Coalville Charity Cup 1st Round
Terrace Road, Ellistown
Wednesday, 17th July 2013, 7.30pm
Charity Cup Win For Gresley
Gresley successfully made their way into the next round of the Coalville Charity Cup with a comfortable win against Ellistown & Ibstock Utd.
A hat-trick from Marc Goodfellow and a brace from Richard Hanslow saw off a spirited effort from the hosts who scored with their only attempt on goal.
Gresley started well with Goodfellow having a shot on the turn pushed away by the keeper Sam Taylor. Marc Strzyzewski saw his header cleared off the line from the resultant corner.
The visitors took the lead from a good piece of football. Jordan Nadat threaded the ball through to Dean Rathbone who in turn found Goodfellow who slipped the ball past the keeper.
Gresley almost double the score ten minutes later when Rathbone's chip to the far post was narrowly put wide by Rob Spencer.
Goodfellow then fizzed a shot past the near post moments before Gresley increased the lead. Spencer flicked a header on to Nadat who then laid the perfect ball through for Hanslow who put the ball past the keeper.
The third goal was added early in the second half when Rathbone, who was the through on goal, was brought down by Shaquille Brooks on the edge of the area. Goodfellow took the free kick and drilled the ball past the helpless Taylor.
Both sides made several changes in the second half and it was one of those changes that made Gresley's fourth goal. Dean Withers, who is the latest signing, made a determined run down the left before setting up the perfect ball for Hanslow who took the chance smashing it past Taylor.
Gresley's fifth goal was disputed, not by the opposition, but by the two scorers of the goals. Goodfellow hit a ball that was too hot for Taylor to deal with and he fumbled the ball and it seemed to go over his shoulder before he managed to scoop the ball out to where Hanslow was waiting to ram the ball into the roof of the net. With Hanslow celebrating his hat-trick the assistant referee indicated to the referee that the ball had originally crossed the line before Taylor's attempted clearance meaning it was Goodfellow who celebrated.
The hosts got a consolation goal with the only shot they had on target. A corner from the left by substitute Chris Rudkin was headed home from the middle of the box.
Goodfellow was close to capping a good performance when he noticed the keeper was still returning to the middle of the goal and launched an audacious lob which Taylor just managed to grab hold of.
Manager's View
"It was a bit different to when we were here for the last game of the season. It was a freezing cold night, we played awful and we were really lucky to have come away with a win.
"Tonight we played well. We changed our system again and we'll keep doing that until we are satisfied. We almost kept a clean sheet but Gary Hateley misjudged the ball unfortunately but everything else about the team was good.
"We played Marc Goodfellow in midfield tonight as a bit of an experiment but it came off. We kept working and kept going for the full ninety minutes and that was encouraging.
"Richard Hanslow says the third goal was his but I'll let him and Gooders argue about it but I think Gooders got it in the end and he deserved to have it to be fair.
"When you think we've got John Guy who was working tonight, Eric Graves and Dean Oliver are both injured. Then there is James Jepson to come back and Sam Grice is away on holiday. We have five or six players still to come in along with the squad tonight means I've got some difficult decisions ahead of me to make regarding the starting line-up for the new season.
"The new fixtures have given us a lovely fixture, Mickleover Sports at home. I'm a bit surprised we are not playing it on a Bank Holiday with it being a local derby but we couldn't wish for a happier start being at home as well. It should give us a bit of an advantage but we'll only be starting and it'll be early days for us. We know we've still got a lot of work to do before the 17th but it's coming pretty quickly.
"The following Saturday we travel to Scarborough. At least it will be a nice trip. I'd imagine that a few of us will stop over and make a weekend of it. They play at Bridlington so it will be a lads' night out knowing our lot. When you're going that far it's best to enjoy yourselves and it will be a good test because apparently the Scarborough fans are bragging on the internet that they are going to walk the league so we'll see what they're like.
"To be fair Mickleover will be a good test. I see they've re-signed Liam Walshe and local derbies are always tough.
After the first game we visit Newcastle who beat us at their place last season. We've got to learn to change the way we play if we know we are struggling in games and are not at our very best. We've got to settle for a point instead of gambling all the time but Richard Butler and Wayne Thornhill will work hard with the players. They are with the players three times a week now and we've got to practice our set plays and concentrate on that and ease up a little on the fitness now.
"We've got a couple of players unavailable for the Shepshed game on Saturday. Mickey Lyons and Tom Betteridge are both unavailable but I'm hoping to give James Jepson twenty minutes to half an hour. Dean Oliver is fifty-fifty for the game but John Guy and Eric Graves should be okay to play."
