Evo-Stik Division One South
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 13th September 2014, 3.00pm
Goals Galore At The Moat
Scott Hellewell was left in sole charge of Brigg Town as fellow joint manager Scott Barlow left the Zebras earlier in the week but I bet he wished he hadn't as he saw his side absolutely decimated by a rampant Gresley side at the Moat Ground as they broke their highest scoring record since their formation in 2009.
The home side was three up by the break and then ran in another seven goals in the second half and in all honesty there could have been several more.
Wayne Thornhill made a couple of changes to his starting eleven with Eric Graves coming back in and Luke Edwards taking the striker's role after signing for the club before the deadline.
Edwards made an instant impact and could have opened his Gresley account with less than a minute on the clock. He made a good run into the area holding off a defender but his shot flew just past the far post.
Edwards then set up Gresley's opener. A good run down the line ended with a cross into the box where Kieran O'Connell was waiting to slot the ball home at the near post.
O'Connell then had a good chance to have doubled both his and Gresley's lead but he miss kicked his shot after Brad Wells had beaten the keeper Jody Barford to the ball, skipped around him and laid the ball back.
Wells then had two chances within a couple of minutes. First he headed a cross from the left wide of the far post and then replicated his effort this time from a free kick by O'Connell. In between John Guy fired in a shot which was held by Barford.
Barford then made his side's afternoon so much more difficult. Wells raced into the area and as he got the better of Barford the keeper brought him down giving the referee Mr Cairns the easy task of pointing to the spot and showing the inevitable red card.
Full back Brett Lucas took the keeper's jersey and his first task was to try and prevent Mitch Hanson from converting the spot kick which he didn't do as Hanson sent him the wrong way.
Brigg now had a mountain to climb as they had to play the next 70 minutes with just ten men.
To Lucas's credit he began his role as a goal keeper very competently saving well from Edwards' low drive but he couldn't do anything about Gresley's third goal. O'Connell collected the ball on the left cut across the area and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner.
A rare attempt for the Zebras came and went when a corner from Anthony Bowsley was headed well wide.
Edwards went close again putting a shot over the bar and then Jack Langston forced Lucas to juggle his shot away and then another Langston shot this time forced the keeper onto to the floor as he pushed the strongly hit ball into the air catching it sitting down.
Lucas once more denied Edwards pushing a well stuck low shot away at the base of the far post.
Gresley started the second half where they'd finished the first mainly camped in the opposition half. Langston tested Lucas again before Edwards fired wide of the far post.
Alex Steadman then fired wide but a further goal for Gresley which looked certain to arrive came on 54 minutes.
O'Connell raced down the right and his cross was perfect for Eric Graves who ran into the box putting his flying header into the net at the far post.
Edwards, who made a fine run down the left, was denied by the legs of Lucas but goal number five came minutes later.
Steadman made a dash through the middle and picked out Guy to his left who in turn coolly chipped the ball past Lucas and into the far corner of the net. That was almost Guy's last play as he hobbled off the pitch with an injury caused by Timothy Taylor who he'd nut megged minutes earlier.
Martin Smyth who had replaced Graves five minutes earlier scored arguably the goal of the game when he struck a pile driver of a shot from 20 yards that despite getting two hands on the ball Lucas couldn't prevent from going over his head and into the net.
Fellow substitute Rob Mulonga added goal number seven when he controlled a loose ball before hitting it past Lucas for his first goal for the club.
Three minutes from time Smyth hit a shot which was put into his own net by the unfortunate Paul Ashton to give Gresley their eighth goal.
The final two came in time added on. Lucas was left red faced when he totally miss kicked his attempted clearance giving Wells the chance to follow the ball towards goal before making sure it ended in the net.
With the Moat Ground faithful asking for ten, it duly arrived a minute later and it was another well struck shot from Smyth which beat Lucas and nestled into the bottom corner.
Manager's View
"It was an excellent game up at Brigg last season on a good pitch. This pitch today is good; the Moat ground isn't too bad. I've seen it in worse conditions!
"As I've said previously we are a passing team and we can move the ball around for fun at times. Today it was difficult to keep our concentration at time with the amount of chances we did miss but still to score the amount we did was excellent.
"We've been chasing a centre forward as we've been crying out for one since the start of the season really. We got Luke today. He's not fit and I toyed whether to start him or not but I asked him to give me as much as he could and he certainly did that.
"I was a little disappointed for him that he did not score but that's all that was missing. We've now got a centre forward that we can build on and with our possession, keeping the ball and the chances we create he'll get loads of goals.
"The referee didn't have any option with the sending off. We started very well even before he got sent off and we missed five or six chances. Two of which I thought very good chances. Brad Wells went through on goal one-on-one and he made a nice little dummy and the keeper went down but unfortunately rules are rules and we got a penalty and they had a man sent off. Mitch Hanson took the penalty well and then we started to build from there and took over the game.
"There stand-in keeper didn't look out of place when he went in goal. He made some good saves. We shouldn't be allowing him to make those saves but make them he did. We carried on and it was only three-nil at half time but it could have been more.
"We've got some characters in the dressing room and we got among them at half time and they got a hatful of goals in the second half.
"Looking ahead to next week we will be without John Guy and Jamie Barrett but we have a couple of irons in the fire! We've put seven days in for a centre half and I'm waiting to speak to him possibly tonight or tomorrow and we'll see what we can do.
"Failing that, we'll prepare with the squad we've got. I'm not sure how we'll go about it yet but we have got options.
"Young Lucas Harrison has been away on a lads holiday and didn't fly back until 4am this morning. We had an issue around the signing of Luke Edwards which was resolved this morning. Lucas would have stepped in if need to but he will be involved next Saturday.
