Gresley FC vs Bolehall Swifts
Midland Floodlit Youth League - Northern Division
Gresley Youth 1 - 3 Bolehall Swifts
It was a tale of two halves at the Moat Ground, Gresley finding themselves under the cosh from sustained Bolehall pressure before the break and fortunate to concede only the one goal, before mounting a second-half comeback in an end-to-end battle which resulted in the Tamworth outfit just coming out on top of a very entertaining and enthralling match which could have gone either way.
The first chance fell to the home team only five minutes in as Luke Watts fed Jake Sharpe, whose final ball across the area found no takers for the opportunity of an early lead.
Swifts hit back with a Matty Edwards cross finding the head of Alex Pollard who nodded wide, the visitors then having a goal disallowed for a foul on the keeper following a corner. Some desperate defending by the home side then blocked a clear goal-scoring opportunity for Jordan Brown and Will Tamplin had a shot clawed away by keeper Luke Hemingway.
The pressure finally told, however, on 21 minutes when a free header at the back post by Brown squeezed fortuitously through the legs of keeper Luke Hemingway to leave Pollard with an easy tap-in on the line.
At this time it was all Bolehall, with Gresley unable to get a hold on midfield, although a rare excursion into enemy territory resulted in a deflected Josh Pearson header from a corner being held by the keeper.
Swifts' George Sayle had a shot diverted past the post for a corner, before Richard Pursehouse put Brown away again to fire fractionally wide.
The final chance of the half fell to Gresley's Sharpe who also put his effort the wrong side of the post.
H/T 0 - 1
Bolehall were quick off the mark following the interval, defender Dan Humpherson getting forward on the right only to put his shot over the bar, Brown then putting Tamplin through to miss the target yet again.
The response from Gresley was instant, Rikki Birch going close after latching on to a misplaced back pass and Sharpe being denied by the legs of keeper Scott Mullet after finding himself clear on goal. A rejuvenated home side kept pushing forward and a Will Simpson through ball found Sam Kirk free on the right and he confidently rifled a shot past the the keeper to level the scores on 54 minutes.
Chances were now coming thick and fast at both ends, the impressive Brown causing plenty of problems for Gresley's defence, having a shot saved, putting Tamplin in again to fire over and being allowed to run through before missing the target.
The next goal was likely to prove decisive and the home team's Sharpe was unlucky to see his effort go wide after being put through by Birch.
Defensive hesitation in Gresley's ranks nearly proved fatal as Brown had a shot touched round the post by Hemingway and blasted over the top minutes later. The defining moment came eighteen minutes from the end with a goal worthy of winning any match, as Bolehall's big central defender, Jamie Andrews, surged upfield from the half-way line with the ball at his feet and scattering defenders in his wake before hammering a left-footed shot into the net.
A forty yard free-kick put into the visitors' area by Ben Hickman resulted in Simpson knocking the ball over the bar, while Hemingway was blocking efforts from Brown and Pursehouse at the other end.
With the Swifts' manager urging his players to run the ball into the corners in the frantic closing exchanges to try and preserve his team's advantage, the result was finally put beyond doubt as Brown turned his defender in time added on to notch the goal his display deserved.
Scorers: Kirk 54 (Gresley); Pollard 21, Andrews 72, Brown 90 + 3 (Bolehall)
Gresley: Hemingway, Curtis, Metcalfe, Gee, Hickman, Pearson, Kirk(Goodall 72), Simpson, Sharpe, Birch, Watts(Morton 73). Subs not used: Jones, Hammerton
Bolehall: Mullet, Humpherson, Edwards, O'Neill, Andrews, Smith, Sayle(Hobson 70), Tamplin, Pollard, Brown, Pursehouse. Sub not used: Bolger.
