United Counties Premier Division North
The Moat Ground
Saturday, 13th November 2021, 2.00pm
Off Colour Rovers Grab A Point
Harry Tizard
Gresley Rovers stretched their unbeaten run in the UCL Premier League to 14 games but were forced to settle for a point after being held to a 1-1 draw against Deeping Rangers at the Moat Ground.
The away side took a deserved lead through Will Bird in the first-half, placing his shot under Gresley’s Player of the Month for October Lewis Fenney.
The better side in the second-half, the Moatmen broke a resolute Deeping defence on the 68th minute through Steve Hart, with the forward powering the ball in from close range.
Looking to complete the late comeback, Ryan Seal and Louis Briscoe forced ‘keeper Daniel Swan into making a handful of impressive saves, earning his side a point.
Deeping began the game with a direct style of play, but it was a moment of individual quality that looked to danger the Moatmen’s defence the most. Jake Walton skipped through two Gresley defenders past the halfway line but his speculative dipping effort from 30-yards was collected with ease by Fenny.
Controlling the tempo of the start of the first-half with a possessional based style, Gresley struggled to make their dominance of the ball count in the opening 15 minutes, with Lucas Harrison the only one going close to threatening Daniel Swan’s goal.
Played into the left-flank by Connor Ward, who was replacing the injured Michael Williams, Harrison’s attempted cross was blocked. Rebounding back to his feet, the left-back ignored options in the box, firing a shot against the side netting from a tight angle.
Despite their recent poor form, it was the depleted Deeping that looked the more dangerous out of the two sides. Bursting down the wing, Jake Brown’s lofted cross found the feet of Bird at the back-post, but his strike across goal whistled past the upright.
Having the better of the chances in the first 30 minutes and showing signs of quality, it was Deeping who took the lead. Unmarked in the midfield, Charlie Coulson’s dinked ball over the Rovers’ defence was latched onto by Bird, who drove the ball under Fenny to open the scoring.
Making tactical tinkers on the touchline to change the pattern of the game, Lee’s switch from the wing to a striking role almost made an immediate difference.
Swivelling past his man, Ward’s pass was controlled well by Lee inside the area, but the Gresley forward could only direct his effort into the hands of Swan.
The Moatmen’s resurgence after conceding didn’t last long, with their only other attacking opportunity of the half coming through Hart, who blasted a free-kick from the edge of the area over the bar.
Instead, it was Deeping who almost doubled their lead going into the break. Curled into the box by playmaker Coulson, his cross was headered onto the top of the bar by Luke Hunnings.
Not looking to sit back on their one-goal lead, Deeping took the momentum they gained in the first-half into the second. A curling shot from outside the area from Brown beat a backtracking Fenney but rattled the crossbar, with a follow-up strike from Daniel Bannister cracking the same part of the woodwork that denied his teammate just seconds before.
Ambitious efforts from Corey Bucalossi and Hart failed to trouble Swan in the Deeping goal. The latter of the two found the net just past the hour only to be denied by the linesman, who flagged for offside.
Having found it difficult to challenge the Deeping ‘keeper for the entirety of the game, Gresley found an equaliser through their top scorer. Launched into the box by captain Seal, the ball bobbled around the box before being rocketed into the net by Hart.
A confident Deeping turned attack into defence, looking to hold onto a point that looked unlikely before the start of the game.
An unchallenged Swan turned into the busiest man in the Deeping side, making two strong saves in quick succession.
Having got down well to palm away a low drive from Seal on the edge of the box, the ‘keeper then pushed a lobbed attempt from substitute Louis Briscoe over the bar.
Pushing for a winner, Mason Frizelle got forward to send a venomous shot towards the goal, but his attempt from outside the box could only find the hands of Swan.
The draw keeps Gresley three points ahead of third-place Anstey Nomads who drew with Quorn on Saturday afternoon.
After back-to-back home games, the Moatmen now face three consecutive away fixtures, with the first being an FA Vase clash against league rivals Loughborough Students.
