Evo-Stik Division One South
Central Ground, Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield
Monday, 29th September 2014, 7.45pm
Gresley Win On The Road
Gresley got their first points on the road with a good second half performance at Romulus. Goals from Jack Langston Kieran O'Connell 2 and Alex Steadman ensured the Moat Men travelled back to South Derbyshire with all three points.
Caretaker manager Wayne Thornhill was forced to make a change from the side which beat Rainworth on Saturday with Mitch Hanson unavailable.
Skipper Jamie Barrett returned to the team after missing the previous game and Rob Mulonga came into the starting eleven with Brad Wells on the bench.
The first half was instantly forgettable with very little of note to report except for the downpour, a terrific save from Roms' French keeper Maxime Fondop and how the bounce on the 3G surface was uneven and unpredictable especially when the ball was passed back to the keepers.
Gresley started well forcing two corners but then the game became very bitty with the play constantly stopping and starting. The highlight of the first half came with just over half an hour gone. Luke Edwards fed the ball to O'Connell who hit a low shot which was heading to the bottom corner of the net. Fondop diving full length to his right managed to get a hand to the ball turning it round the base of the post.
Whatever was said in the Gresley dressing room at the half time break had its desired effect as the visitors began to take control of the game and a goal looked odds on to arrive.
Within a couple of minutes of the restart Mulonga tried his luck with a shot from distance which went wide and he then provided a cross from the left which Edwards got his head two flicking the ball to the near post which Fondop fumbled for a corner.
The corner from the right was taken by Lucas Harrison and only half cleared out to Langston who smacked a screamer from 25 yards which left the keeper a mere spectator as the ball flew past him and into the top of the net.
Three minutes later Gresley had doubled their lead. Some good persistent play from Steadman down the right ended with a low cross into the box where O'Connell was waiting to slot the ball home.
Langston almost duplicated his first goal this time from 35 yards but Fondop got down quickly to his left pushing the ball away from the base of the upright.
To Romulus' credit they continued to try and push forward but were finding the Gresley defence a hard nut to crack.
Langston was having a superb game controlling the game from midfield and he again forced another great save from Fondop. He then turned provider with a slide rule pass through to O'Connell who accepted the ball gladly and duly finished the move off slotting the ball home.
O'Connell almost added another goal but was denied as he prepared to shoot by a good tackle in the area. From the resulting corner debutant Kyriakos Themistokleous, who had replaced Mulonga a minute earlier looked to have opened his tally but his shot was deflected for another corner.
Goal number four came when a corner from the right by substitute Brad Wells was not cleared in the Roms' box and Steadman reacted quickly to hammer the loose ball into the net.
Romulus scored a consolation goal with only their only shot on target. Rikardo Reid connected with a cross from the right only to see his effort come back off the far post. Gresley failed to clear the danger and Reid this time made no mistake smashing the ball home from inside the area.
A couple of minutes later Gresley should have been given the chance to restore their four goal advantage when Steadman raced into the area and around the keeper but as he went to put the ball away Fondop clearly brought Steadman down in the area. Amazingly the only people in the ground not to see the offence were the referee Guy Stretton and his assistant who waved the appeals away.
Langston once more tried a shot from distance but it cleared the bar and then Steadman went agonisingly close to scoring again. He raced forward beating Fondop to the ball before poking it towards the open goal but unfortunately it hit the base of the far post and cleared by a defender.
As the referee was about to end the game Gresley had one last chance to increase their score. Young Gresley substitute Ryan King did well down the right to hold onto the ball before passing to Themistokleous whose shot on the turn narrowly cleared the bar.
Manager's View
"The first half was a bit of a non event. However, it was still kind of pleasing because they didn't have a shot on target and our keeper didn't have anything to do.
"Our back four and midfield four were solid. We created one or two bits and pieces and looked a little bit threatening without creating any chances in the first half.
"We came in at half time and re-organised. I had a little word with them and we adapted how we played and we created numerous chances and hit the back four times so that was a good finish to the game for us.
"Jack Langston has been playing well this year. His fitness is up which helps him get about the pitch. However, sometimes Jack is more effective if he stands still and passes the ball and keeps his shape which he did in the second half.
"I actual fact the goal came from him sitting and as the ball came out he hit it sweetly and put it into the top corner. He's a different Jack Langston to last year. He's wanting to get fit and wants to improve and he is doing.
"Jack and Eric Graves are striking up a really good partnership. They are beginning to know where each other is which is a bonus. That is why consistency is good for picking your team. It's not always easy to change your team after a couple of victories but we do need to keep it fresh.
"We've got a talented squad. We brought the young Cypriot lad on Kyriakos Themistocleous who did exceptionally well and showed us a few nice things. Young Ryan King came on worked very hard and also showed some nice things too.
"Rob Mulonga has been very patient. He's very bright, quick and has some good feet. He's still learning the game and can be very effective. Rob provides good crosses but what I want him to know it to start adding goals to that.
"Kieran O'Connell is a very important player for us. He sits just behind the front man and pulls the strings and gets on the ball. He has a bit of a free role but he creates things and makes things happen. Even if he's not doing that, he's a voice and uses his experience getting around the pitch helping people. I've tried to get him in a more central position and we are seeing the benefits now, he's in the centre of goal and he's scoring goals."
