Match Report  |  Gresley Rovers vs Selston

By Alfie Burley

A Danny Munday treble inspired Rovers to a 6-1 route over bottom club Selston, a result which sees the Moatmen climb to 3rd in the Midland Premier League table.

In what was a comfortable afternoon for Gresley, they secured their third victory of the league campaign meaning they have, remarkably, equalled their win tally for the whole of the 2019/2020 season.

Munday stole the show with his superb hat-trick, with further goals from Paul Sullivan, David Kolodynski and Aaron Cole ultimately sealing a massive victory for Rovers.

Another heavy defeat for the Parishioners means they have conceded a gut-wrenching 28 goals in their first four fixtures, with early signs showing that they will probably battle against relegation again this year.

The away side’s defensive frailties were nearly punished in the very first minute as the ball somehow didn’t cross the line after crashing off the underside of the crossbar from a Kyle Batchelor shot.

For the first 20 minutes, however, Selston held their own, and even caused a threat themselves going forward. Hearts stopped for the home support as Oliver Roome ran through, but breathed a sigh of relief when Allsop parried his attempt before comfortably saving the rebound from Sean Gregory.

The Selston goal, however, was living a charmed life, and the woodwork was struck again in the 23rd minute when Munday raced onto a through ball from Sullivan before smacking the crossbar with a fearsome drive.

Rovers wouldn’t prove to rue these missed opportunities though, as they took the lead two minutes later. With David Kolodynski’s inital shot having been blocked, Munday was on hand to stroke home into a virtually empty net.

Munday wouldn’t have to wait long for his second goal, either, as Sullivan did extremely well down the right before squaring it to his strike partner. Munday, completely unmarked, had all the time in the world to slot past Branon Meehan and give Rovers a valuable cushion.

With the two-goal lead secured, Rovers continued to dominate possession without creating any real clear-cut opportunities, although they did find a way to hit the woodwork for a third time in the first period. Lucas Harrison’s cross from the left bizarrely rebounded off the left post, almost bamboozling Meehan.

After the break, any hint of a Selston fight-back was snuffed out when Rovers made it three in the 51st minute. Some lovely link-up play between the home side’s front three ended with Kolodynski sliding it through to Sullivan who confidently tucked it into the bottom right corner.

This seemed to open the floodgates at the Moat as Rovers made it 4-0 just four minutes later. This time an, arguably, even better move as Sullivan showed tricky feet to escape his marker before teeing up Kolodynski. The winger raced forward before delightfully chipping Meehan and drawing groans of delight from the crowd.

The highlight of the game would come when Munday completed a well-deserved hat-trick. An audacious overhead kick from Kyle Batchelor found the striker at the back post leaving him with the most simple of finishes to complete his treble and storm Rovers into a 5-0 lead.

The best finish of the night, however, came in the 77th minute when substitute, Aaron Cole, picked the ball up on the right of the box and unleashed a cracking shot which arrowed into the top corner past a bewildered Meehan.

With six goals and the win all but secured, Rovers started to run out of energy. Kolodynski did drag wide before Regan Upton nearly scored with a brilliant strike on his debut, but Selston were starting to find space as the Rovers defence slackened.

The away side would get their consolation as Jordan Lambert found space down the right before delivering a cross perfectly to George Layton who had a simple header past Allsop to make it 6-1.

However, the goal would hold no bearing on the end result as Gresley’s attacking legion had already done the damage.