FA Cup with Budweiser 1st Round Qualifying
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 14th September 2013, 3.00pm
Cup Of Joy For Gresley
Tyrone Kirk's goal nine minutes from time led to a frantic finale but Gresley managed to hold on and will have their name in the hat for Monday's draw after a brace from Marc Goodfellow and a goal from Dean Oliver saw them through to the next round.
However, the victory came at some cost as Mitch Hanson, James Jepson, Rob Spencer and Lucas Harrison all collected injuries during the game.
Oliver was back after recovering from a bout of sickness which saw him miss the previous two games and Hanson had recovered from his knee injury. The two new signings Charlie Wilson and Harry Austin were both given a place on the bench.
Gresley started brightly and were close to taking a very early lead but Eric Graves' effort just cleared Eastwood's bar. Jepson went close firing wide but on five minutes they got the breakthrough when Kieran O'Connell's shot was blacked and eventually came back to Oliver who smashed the ball home.
They went close to adding another moments later but a final touch at the far post eluded the Gresley players.
The lead lasted just over ten minutes when Gregory Simmons was put through and he finished coolly. The Badgers were the width of the post away from taking the lead when a free kick from Kieran Wells flew across the area and skimmed the outside of the far post.
Spencer was forced to leave the pitch with just three minutes of the first half remaining suffering from a hamstring injury to be replaced by Danny Holmes and within a minute of the change Graves had a chance but fired at the keeper.
Gresley came out for the second half in a determined mood. Oliver made a run down the right and his cross to Harrison was powerfully hit but the rising shot cleared the bar. Graves then provided a cross from the left which Oliver met with a header which needed tipping over by Alex Malong.
The home side were applying pressure on the visiting defence and it paid off on 49 minutes when Graves fed the ball on for Goodfellow who beat Malong with his shot to regain the lead.
Goodfellow almost added a third when he robbed a defender of the ball just outside the area and then proceeded to try to lob the keeper but the effort barely cleared the bar.
The third goal Gresley's play deserved came when Badgers' substitute Russell Peel brought O'Connel down in the area. Goodfellow took the kick cheekily chipping the ball over Malong from the spot.
Hanson, who had an Achilles injury, limped off to be replaced by Matt Roome and a couple of minutes later Jepson also limped off with Sam Grice coming on.
Eastwood began to come back into the game with Richard Whyman firing wide they then made a change and the lively Tristram Whitman replaced Tyrone Burton and was to have a say in the final third of the game but it was Gresley who went close again with Oliver hitting a low shot which Malong did well to save down to his bottom right corner.
Whitman, who had been causing a few problems for the Gresley back line, sent over a superb cross to Kirk who was in space in the area and his first time shot beat Ross Etheridge.
Harrison, who had been struggling for the final half hour, bravely carried on as all the Gresley substitutes had been used but his clearance almost at the end of the game was the last straw and he was helped off suffering from a thigh injury but the Moatmen held out.
Manager's View
"That was arguably our best performance so far. We started well and for the first seventeen minutes we were on top and dominating the game but we allowed them back into the game and they got their tails up from that.
"We were disappointed to lose Rob Spencer so we had to go to a four-three-three which matched them.
"In the second half we did well. We bossed the game and controlled it for large periods and we put our chances away. I don't think Marc Goodfellow was having one of his better games until he scored and then he came to life and that's what we want. One of the biggest differences today was having Dean Oliver back, having someone up there we could hit and hold the ball up. But, what can you do when players are unwell? You can't pluck Dean Olivers from all over the place.
"Now we have Charles Wilson who has joined us up front. Charles was at Birmingham City for three years, got released and has been at Vauxhall Motors of the Conference North but couldn't get in the side. He was looking for a club so he came to training on Thursday, we had a good look at him and liked what we saw.
"We've also signed local lad Harry Austin. Harry can play left back, wide left and has also don a stint at centre half as well. He did very well at training. We were going to arrange a game next week to have a further look at him but with the injuries we've picked up today it makes it a bit difficult.
"Another thing in the second half when Lucas Harrison went down it meant for thirty minutes we were down to ten men but i thought Lucas showed tremendous courage in what he did for us and showed that grit and determination we felt we got from all the team today.
"We have been talking to Derby regarding our keeper Ross Etheridge. Derby have agreed that the loan can be extended. I had the horrible task today of telling Gary Hateley the news. Obviously Gary is not happy; I wasn't expecting him to be. Gary is a good friend of mine so it was especially hard for me but I've made the decision now. I don't know what Gary will do. I'd imagine that he will move on for regular football but Ross has done well for us and that's why we were keen to keep him with us.
"Looking ahead to the next round of the cup I'm not bothered who we get. We are concentrating on our next league game which is away at Goole and we've got to focus on that. We've got another win but we need wins in the league as well as the FA Cup. It's great for the money but if you look at our league position it's not good enough.
"The players have shown how good they are. People have got to realise it's a bit of a rebuilding we are doing at the club. We realised last year that we'd have to bring new players in and we had to go around looking for players who are not going to cost us an arm and a leg so we have to be very careful in who we pick. If you look at the team today compared to last year I think there were seven changes. It takes time.
"Unfortunately, Royce Turville is going to out for between six to eight weeks his knee is not that good. Jordan Nadat is now in full training. We are going to try and get him a few games somewhere if not with the reserves we may loan him out. We need to get him back with us because he gives us another option up front."
