Hammerwich vs Gresley Rovers
Hammerwich 1 - 5 Gresley Rovers
Scorers: Smith 2, Holmes, Williams, Acton
Team:Tom Allan, Nath Venning, Paul Grosse, Gaz Jones(c),Ben Kinson, Tom Fletcher, Dave Williams, Mat Holmes, Chris Smith, Todd Foster, Rich Hanslow
Subs: Stu Haywood, Mark Shorthouse, Olly Baum, Dean Acton, Carl Wymark
Travelled to Hammerwich, the furthest team in our league, and not having a game last week I still had the bitter taste of our semi-final defeat from the week before. We were boosted by having Dave Williams and Paul Grosse
available from the reserves, and so with Ivor away, it was left to me to pick the side. I also knew, that we were all keen to put to right , our downfall in the second half of our semi-final because we needed to put things right!
So I opted for Nath Venning to play left back along with Gaz Jones, Grosse and Ben Kinson in defence, with Williams and Tom Fletcher in midfield, Mat Holmes on the right and Chris Smith on the left. This left Todd Foster and Rich Hanslow up front, and we knew that we needed to play to our strengths if we were to get the win we needed.
We started off well and controlled the game from the start, and to be honest, never looked threatened but we lacked the cutting edge. We had all the play and scorned a hat full of chances, but on 30 minutes , Smith found space
and 1-0 it was.
Second half we started off much the same, but 10 minutes in they drew level , with the help of some sloppy defending. So now we needed to dig deep and start again, and this we did playing better than we had, and we were soon 2-1 up when Fletcher found Holmes, who coolly slotted home. We swapped Kinson for Baum, swapping Venning to right back, and we were soon 3-1 up when Williams beat their keeper. We then swapped Hanslow for Shorthouse, pushing Williams up front and playing Shorthouse in midfield. We had all the chances, and Williams passed a square ball to Smith, for an easy tap in to make it 4-1.With 12 minutes left we made our last substitution, swapping Foster for Acton and before he'd got warm, he chased a ball down and rounded the keeper to make it 5-1.With 5 minutes left we lost Williams, when he landed awkwardly and injured his ankle, so we all hope it's not too bad!
So today we needed to win, and play well, and this is exactly what we did because we never looked troubled at all. It was great that we showed our character and bounce back from our cup exit. Thanks to Willows and Grossy and
also to the subs who never got on, but well done to all of you. Five games left including another semi-final so let's keep up the great spirit and work and push for at least runners up spot?
Mom: Dave Williams, worked hard, scored, set goals up says it all really? Just hope the ankles not too bad!
