Gresley Rovers vs Red Lion Horninglow Reserves
Gresley Rovers 4 - 4 Red Lion Reserves
Scorers: Morton, Taylor, Gregory, Foster (pen)
Team: Ian Parker, Joe Tomlin, Rich Foster, Dave Hatfield (c), Danny Gee, Luke Taylor, Josh Gregory, Sam Worth, Jack Moylan, Chris Smith, Paul Morton
Subs: Joe Swift, Anthony Morris, Craig Harrison, Andy Lyons
We were at home today against Red Lion Reserves, and the start was delayed slightly because of them having problems (their manager not showing up I believe), but credit to them they still wanted to play. Some of them turning up in a taxi which I think says a lot about their commitment and desire.
We are still missing several "key players" through injury, illness and work commitments, but I'm in a fortunate position to have a large squad to choose from.
The game got underway and Red Lion had the better of the early exchanges, with us unable to get into our stride. So it came as no surprise when on 5 minutes they took the lead, which is a little disappointing because we seem to take a while to get going. With only 15 minutes gone we were forced into an early substitution we replaced Danny Gee (who had been ill most of the week with a stomach bug) for Joe Swift. This meant Jack Moylan switching from the right into a central position and Sam Worth swapping to our right side allowing Swift his favourite left midfield position. It proved to be a good move as Swift created problems and crossed in numerous quality balls.
It was from one such move that Paul Morton used his pace to draw us level. This led to our best period of the match, when in the space of 14 minutes we added further goals from Luke Taylor (who reacted from a thunderous Morton shot) and as the ball came off the underside the crossbar he slotted home. The third goal was another great strike, this time from Josh Gregory, who from some way out beat their keeper with the help of a slight deflection. Going in at half time 3-1 up was about right, but at times we'd rode our luck so Red Lion must have felt a little "hard done by".
Second half again we were slow starters, allowing Red Lion too much time and space and within 10 minutes they'd halved the deficit to 3-2.This came from a complete mix up in our box of which we failed to clear (even though we had enough attempts) and claims for a foul on our keeper dismissed. I never saw any foul to be honest (but Ian Parker was sure enough and got a caution for his protests). We needed to dig deep now and we did to a certain degree, however we were guilty of missing several "guilt edge" chances which would have put the game beyond Red Lion. We were awarded a somewhat fortunate penalty for a foul on Morton and Richard Foster coolly slotted home to make it 4-2.
We were still creating chances, but again were guilty of lacking the little composure needed in front of goal. This gave Red Lion the belief that they could actually get something from the game and they pressed us. We lost our shape at times and struggled to clear our lines and Red Lion got their third goal. It was all Red Lion now and with 10 minutes to go we swapped Smith for Anthony Morris just to put some fresh legs on. We were hanging on to our lead and we made our last substitution replacing Morton for Craig Harrison. With 3 minutes remaining Red Lion got a corner, and their player rose unchallenged to get them a deserved point.
Today I feel it's 2 points lost not a point gained, however full credit must go to Red Lion today because they showed huge character to not give in. Their battling and attitude was a huge credit to them considering the problems they had. Sometimes this has a desired effect (as we've shown in the past) when you're up against things you give that little more.
We had some good individual performances today but showed that little lack of experience (at this level) when we were under pressure. Taking into account the fact that we had 5 under 18 midfielders in there, I can take a lot of heart from today because we battled and fought for things. We were guilty of not finishing some good chances and goals win games, but again today we've had four different scorers so things are looking better. A lot of talk today about players "moving on" to other clubs (one definite) which although disappointing I can fully understand their frustrations. How I see it is "our loss is Borrowash's gain".
Hopefully most will choose to stay at Gresley, because what I do know is this, I've a squad of keen, quality players who've over the past 3 seasons have improved beyond expectations. These improvements are there for all to see (results don't lie). Their attitude, desires, commitment and love of Gresley is something that I'm extremely proud of and long may this continue. Keep it going lads and your dreams will become reality hopefully.
MoM: Luke Taylor, second week on the trot for Luke at 17 he's proved the talent we know he is (and obviously other managers can see) by picking him for man of the match. He continues to improve and he's showing that not only the skills but the maturity and fighting spirit! Well done keep it going Luke.
