Match Photos
Gresley Rovers vs Barking & East Ham United
Gresley gain first win
Gresley Rovers could not have made a better start when after just five minutes they took the lead against Rymans First Division side Barking and East Ham.
Andy Bourne was striding through the visitors penalty area when Kevin Ramsey tripped him up. Up strode Richard Wardle and sent Robin Ruston the wrong way has he slammed in the spot kick.
Things only got worse for 'the Blues' when on 9 minutes a superb cross by Bourne was very well headed home by Dave Derry - unfortunately into his own net leaving his keeper in no-man's land.
Some good defensive work by the 'new' central defender Ian Bluck prevented Barking getting on the score sheet when his immaculately timed tackle denied Steve Shaw.
On 25 minutes triallist Gary Smith went close after some good work by Craig Hopkins and Aidan Callan but his ferocious shot skimmed the top of the bar.
Three minutes later 'The Blues' were back in the game. A pin-point pass by Richard Thomas found Terry Scotcher who finished of superbly putting his shot past James Lindley from 22 yards.
Callan was then involved in two pieces of action just before half time. First he noticed the visiting keeper off his line but his chip went too high and over the bar, then after the keeper had saved well from Chris Gray he was in the right place to collect the resulting loose ball and smash it into the net.
The Blues were given a chance to pull a goal back just after the interval. Gresley defender Owen James made a rash tackle on Nolan Weeks inside the penalty area. Former Arsenal player Michael Black took the resulting spot kick that was well saved by Lindley.
Arguably, the goal of the game came on 59 minutes after some fine inter-passing between Gray and Neil Kitching which finished with Gray hitting a vicious shot past Rushton and into the bottom left corner.
Kitching went close himself but was his header was prevented from crossing the goal line by Tickner.
To their credit the visitors kept trying and on 71 minutes were rewarded with a goal from Shaw from a fine ball by Thomas.
The manager's view
"When you play teams like Stockport, Forest and West Brom they are hard to play against even if they put young lads out.
"They are young lads who train day in day out, they're fit and strong and they are hard to play against them. It's good because it gives us a work out but if that was all we would have had all pre-season your confidence would have been knocked a bit.
"I felt we started brilliantly today because the wide lads Bourney and especially Chrissie Gray were effective. I was getting on at him at the end of last season and again all pre-season to use his best asset, which is his pace, his engine and his stamina and today he did it. He never stopped the entire match running up and down the pitch and it's hard for the opposition to play against him when he does that. That's the last thing people want to play against, he did well, and he set the tempo for the game.
"Obviously two early goals was fantastic for us but then I thought we came of it a little bit, we came off the pace a touch and we let them back in it to it and then I think we picked it up again in the first half.
"I was delighted with them. It got a bit ragged towards the end but people were tired and they were throwing loads of people forward but as a work out pre-season I couldn't have asked for any more. They all worked hard, dealt with the ball they passed it well enough and they did things we've been trying to work on and I was really really pleased with them all.
"The four goals were a massive boost for the lads. They were joking in the dressing room saying 'we might score a goal today'. In training the other day Mark Peters, who was training for the first time this pre-season, came running out and the lads were giving him a bit of stick and he turned round and said 'I scored the last goal' which was true. It was against Redditch, which was a long long time ago.
"It's good to score goals because it gives confidence. It was a shame that Whitey didn't get one at the end it would have given him a bit more to kick on for. But in general I was delighted with them all.
"It's the first time Gary Smith has been here. People have said to me that we've needed a centre forward for years. Since I've been here I have thought we needed to strengthen up in that department. I felt that he showed us another side of the game that we sometimes lack and a big part in the result today was down to him.
"Unfortunately it's not as easy as just saying come and play for us. There are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes and it's up to me to sit down with him and see what he wants and see if we can come to some agreement. But on first viewing he's just what we're looking for.
"I would like to think that both Gary and Chris White will start the season with us and it's in the next week or so that we need to sit down with people and start to work out who is and who isn't going to be here. Realistically we are looking at that being the squad with a few more to come back in.
"Played in the second half just to try and organise things a bit. One thing I've been trying to get them to do is talk to each other. We are a quiet team. I don't think we talk enough on the pitch and I went on there trying to do that a little bit because it makes a massive difference.
"I would only play if needed. Say if we were on the bus going to Weston and we get a couple go down with food poisoning then I would probably sit myself on the bench. I registered as a player because it's always handy to have another player. Of we find out that two or three of the centre halves have gone down then I would be playing but I don't think I'll be starting.
"We still have Stuart Evans and Andy Cheetham to come back. Andy's done ever so well at centre half because he can deal with the high ball and he's strong and quick and he can use the ball. He's got everything a centre half needs. Gary White has come in and can play at left back, left wing back and on the left of midfield, which gives us all manner of options."
Gresley Rovers (3) 4
Barking & East Ham (1) 2
Scorers: Wardle 5 (pen), Derry (og), Callan 42, Gray 59 (Gresley Rovers); Scotchner 28, Shaw 71 (Barking and East Ham).
Gresley Rovers: Lindley, Wardle, G White, James (Newsome 71), Bluck, Hopkins (Peters 55), Bourne (Barrett 55), Callan, Smith, Kitching (C White 71), Gray.
Barking & East Ham: Ruston, Omers, Dormer, Scotchmer, Ramsey, Cleaver, Black, Thomas, Shaw, Derry, Tickner. Subs: Nolan, Dalorto, Lord, Carrick.
