Note that this page is from our archive during the time when the club was called Gresley FC. It may not be related to the old Gresley Rovers.
Desperate Measures!!
Gresley & Stapenhill brave the snow!
Gresley FC somehow beat the extreme elements to hold a behind closed doors game against Stapenhill on Saturday afternoon.
Manager Gary Norton was becoming increasingly desperate for his charges to get in some much needed pitch time and arranged the game at Pingle school's all weather surface late last week. Even heavy snowfall during the morning didn't deter the club's efforts to get the game played in which Gresley came from behind to run out 3-1 winners with goals from Brian Woodall and a double from substitute Martin Gadsby.
Commenting on the afternoon's events manager Gary Norton said: "We were obviously concerned about whether or not the surface would be safe enough to play the game due to the amount of snow covering the pitch.
"We had checked it out on Friday afternoon and despite it being covered by a couple of inches of snow meaning the lines were not visible it was just about playable. However on Saturday morning we had another further inch or so of snowfall which put things in doubt.
"In another situation we wouldn't have bothered at all and trained elsewhere more appropriate to the conditions but we were so desperate to do something ahead of next week's Vase game we decided to see what it would be like."
He added: "When we arrived at the venue it was covered in 3 inches of snow and most people thought we were mad for even considering playing but from a player safety point of view there appeared to be plenty of grip and the ball was moving well.
"We cleared the goal and touchlines and decided to see how the warm up went and the lads were saying the surface was like playing on a beach. In addition, the ball was moving well across the snow so after discussions with the officials and opposition we decided to give the game a go.
"If at any point we felt it was in any way going to be dangerous or turn into a farce we agreed to stop and do fitness work but surprisingly to all it went very well and everyone involved got a great workout.
"Both sets of players and indeed the officials contributed to the success of the game by being sensible in the way the way they approached it and we had a decent 90 minutes of football which helped us to blow a few cobwebs away.
"Id like to thank everone involved including Pingle school for their help in getting some sort of game on for us."
Gresley: Hateley (Baldwin 45), Hill, Butler, Coulson, Barrett, Slater, Lyons (Gadsby 55), Langford, Turville (Marshall 45), Woodall (Spencer 45), Gough, (A Betteridge 45).
