Evo-Stik South
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 28th October 2017, 3.00pm
Gresley Have To Settle For A Point
Gresley managed to keep their un-beaten league run going - but only just!
It was always going to be a tough encounter with both sides desperate for points as both sit in the bottom two places in the league. Neither team wanted to lose but whereas last Saturday it could be argued that Gresley hardly deserved the three points this week they did but in the end had to be content with just a share of them.
Unfortunately, again the officials were a talking point with some, let's say, interesting decisions throughout the game.
Gresley manager Damion Beckford-Quailey was able to name an unchanged side to face a vastly changed side from the one they faced at Sutton Coldfield in September with just 4 remaining in the side that won 1-0 and one of those was on the bench.
The homeside almost took the lead on 14 minutes when Louis Danquah made a run down the left and hit a fine shot which cannoned off the corner of bar and post. Ryan Robbins tested the keeper with a shot which visiting keeper Matthew Sargent could not hold but unfortunately there was no Gresley player to take up the loose ball.
Gresley continued to apply the pressure forcing corners but that pressure told in the 29th minute. Reece Morris who was getting his usual attention by opposition teams managed to get the better of his big marker Louis Harris before turning and hitting a low shot past Sargent. Robbins then went close to adding a second goal heading Tom Manship's cross straight at the keeper.
The first attempt on goal by the visitors ended with the equaliser. Melbourne had been fouled just inside the Gresley half but amazingly the referee Mr Shepherd gave the free kick the other way. The kick from the left was whipped into the box with pace and Cameron Lee managed to get in front of his marker before heading powerfully home from close in.
Gresley went agonisingly close to regaining the lead on the stroke of halftime. Manship swung a corner in from the left but Alvin Jarvis's header flew just past the far post.
Another moment of controversy denied Gresley a goal. On 50 minutes Danquah made another good run down the left and cut the ball back to Matt Melbourne who hammered the ball into the roof of the net. However, the upraised flag from the assistant referee cut short the celebration wrongly as the ball had definitely been passed back to Melbourne so not in an offside position.
A rare second half shot on goal from Romulus gave Gresley keeper Callum Hawkins something to do as he dived to his right to deny Jordan Francis.
Yet another poor decision from the officials saw a successful quick break for the visitors. Another foul in the Romulus half which should have seen a Gresley free kick was ignored and Mr Shepherd bizarrely waved play on. The ball was played forward to Jack Jeys who managed to shrug off the attentions of Josh Egginton before slipping the ball past the onrushing Hawkins.
The visitors should have added another goal a couple of minutes later. A cross from the right by Francis found Harry Harris in the middle of the box but embarrassingly he somehow managed to put the ball over the bar from a couple of yards out for surely the miss of the season!
Morris was still getting unwanted attention from the Romulus players but this time Drew Alton fouled him just once too often receiving the game's first yellow card. The resultant free kick taken by Jason Law, who had replaced Alvin Jarvis, whistled just over the bar.
Gresley got their deserved equaliser with ten minutes remaining. A corner from the left by Manship came over to Law who fired a low cross into the box and Keenan King tapped it home at the far post for just about his first touch of the game after replacing Danquah 60 seconds earlier.
It was no more than Gresley deserved. Indeed, they had chances to win the game. A blatant hand ball in the Romulus penalty area was waved away by Mr Shepherd and then deep into time added on, a corner from the left was headed towards goal at the far post by Dexter Morris-Clarke which Sargent managed to block for a corner.
