Match Photos
Gresley Rovers vs Atherstone United
Manager Jon Newsome chose to play in this game to try and bring some confidence to the back line and it showed.
Newsome made some promised changes with striker Chris Parkins and midfielder Jamie Barrett being given the nod for the game against Atherstone United.
On 6 minutes Gresley got the perfect start. A cross from Richard Wardle was half cleared by United defender Chris Tullin and the ball fell to Gary Smith who looked certain to open his long awaited account for Gresley. But the United keeper, Dale Belford, made a terrific block of Smith’s shot but the rebound fell nicely for Barrett who smashed in his first goal for his side.
Gresley doubled their advantage on 12 minutes thanks to the skill of in-form striker Neil Kitching. He received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and with defenders crowding him, he turned, found the space he needed and hit a shot over Belford and into the top corner of the net.
Atherstone were given a chance to get back into the match on 16 minutes after a mix up between James Lindley and Andy Cheetham. A cross from Scott Blair looked to have been covered easily but as Cheetham waited for his keeper to collect the ball Peter Barry couldn’t believe his luck as the ball waited for him to poke it home.
Any thoughts of a collapse were erased as Gresley continued to dominate this, for most of the time, one sided affair. And just 2 minutes later the home side regained their two goal advantage.
The impressive Kitching headed down a Michael Crawford free kick into the path of Smith who failed again to open his scoring for Gresley but the ball fell for Chris Gray who made no mistake and hammered in the third goal.
On 29 minutes Parkins missed a golden opportunity to make it 4 but he put his shot over with the goal gaping wide open after Smith had worked wonders in winning the ball on the bye line.
Newsome, making his league debut, almost got his first goal for the club. On 34 minutes Crawford swung in a delightful corner that Newsome got his head to but his effort was tipped over by Belford.
The lively Parkins had another chance after being put through on goal by a pinpoint pass by Cheetham but his shot was bravely blocked by the United keeper.
And, in the second minute of time added on in the first half Parkins became the provider when, after a superb run, he passed to Kitching but his shot flashed narrowly wide of the post
If Gresley had gone into the interval 6 or 7 up no one, except possibly the visiting United fans, would have been at all surprised. Such was the dominance of the Gresley side in the first half.
Newsome made a change at half time bringing on youngster Earl Alexander for his first team debut for Gray.
The second half started much the same as the first had ended with Gresley on the attack. Cheetham made one of his runs into the danger area but Belford managed to get a hand to the shot and Smith was unlucky not to have got onto the end of the rebound.
Atherstone managed just one dangerous attack in the second half and it resulted in a free kick by Tullin whose shot brushed an upright.
On 77 minutes Gresley wrapped up the match and three points. A corner whipped in by Barrett was powerfully headed home by Kitching giving the United keeper no chance.
With only a few minutes left on the clock defender Ian Bluck came close to making it 5 but his free kick was tipped away but Belford.
This was a much improved performance by Gresley and a good way to shake the defeat out of the system before the crucial FA Cup came at league leaders Bromsgrove Rovers on Saturday.
The manager's view
"The lads knew what they'd done on Saturday so I didn't have to say much before tonight's game. You don't want to say too much after you get beat because you're always wise after the event.
"In the dressing room after the match on Saturday the lads were absolutely distraught with themselves. Not with what I'd said to them but with the fact that they'd not played well and they knew they'd not played well in areas where they should have matched the opposition at least.
"It was a battle again but I've just said to them that we can play better than that. I don't think we strung two passes together for about an hour. But having said that we worked hard, we battled we scored goals and we got the points. So I shouldn't be too despondent but I think we can play a lot better. We can get the ball down and pass it and do better at times.
"The response I got from the lads was fabulous the work rate, the grafting, putting their foot in and getting blocks in on the edge of the box was exactly what we wanted.
It's what we've done all season except for Saturday and at times at Evesham.
"I thought there was a lot of good performances out there tonight. We changed formation and changed things around a little bit but I was disappointed we conceded a goal. That was down to individual errors and the people involved know all about that, they've stuck their hands up and got on with it. We missed numerous chances yet again so really I should be pleased.
"It sets things up nicely for Saturday. I've just said to them in there that tonight's game was a big one but for the football club Saturday's an even bigger match. No disrespect to Atherstone but I think that match will be more difficult because we are away from home and against a side that's as yet unbeaten.
"I was down there last week watching them and I don't see any reason why we can't go down there and get a result. They're not a bad side. They knock it around and try to play but I definitely think we can go down there and get a result.
"Mark Sheils is hopefully going to start training within the next four or five weeks which is fantastic. He's got to take it a little at a time until he's right.
"It's getting competitive now and the lads know it's going to be difficult. What I do like is the fact that the lads not playing are very disappointed and they are going to be but I have to make the decisions and luckily it came off tonight. It's not nice if you're not playing of if you get dragged off but I've said to them it's a team game; it's a squad game now and everyone will get a piece of it. Not everyone is going to play every week are they?
"I enjoyed my run out but I stick by what I said at the beginning of the season that I don't envisage playing week in week out. I felt that I needed to come in and try and steady us a little bit and secure us a touch. On Saturday were all over the place and I thought we needed a change and thankfully it seemed to work out all right.
"They didn't have many chances apart from the goal. They had a few strikes but we got some good blocks in. We defended well and over the 90 minutes I felt we got what we deserved because we dominated the game from start to finish.
"One of the biggest differences between this and a higher level is the communicating and the talking. I always did that as a player and if you do that it becomes infectious and others start doing it as well. If we can bring that to our game it will improve us. That's what I tried to do and overall I thought we did that well tonight.
"Earl Alexander looked a bit worried at first and it may have been a bit daunting for him but once he got a couple of touches and found his feet and realised it wasn't as difficult as he thought he did great. He's learning. He's young; he's got good pace and he gives us width. His pace kills people. He did very well in pre-season and it's only the fact that we've such a big squad that the likes of him, Carl Timms, Matt Moran, Nathan Tate have not be included so far but it’s a long season. Those lads are the core of the club. They're the lads who we want to be bringing through because they've got the club at heart and they've got a passion
"With regard to injuries, Craig Hopkins is fit again and there is a possibility that Gary White could be in contention but we've got to see how he reacts after training on Thursday. Danny Hobby I don't really know I think its just rest with him. Stuart Evans is still a long way from being fit. Chris White is going for a scan on his ankle to see if they can find out the cause of the problem. He went to see a specialist who advised him to do something which hasn't worked. I feel sorry for him because he's desperate to come back and he's a great kid. But he's got to keep plugging away until he gets there. Andy Bourne was unavailable due to work commitments."
Gresley Rovers (3) 4
Atherstone United (1) 1
Scorers: Barrett 6, Kitching 12, 77, Gray 18 (Gresley Rovers); Barry 16 (Atherstone United).
Gresley Rovers: Lindley, Bluck, Cheetham, Wardle, Newsome, Crawford, Gray (Alexander 45), Parkins, Kitching, Smith, Barrett. Subs not used: G Moran, Hopkins, Peters, Clarke (gk).
Atherstone United: Belford, Barry, MacMillan, Tulin, Turner (Perry 77), Rutherford, Martin (Hadley 72), Blair, Dunkley, Charley (Cammock 72), Lenton. Subs not used: Genner, Giddings (gk).
Rovers Star Man: Jon Newsome – quality .
Referee: I Scarr (Rubery).
Attendance: 385
