot well wide of the post.
Goodfellow tested Gay with a low shot which the keeper did well to hold on to at the foot of his post as the first half came to a close.
Gresley looked more determined to get back into the game as they started the second half brightly and they were soon rewarded. Barrett giving his all went into a tackle many would have backed out of and the ball flew into the area to Goodfellow who made no mistake lashing the ball past Gay.
It was no more than the home side deserved but they had Woodward to thank again at the other end when a good overhead kick by Shane Tolley looking certain to fly into the top corner was clawed out by the young keeper at the far post.
James Jepson went close with a powerfully hit low free kick which had Gay scrambling at his near post but it was Woodward again getting the plaudits as he brought out a superb diving save to push Town substitute Daniel Beaumont's shot away for a corner.
Just as it seemed Gresley had done enough to secure a well deserved share of the points a slip from Rathbone allowed Yong to fire a vicious shot from the left across the helpless Woodward and into the far corner of the net.
Manager's View
"I certainly thought we were worth a point. It's really gutting when you give it away like that. I thought we acquitted ourselves quite well and bounced back from last week. We had a bit of a regroup and for the most part we did well.
"Kings Lynn had a few opportunities in the first half but so did we and I thought it was fairly even. Gary their manager next to me at one point thought they should have been out of site but I reminded him that we'd had some opportunities as well and I thought we were unlucky to go in at half time one-nil down.
"Our guys showed lots of character and the goal was a little bit fortuitous I guess. Jamie Barrett put his body on the line and has gone in with a big fifty-fifty and it broke kindly for us and if you want it to fall to one person its Mac Goodfellow. We were assessing him a bit early in the second half because he was complaining of a bit of an injury but fortunately we left him on and he got the equaliser.
"George Woodward has had to make some decent saves and then up the other end there were some half chances for ourselves and could have nicked it or nicked a goal and made the last few minutes interesting.
"Then right at the death we got caught naively defending a corner and we got caught in possession instead of putting the ball back in. We had an opportunity when Dean Rathbone was tracking back. You give fouls away there on the half way line and take a yellow card but in fairness to Dean he tried to stay on his feet. He made a great tackle for the throw-in and he's just exhausted. They took the throw-in and broke and it looked from the bench that Dean was going to block it but I think his legs had gone and couldn't get out and it was a fantastic finish.
"It was gutting and I've got no words to explain. When you're down on a bad little run those things happen to you. I alluded in my programme notes that earlier in the season we had a bit of luck and we're not getting it now. We showed enough character and work-rate today and whilst the result was disappointing there were more positives than in recent weeks.
"I thought we got things bang on today. We wanted to try the 4-4-1-1. We've not used it for a while and some will argue it's a difficult system to play but for the most part we did okay. Royce Turville up front is very, very good in that system and it served us well in the lower leagues when we played it and I thought it gave Kings Lynn some problems with Mickey Lyons in the hole. Perhaps the surface today was not the best to get Mickey in that situation but I thought we did alright.
"Then with twenty minutes to go we switched it to a 4-4-2 to try and get Richard Hanslow up there with Royce and try and nick the game. I thought the changes we made were decent. Ryan walker came in after being patient. Michael Nottingham by his own admission was very gracious when we told him he wasn't in the starting eleven. He said Ryan deserved an opportunity and held his hand up that he hasn't been up to his own standard in recent weeks and a little bit off it. He's not been one hundred percent and was the first to acknowledge that.
"Ryan came in and he did okay. We put Jamie Barrett in at right back. Sam Woods has done really well for us. He's had two games in quick succession after a long time out. He looked a little bit leggy last week so we put Jamie back in there. Danny Holmes wasn't going to make the game at all today but he made it late and went on the bench. We haven't managed to get him on today.
"Louis Hamilton deserved an opportunity today. He came in on the right and showed some really good things. I think the difference today was strength and a little bit of fitness. We lacked a little bit of fitness. If you look at individual players and how they coped on the heavy surface compared to them it was obvious it is an area we need to work on. But, overall the people coming in with the changes took their chances and has given us food for thought.
"We play Ashby Ivanhoe on Tuesday weather permitting and we'll use that game how we were going to use it when we tried to get the game on and use it as an alternative to training to get fitness into those who need it and we need to look at one or two things as well and take it from there.
"We've got Mickleover next week and I'm really pleased that Glen Kirkwood and Craig Hopkins have taken over there. We'll renew our battles from when we were playing Heanor each week. We get on very well off the pitch but on the pitch for ninety minutes the banter between the boxes will be good.
"It's a game we really need to win and the pressure is on us as each week goes by without a positive result. We think we may need sixty eight or seventy points to get into the play-offs. That seems a long way off at the moment but we've got to keep doing what we're doing, re-group and still make this into a positive first season. Coalville are running away with it this season. They had a similar season to us last season and finished mid table. That's not us throwing in the towel. We've got a good group of players and we know where our short comings are. We can add to it in the summer and go on from there but we'll have to see what players we have left. We've had three approaches for players this week."
