Pre-Season Friendly
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 3rd August 2013, 3.00pm
Gresley Hit Vics For Six
Gresley rattled in six goals as they overcame a stubborn Borrowash Victoria side at the Moat Ground with goals from Dean Oliver (2), Marc Goodfellow (2), Sam Grice and Jamie Barrett.
With Gary Hateley away Gresley played young keeper Alex Townsend but it was his opposite number Charlie Mansfield who was the first to be called into action. A stinging shot was spilled and Oliver followed up smartly hitting the ball into the net.
Vics had a chance to level when a free kick by Lee Mitchell was headed just wide of the far post but minutes later Gresley doubled their advantage when Oliver, who had collected the ball on the right, chipped the keeper who was off the line and the ball sailed over Mansfield's head and in to the net off the base of the far post.
To their credit Borrowash kept up their work rate and grabbed a goal back when Dave Hind's low shot flew past Townsend. They got a deserved equaliser soon after when a good move down the left ended with Hind setting up Callum Thompson who made no mistake to level the score.
Dean Wither was inches away from regaining the lead for the home side when he hit Oliver's pass from the left just wide of the far post.
The first half ended with Borrowash having two chances to take the lead. Firstly a cross from Chris King was met by Hird who hit a thunderous shot which Townsend was equal to tipping the attempt away and then Hind himself went close with a flicked header which whistled past the far post.
Gresley assistant manager Steve Titterton made changes at the break and one of the substitutes made an immediate impact. Marc Goodfellow, on the pitch for less than a minute, hit a shot which was too hot for Mansfield to handle and the ball ended up in the net.
John Guy went close planting a header over the bar and substitute Richard Hanslow putting a shot also over the bar.
Fellow substitute James Jepson sent a superb long diagonal over to Hanslow on the right who in turn slipped the ball inside to another substitute Royce Turville who beat the keeper with his shot but not the bar and the ball cannoned out but Grice was quick to react and smashed the ball into the net.
Gresley's superior fitness was starting to tell and Eric Graves made a run into the area where he was chopped down giving the referee no option but to point to the spot. Goodfellow took the kick sending Mansfield the wrong way.
Turville thought he'd got his name on the scoresheet when he lobbed the keeper, but somehow Mansfield managed to get a fingertip to the ball pushing it away for a corner.
From the resultant flag kick the ball came back and an inviting ball was sent into the box and Barrett was there to accept the offer powering his header into the top corner.
Turville went close again the dying minutes of the game when he connected with John Guy's low cross from the left but Mansfield managed to block the shot with his legs.
Manager's View
"This was the best result of the pre-season so far. After the first twenty, twenty- five minutes of the game you could see how we passed the ball with great purpose and really stretched Borrowash today.
"Dean Oliver scored two cracking first goals but then we let ourselves down for the last twenty, twenty-five minutes of the first half where we let them back into the game. Borrowash got their tails up and there was something there for them and so we went in at half time two-two.
"I said to the lads at half time that we can't allow ourselves to take the foot off the gas and let teams back into the game. So, the aim after half time was to go out there and not concede and put on a good second half performance which we did and thoroughly deserved the six-two win. Everyone played their part and everyone got minutes on the pitch and it was very pleasing.
"For the last couple of games we've been treating them as proper games but today in particular when the lads got in there we'd had the kit put out in a different particular way which we wanted. We are trying different things even the dressing room has got to be tidier so we approach the game in the right manner from whistle one right to the end.
"That showed today. In the last minute we had Hayden Johns our right back putting a cross in for our sixth goal and that spreads throughout the team from when the players arrive to when we leave the club house after a drink to celebrate a win.
"We just had five subs today. Matt Roome who is back from his trip to the States will arrive on Monday so he will possibly take some part on Tuesday. We are an eighteen, nineteen man squad and there will be one or two who might get the first start on the seventeenth but we are not far off.
"It's up to the lads now in the last three friendlies we've got. We've got Graham Street Prims on Monday and then Warrington Town on Tuesday so we'll have a look at that and then our final game we'll start to shape that for the seventeenth. We are about there. We've got Matt Roome to come in and possibly one other as we're still looking for centre half cover. Hopefully we'll have one in on Tuesday to have a look at."
