Pre-Season Friendly
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 28th July 2018, 3.00pm
Gresley Suffer Another Pre-Season Defeat
A young Gresley side can consider themselves a tad unlucky to be on the end of a three-nil defeat having given their Evo-Stik Premier side a stern test at the Moat Ground.
With quite a few first team players absent for various reasons, several reserve team and youth team were called into the squad along young keeper from Burton Albion, Jack Livesey.
Livesey was soon in action making a good block to deny the lively Jamie Jackson and he was called upon on 24 minutes diving to his left to push away former Moatman Shaun Harrod’s goal-bound header from Jordan Chappell’s free kick.
Matlock took the lead on 34 minutes when a long punt up field saw the bounce on the hard surface beat a defender and picked up by Jackson who got the better of his marker before slipping the ball past the exposed Livesey.
Early in the second half Town had a chance to double their advantage when Charlie Dawes was brought down in the area by Cameron Steele. Harrod chose to take the kick but the striker was denied by Liversey who, diving to his left, pushed the ball away. The keeper then made an even better save pulling off a Gordon Banks denying Pele type of save to keep his side in the game.
At the other end it was the turn of the Gladiators keeper to bring out a good save denying Steele his attempt on goal while his opposite number was denying Dawes with the action swinging from end to end. Livesey was on form again this time blocking a shot from Jackson.
Gresley went agonisingly close to levelling the score when substitute Mitchell White smashed Mark Branch’s corner on target only to see his effort blocked on the line by one of three defenders with the keeper beaten.
Matlock’s second goal was a fortunate one. A long ball down the right saw a race to get to it and a trialist got the slightest of touches as the Gresley keeper raced out and the ball rolled into the unguarded net.
Eric Graves had a decent effort clatter the bar after he had capitalised on a mistake by substitute keeper Jordan Pierrepont his follow up from the rebound dropped just over the bar.
A quick break saw Matlock fly down the other end and the resultant cross from the right was tapped home by yet another trialist from a yard out.
Graves must have been thinking it was not going to be his day when the makeshift striker saw his header from a Branch freekick fly narrowly wide with the keeper rooted to the spot.
Gresley substitute keeper, Ben Allsop, did well to make a block and keep the score as it was.
Gresley manager Gary Norton, must now be hoping that most of his absent players will soon be available with only three friendlies remaining before the start of the new league season and the trip to Brighouse for the first game.
