Holwell Sports vs Gresley FC
Holwell Sporst 1 - 2 Gresley
www.meltontown.co.uk
Holwell were dumped out of the cup, but not without a fight after bossing most of the second half.
After only four minutes the hosts had to shuffle the defence with Sam Hollis pulling a hamstring, Joe Slater moving across to partner Jack Dolby with Joe Anderson in at right-back.
Holwell were hit by two well-taken goals by Gresley's leading scorer Sam Ford, the first from a good ball in from the right which he swept in from 12 yards, before a pass down the middle left the defence for dead and Ford with a simple finish past Aaron Watkins.
Tom Barnard's shot hit the inside of the post and bounced into the keeper's arms from Sam Muggleton's throw into the goalmouth before Holwell were finally rewarded. Tom Muggleton found space for a slide-rule pass to Jordan Smith whose scuffed shot had enough momentum to find the far corner of the goal.
Gresley ought to have increased their lead before half-time, but Joe Slater's well-timed tackle and a horrible miss from a corner kept the same score.
Jonny Uttley came on for the second half in midfield and made an immediate impact, troubling Gresley's defence for long periods with probing runs and passes. But the strikers weren't producing the goals, Slater skying a shot over from the edge of the area and Hedley Lovegrove missing from close in.
And with Holwell pressing, it left space at the back for Gresley to exploit, but he couldn't beat Watkins.
