Match Report  |  Gresley Rovers vs Skegness Town

Gresley Rovers moved to the top of the Uhlsport United Counties Premier League North after an eventful 2-0 win over Skegness Town at the Moat Ground.

With Anstey Nomads fixtureless on Saturday afternoon, the Moatmen knew a win would be enough to see them move to the summit of the table.

In a first-half that consisted of two red cards, one of which coming for Gresley’s George Clark, the deadlock was broken by a penalty covered in controversy from Ryan Seal.

The home side had control of the game, nullifying the Skegness attack as well as having a plethora of chances to score from Danny Munday and Lee Butler, but it was the returning Steve Hart who put the game beyond the away side.

Drilling a free-kick past Richard Lovelace, the forward continued his scoring run, with a sending off for Louis Briscoe in stoppage time too late in the day to have an impact on the result of the game.

Gresley’s first chance of the game came through a set-piece. Won on the left-side from wide just outside the box. Hart chose to lay the ball off to Ryan Seal, but the captain was leaning back as he struck the ball, shooting well over the bar.

Hart, who missed the recent draw against Loughborough Students, took aim from the following free-kick. With the ball positioned in a similar spot to that of his impressive goal against Heather St John’s, the striker struck his shot in a similar fashion. Deflected off the wall, Lovelace did well to parry the ball away.

Skegness offered little on the attacking front in the opening exchanges of the match but had an opportunity to score just before the 20th minute. It was James Dean-Atkinson who picked up the ball inside the box, but his low effort was driven into the hands of Lewis Fenny.

The game started to open up, and it was the home side with the next attack. A chipped ball by Hart found Munday who was bursting down the left flank. Dribbling towards goal, his shot from a tight angle inside the area was tame, rolling into the palms of the ‘keeper.

After the Moatmen went close on multiple occasions in the first half-hour, they found an opening from the penalty spot. It was James Field who was alleged to have blocked Seal’s shot with his arm, which referee Minesh Gupta then followed with a red card after complaints from the player about the decision.

Seal stepped up to take responsibility, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner, sending the ‘keeper the wrong way.
Moments after scoring, Gresley were down to ten men. After Clark committed a foul near the corner flag in the Rovers’ half, an off-the-ball incident that followed saw the right-back given a straight red card.

After the sending off, the minutes that remained of the first-half became cagey, with both sides adjusting to a recent dismissal.

It was Skegness who came out pushing for an equaliser at the start of the second-half and looking promising going forward, but their attempts at getting back into the game were halted by a second goal for Gresley.

Hart, who had scored 11 goals in his last six, scored in the seventh consecutive game that he’d played in.

After Lee was brought down on the edge of the area, it was the forward who took interest in taking the set-piece. From a position that looked more suitable for a cross rather than a shot, Hart drilled his attempt across the ground, evading players from either side and nesting into the far corner.

Skegness tried to find a way back into the game, but Alby Lansdowne and Mason Frizelle were equal to the opposition attackers, blocking shots well.

Fenny was called into action on the 70-minute mark, though. After the ball bobbled around the box, a poked effort from close range by Cenc Acar was tipped round the post well to maintain Gresley’s two-goal advantage.

Munday then went close to extending the Moatmen’s lead. Coming in from his position on the left, the versatile attacker ran inside before seeing his shot clawed away from the goal by the ‘keeper.

With the game ending, Munday had his best chance of the game. The forward latched onto a ball over the top, rounding the ‘keeper before seeing his shot cleared off the line by Corey Cunliffe.

Butler then should have finished the game in style. Bursting up from his makeshift position at right-back, he connected with the ball across from substitute Briscoe, but the shot was blocked smartly by the diving Lovelace.

Instead, the hotly contested affair was concluded with a red card for Gresley. Briscoe, who had recently been introduced to the game, was given his marching orders for a high arm around the neck of a Skegness defender.