Quorn vs Gresley FC
Quorn 2 - 2 Gresley Reserves
1. Simon Baldwin 2. Craig Tucker 3. Joe Swift 4. Lee Stretton (c) 5. Paul Hollis 6. Andy Dunne 7. Joe Urquhart 8. Paul Friel 9. Chris Burnham 10. Tom Read 11. Dave Williams.
Subs: Pete Collins, Matt Draycott, Sam Worth, Sam Rose, Darryl Towle
Scorers: Dunne, Draycott
A tricky trip to second placed Quorn and a good test to gauge where we're at and whether we are capable of competing for a top two finish. We decided to stick with the 4-3-1-2 formation that served us well in the previous match and from the beginning we were getting plenty of joy from it. We started very brightly and should've been in front in the first few minutes when a great cross was put in only for Tom Read to miss a great opportunity.
With Paul Friel pulling the strings in the centre we were completely in control and duly took the lead from a well taken free-kick from Andy Dunne on 41 minutes and just reward for our first half domination. The only disappointment was that we only had the one goal to show for our dominance.
After the break Quorn came out a different side and started far brighter. The equaliser came on 60 minutes when we failed to deal with a throw in and when the ball came to the edge of the box we failed to close it down and the ball was in the net with the aid of a deflection. It was now a good contest with both sides looking for the winner but again we shot ourselves in the foot by again not closing down on the edge of the box and a simple ball was played through for the striker to finish far too easily to give Quorn the lead on 72 minutes.
Credit to the lads though, as this seemed to galvanise them with Paul Friel battling for everything and winning a number of headers but time was running out. Having made some attacking substitutions and pushed players further forward we ended up with 3 at the back and gambled with a number of players upfront. Craig Tucker was now in a more advanced role and was pivotal in setting up one final chance on 94 minutes, which Matt Draycott used all his pace to reach the ball before the keeper and finish from a tight angle and a deserved equaliser.
This game should have been over by half time but our lack of finishing again came back to haunt us. In the end it took a last gasp effort to return to The Moat with a hard earned point. We must be more clinical in front of goal and take our chances when were on top, as the opposition will always have spells of their own on top and in Quorn's case they made it count. A valuable point in the end but could've been so much more.
