Match Report  |  Gresley Rovers vs Heanor Town

Alfie Burley

Gresley Rovers welcomed fans back to the Moat Ground with a dramatic victory in the Don Amott Plate final against Heanor Town.
Despite falling behind to Tom Batterham’s header in the second half, Rovers rallied to turn the deficit around through a penalty from Ryan Seal and a last-gasp Danny Munday winner.

Due to the sides losing their semi-finals last week, they met at the Moat Ground to fight for the Plate instead of the Cup which would be contested by Belper United and Mickleover Sports.

The beginning of the game produced few chances to speak of, as both sides cancelled each other out. Munday had the first sight of goal for either side when he collected a flick-on from Steve Hart before sending a first-time shot wide of the post.

In fact, it would take 40 minutes before either goalkeeper was forced into action, and it was Joe Fryatt who had his hands warmed first when he had to get down to his left to collect a 40-yard attempt from Tom Hilton.

Kyle Daley also threatened towards the end of the half as his shot from a tight angle whistled past Fryatt and the far post.
After the break, however, Heanor continued to pressurise the Gresley backline as Lewis Weaver would have opened the scoring had it not been for a brilliant block from Mason Frizelle.

The game was starting to open up, and just minutes later, Rovers nearly broke the deadlock when Joe Haines’ blocked shot fell to Seal in the area. The midfielder took a touch before seeing his shot deflected into the path of Hart, but the new arrival was beaten to the ball by Adam Jablonski.

Heanor should have went ahead in the 59th minute when a perfectly weighted ball from captain, Max Thornberry released Weaver through the middle of the Rovers defence. Yet, the striker could not match the quality of the pass with the finish, striking straight at Fryatt.

They would not rue the miss for long, however, as just two minutes later, Batterham, with his first touch, applied the headed finish to a dangerous cross from the right-hand side.

Behind, and needing a response, Rovers upped their intensity, with substitute Danny Holmes taking aim from outside of the box, but only finding the arms of Jablonski.

In the 71st minute, Gresley’s endeavour would pay off with the awarding of a penalty. The spot-kick came from an unlikely source as Alex Morris maraudered into the box from centre-back, only to have his heels clipped as he went to pull the trigger.

Set-piece specialist, Seal, stepped up and made no mistake with his attempt, leaving Jablonski rooted to the spot as he found the bottom right corner.

The dangerous Weaver continued to cause problems at the other end, as almost immediately after the equaliser, he sent an inviting cross across the face of goal, only to have nobody there to apply the finish it deserved.

Rovers were also keen to avoid extra time, as they also pushed for a winner. Haines did well down the left before teeing Munday up, but the striker’s shot was too close to the ‘keeper to cause him too many problems.

It was in injury time where the real drama of the afternoon would take place. In the third and last minute of added-on time, Haines persevered down the left-hand side before delivering an inch-perfect cross to the back-post where Munday laid in wait to snatch victory.

Despite a frantic late push from Heanor, Munday’s late contribution was decisive, and Rovers left their returning fans in high spirits.