Walsall Wood vs Gresley FC
Midland Floodlit Youth League - Northern Division
Walsall Wood 5 - 0 Gresley Youth
It was back to the bad old days for Gresley as defensive frailties resulted in them coming away from Oak Park having been beaten 5-0 by a team they should have been more than capable of matching and taking points off, the home side looking well organised and competitive without being anything out of the ordinary.
The opening exchanges looked promising for Gresley as the combination of Jake Sharp and Rikki Birch produced a near miss for the latter and he again fired over from the edge of the box a minute later.
Six minutes in, however, and Walsall went ahead against the run of play as Sam Plummer took advantage of Gresley's failure to deal with a through ball and struck his shot sweetly past the unprotected keeper.
The game then degenerated somewhat with nobody seemingly capable of gaining control, Plummer clearing the bar from a Luke Morris free-kick and Josh Pearson and Birch seeing efforts go high and wide.
Two goals in the space of five minutes for the home side then virtually settled the outcome and both resulted from Gresley's initial inability and reluctance to clear their lines, Morris finding the space to fire in a shot which Luke Hemingway, unusually for him, fumbled to leave Sean Henderson a tap-in and Morris again being allowed to shoot at goal, the ball taking a wicked bounce off the pitch to clear the diving keeper and nestle in the far corner.
A long shot from Morris cleared the bar before Birch found himself through on goal and hit the back of the net, only to see his effort ruled out by a dubious offside decision suitably greeted with derision by the away spectators.
Half-time over, Walsall's three goal lead was quickly converted to four as a defensive blunder allowed Dave Meddings an easy tap-in, following on from a Mitch Clarke shot which he had dragged wide.
The game then settled into something of an impasse for the next twenty-five minutes with neither team really threatening as Gresley, now looking the better side, found some composure and started to improve their passing game, while their hosts seemingly settled for what they had got.
Gresley's final chance to reduce the deficit came on 73 minutes when a free-kick on the corner of the box produced a goal-bound effort from amongst a crowded area which the home keeper, Adam Dennant, did well to claw away for a corner.
This only served to produce renewed effort from Walsall, Hemingway coming up with an excellent tip-over from a Tom Wheway header and Ryan Hemlin pulling his shot wide when clean though, before their giant substitute, Alex Perkins, was allowed a cumbersome turn in the middle of the area before prodding in goal number five.
All in all a disappointing result for Gresley, who, although putting in plenty of effort, need to rediscover their passing game as the defensive generosity shown to a far from superior opposition should not disguise the fact that goal-scoring chances were in short supply at the other end of the pitch.
Goals: Walsall: Plummer 6; Henderson 27; Morris 32; Meddings 48; Perkins 85.
Walsall: Dennant, Jobbins, Bryson, Meddings, Carroll, Fisher, Henderson (Hemlin 72m), Clarke (Wheway 72), Plummer (Perkins 46), Morris, Gittins. Subs not used: Barnett, Cunningham.
Gresley: Hemingway 6, Curtis 6, Metcalfe 6, Guest 6, Hickman 6 (Morton 74 5), Watson 6 (Rogers 63 5), McBride 6, Pearson 6, Sharp 6 (Jones 75 5), Birch 6, Francis 6. Subs not used: Parker, Gee.
