Pre-Season Friendly
Chewton Street, Eastwood
Saturday, 13th July 2019, 3.00pm
Gresley Rolled Over By Eastwood
This was a game best forgotten and forgotten quickly.
Make no bones about it, Eastwood thoroughly deserved their win but by six goals was a little harsh especially on the young reserve and youth team players that played most of the second half.
Another game on a 3G pitch which gave some strange bounces throughout the surface after having its rubber crumb applied during the week.
With keeper Dan Crane on a family occasion, Gresley manager, Gavin Hurren, gave young keeper Regan Saunt the number one shirt.
Gresley could have quite easily have been two or three goals to the good if they had taken their chances with Paul Sullivan’s header from Jacob Sturgess’ cross, straight at the keeper.
Sullivan went close again a minute later but his shot from the right flew across the face of goal and agonisingly wide of the far post. It was then the turn of Sturgess to go close heading Jordan Fitzpatrick’s just wide of the target.
Eastwood were yet to have a shot on target but when the did they took the lead. On 29 minutes a speculative shot from distance seemed to take a bounce just in front of the diving Saunt and the ball went over his body and into the net.
Gresley continued to apply pressure on Eastwood’s defence forcing four corners in the final 10 minutes of the first half but they could not take advantage.
The unlucky Jake McIntosh suffered an ankle injury and was replaced by McLane Durdey on 39 minutes.
A free kick by Fitzpatrick went straight into the midriff of keeper McDonald as the first half drew to a halt.
During the second half, Hurren made many changes which seemed to disturb the Gresley side and Eastwood took full advantage.
On 51 minutes Eastwood doubled their advantage when some slack defending allowed substitute Webb to rise unchallenged and head strongly past Saunt.
Eastwood were slowly taking charge of the game forcing two corners, but Gresley’s Westwood warmed the hands of McDonald with a shot from 20 yards.
More corners from Gresley failed to result in anything positive in the host’s box the nearest coming from a good run down the left by Devante Reittie ending with a shot narrowly wide of the near post.
The final 15 minutes proved to be a bit of a disaster for the tiring Gresley side as Eastwood rattled in four goals with just one on the scoreboard for the visitors.
One of the best moves of the game saw a good cross from the left fly across the face of goal where Webb smashed the ball into the roof of the net at the far post.
On 79 minutes Gresley scored what was to be a consolation goal when Reittie was hacked down in the are with the referee not hesitating to point to spot. Reittie brushed the rubber crumb off himself and hit his kick into the bottom corner.
Any faint hopes of a comeback were dashed when the Gresley defence were caught napping as a through ball was competently finished by Waston slipping it past Saunt.
On 86 minutes goal number five. The impressive Webb beat the Gresley defence down the left and cut into the box before drilling a powerful shot past Saunt.
With Gresley looking a well beaten side Eastwood rubbed salt in the gaping wound by ending the game with a sixth goal. A corner from the right saw the tall Frizelle put his free header into the net.
Lessons have to be learned from this game but now’s the time to get games like this out of the system before the start of the new campaign.
