Gresley Pass Deeping Test

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	NON-LEAGUE DAY Saturday 3 September 2016 at The Haydon Whitham Stadium, Outgang Road
Result	Deeping Rangers 2 Gresley 6
Competition	FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round.
Hopping	Ground 594 and I am here randomly because of a computer-simulated spin of an American roulette wheel which gave number 16.  See previous post for fuzzy-but-genuine proof.
Pre-match preparation
This is Step 5 v Step 4.  Deeping’s league form sees them in mid-table in the United Counties Premier Division. In the cup, they won 4-1 away at Ely City then beat Wroxham 2-1 at home.  Wroxham are Step 4 within the Isthmian leagues but have made a terrible start to the season.  Gresley will be a tougher proposition – they are undefeated and just outside early playoff positions in the Northern Premier League Division One South. They entered the cup in the last round and had a comfortable win over Loughborough University.
This match in one sentence
Gresley never looked like losing but Deeping never gave up.
So what?
Gresley are in the proverbial hat for the next round and Deeping concentrate on the (United Counties) league.
The drama unfolds
Gresley started brightly and Deeping never really had a chance to settle.  The opening goal had a slight deflection but it wasn’t a big surprise.  Reece Morris takes the credit for a low shot that tucked just inside the post.  0-1 after 7 mins The first Deeping chance came midway through the half but Scott Coupland headed straight at the keeper.  Maybe that was the hinge point of the game because Gresley’s Courtney Meade (below) had the freedom of Market Deeping as he headed a second goal almost immediately.  0-2 after 23 mins Again, Deeping heads stayed up but they were fighting a losing battle and Meade rounded the keeper for a third, his second, on the break.  Deeping held on to half-time with no further damage done.  0-3 after 27 mins and at half-time Deeping started the second half well but any thoughts of a comeback were snuffed out by Meade’s hat-trick.  He had time to create space for an easy finish to a Gresley break.  The availability of wide man Morris as an outball, Vardy-style, was a feature of the Gresley setup and as time went on he frequently drew two defenders for his forays into the penalty area.  0-4 after 55 mins The match meandered towards the inevitable result before a late goal flurry kept the crowd interested.  A own goal put Gresley five up.  Then Gresley's Jordan Wakeling earned a yellow card for a tackle deemed dangerous by the referee.  He got the ball but the studs were clearly showing.  David Burton-Jones scored (pic below) from the direct freekick for a consolation goal.  He is one of the candidates for the own goal, by the way.  I’m not sure. Wakeling then got a second yellow, and thus a red, for handball.  Burton-Jones scored (pic below) from the penalty spot.  2-5 after 88 minutes Pearson Mwanyongo scored the final goal of the day in stoppage time after a break down the right flank.  Job Done.  Final score 2-6 I heard an unusual referee’s whistle as I was walking towards the exit.  There was some argument going on with Gresley staff and an open bottle-throwing display of frustration from one of them.  I have no idea what it was about.  The ref and the assistants waited a few more moments before leaving the pitch.
Ground Pix
Match Pix
Something You Don’t Get in the Premier League
Change from £4 for a hot pasty, soup and Mars Bar.  At current exchange rates this sum would get you part-ownership of a West Ham hot dog.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
No clean sheets but a win for Yellow over Green.  Full table again at the end of the month.  Red leads.
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!

Police Called to Shootout in Sussex

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 28 January 2012 at The Jubilee Ground
Result	Three Bridges 2 Gresley 2 after extra time Gresley win 7-6 on penalties
Competition	FA Vase Round 4 replay
Hopping	#449 on the lifetime list and I am here, as is @TravellingFan, to continue the unfinished business from last week’s Derbyshire draw.
This match in one sentence
In a close and occasionally controversial game, ten-man Three Bridges took the lead in the second half of extra time but could not hold on, and the visiting captain saved the fourteenth penalty of the shootout.
So what?
Three Bridges win a lot of friends, but it is Gresley that go into the last 16 with an away tie at St Ives Town of the United Counties League.  Three Bridges now have a league fixture pile-up but enough games in hand to go to the top if they can win them all.
Something random
Elvis Gresley (see last week’s post) was in attendance.
The drama unfolds
We had a better surface and no disruptive wind today, but Gresley started where they had left off last week and it took an astonishing save by Simon Lehkyj after 10 minutes to keep the game scoreless.  He dived with a strong left arm to divert over a shot from Marc Goodfellow.  An immediate second save at full stretch was irrelevant due to an offside flag but Lehkyj would not have known that. My scene-setting clip, starting at 15 minutes in, ended up telling the story of a critical part of the game.  Camera, Action!  Three Bridges are in gold-and-black. To sum up, Three Bridges had settled and were starting to create goalmouth action of their own.  However, Goodfellow got to the byline before being fouled by James Grant (make a note of that) for a penalty.  Both players, and one other from the home side picked up yellows for the altercation that followed, before Lehkyj saved Royce Turville’s spotkick.  All this and still 0-0. Gresley had chances – another Goodfellow shot over the bar, a Turville header – before Three Bridges took the lead.  A deflected shot fell into the path of the unmarked Tim Rivers who had time to write his autobiography, “How I scored twice in successive games against Gresley”, before planting a shot in the bottom right corner with half an hour gone.  1-0 We then had an unusual stoppage.  All I can say for certain is that there was a conversation between Lehkyj, his captain Nigel Brake and the ref.  The ref had a word with the home bench.  Someone from the home bench came over to speak with the Gresley supporters immediately behind Lehkyj’s goal.  The implication was that someone had “crossed a line” but I couldn’t say more than that.  The home official was not well received by the Ambassadors for Gresley, it has to be said, but then someone from the visitors’ bench popped over for a word.  I wandered over in that direction for the rest of the half, which was then curiously “flat” and not altogether pleasant, apart from an immediate yellow card for Bridges’ Charlie Cooke and yet another brilliant save by Lekhyj just before the interval.  1-0 at half-time After an intriguing and partially amusing announcement along the lines that there would be no alcohol outside the bar, "an FA ruling because of what happened in the first half ... that includes the man walking past me with a pint in his hand!" we started the game again.  Gresley pressed again from the restart.  Their first chance fell to full-back Jordi Gough and was reported as a UFO by a British Airways pilot taking off from Gatwick.  It was almost three-quarters of the way through the game before the scores were level.  Before that, Three Bridges should have gone two ahead but a Gresley defender made an important block.  Here’s a clip. Then that man Lehkyj made a superb save to tip over a shot from Dean Oliver, but injured himself in the process.  He decided to continue but Turville’s header from the resulting corner was right in the corner and he had no chance this time.  1-1 Three Bridges hit back and Abu Touray shot narrowly over.  The referee, who had a busy afternoon all round, appeared to give a penalty to the home side before spotting that the assistant had flagged for an earlier offside.  Home hearts sank further as Lehkyj left the pitch to be replaced by Rob Woodward, who immediately made a nervy clearance before making a good block with his legs.  It was good to see Gary Hateley make a point of coming across to shake the hand of his opposite number. My three clips from this half have Gresley on the attack just as the police are arriving to keep an eye on us, Three Bridges hitting the bar, and Three Bridges on the attack as the whistle goes to send us into extra time and wipe out my chances of an evening ice hockey game!  1-1 after 90 minutes The first half of extra time was uneventful except for a second yellow card for a certain James Grant of Three Bridges, so they duly went down to ten men as the red card was waved.  1-1 after 105 minutes This clip shows how Three Bridges took the lead early in the second period with a goal by Touray.  Cue celebrations!  2-1 The next clip starts with an astronomical diversion as the twilight deepened and the planets are exposed.  Venus, looking like a very bright star, is just to the left of the tree as we look, The Moon looks like The Moon, and then the second slightly less bright “star” as I pan left and slightly up is in fact the planet Uranus.  Fortunately, I remember where I am in time to cover the corner leading to substitute Rob Spencer’s dramatic equaliser.  I claim the world’s first www coverage of an FA Vase goal and Uranus in the same clip.  2-2 Normally I’d go straight to the shootout but I’ll insert two clips for you to make your own judgements.  I was filming in case of a late, late winner.  Firstly, Joel O’Hara of Three Bridges fouls Danny Holmes who reacts strongly before getting up and waving away attempts to apologise.  Secondly, a few moments later Holmes is booked himself for a horrible tackle from behind.  From a distance, I thought it was on O’Hara (but will happily correct the post if I turn out to be wrong).  2-2 after 120 minutes To the shootout.  The first four penalties were all good, with Gresley shooting first.  Here’s the rest, which ends with the last word once again going to Honeymoon Hateley.  One Gresley player even seems to offer the chance to Hateley to take his kick!  I hope Charlie Cooke will quickly get over his moment of despair.  Gresley win 7-6 on penalties
Man-of-the-Match
Hard to look beyond the two goalkeepers, who decided the outcomes of this game.  A sympathy vote to Simon Lekhyj whose work both last week and this got us to the extra-time and penalties.  However, it’s a results-driven industry and the well-tanned Gary “Honeymoon” Hateley gets the nod for his last game-winning touch.
A snippet from the programme
From the coverage of last Saturday’s draw: “Despite the very windy conditions, both sides contributed to a cracking cup-tie, although at times we found ourselves with a rearguard action and were indebted to great performances in the heart of our defence by Andy Howard and Callum Donaghey, a couple of crucial last ditch tackles/clearances by Charlie Cooke and Nigel Brake and a breathtaking goalkeeping display by Simon Lekhyj… Lekhyj proved the hero more than once in the final minutes, but Hateley also made crucial late saves to deny Touray and Brake to take us into today’s replay.”
What I learned today
Gresley are developing a consistent record in this competition – if defeat comes their way, I hope that a small tanked-up proportion of their excellent travelling support won’t spoil the day.  They are a resilient side playing good football and well worth following.
What Next?
No idea!  Follow the @GrahamYapp twitterfeed for details.

Drawing in Derbyshire

Pew-type fittings to ensure equal width allocation for the bums-on-seats

The faithful have arrived and the pews are packed

This is a step 5 mascot called Elvis Gresley.  Class.

Between songs, Gresley fans offer encouragement to the visiting goalkeeper.

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 21 January 2012 at The Moat Ground
Result	Gresley 1 Three Bridges 1 after extra time
Competition	FA Vase Round 4 Both these clubs are title-chasing in their step 5 leagues – the Midland Alliance and the Sussex Division One respectively – and Three Bridges in particular have a ridiculous number of games in hand now.
Hopping	Venue #448 on the lifetime list and I am here because Gresley were the first unvisited and reachable home club to declare “game definitely on” on my Twittery timeline.  Quasi-randomish rather than truly random, but that’s life.  Nice to meet up with Steven aka @TheTravellingFan for the first time so you can catch his take on the game from the link on the right.
This match in one sentence
Gresley had the better of the game and the weather conditions after a disastrous start, but Three Bridges are no pushovers and it will be a fascinating replay.
So what?
The replay is next Saturday, and the winner will go into the last sixteen.
The drama unfolds
Gresley goalkeeper Gary Hateley had missed two games for a honeymoon.  His understudy Tom Gutteridge had two clean sheets but nevertheless the man with the David Dickinson tan was back.  He had a nightmare start – he brought down Abu Touray to concede a penalty after only five minutes.  Fortunately Touray was heading away from goal otherwise he might have had a red card too.  Tim Rivers slotted home the penalty.  0-1 0-1 My scene-setter clip catches a header by Gresley’s Michael Nottingham and the sterling work of the raffle-ticket seller in the background.  Gresley are in red. The locals were unhappy at their side’s poor showing in the first twenty minutes, and they did not look like a side who could have despatched King’s Lynn and Gornal Athletic from this season’s competition.  They gradually turned up as the half went on.  James Jepson turned up on the left and his cross was beaten out by Simon Lehkyj in the Three Bridges’ goal.  Both Mark Goodfellow and Dean Oliver had efforts blocked in quick succession.  My second clip is from just after the half-hour, a half-chance again for Gresley. They were so nearly level after 40 minutes, as Goodfellow’s low driven cross only just eluded Royce Turville and Rob Spencer coming in.  Three Bridges held on until the break.  0-1 at half-time The blustery conditions worsened to order over the interval and if Gresley had made the original choice of ends then their captain is a genius.  Or a meteorologist. The equaliser that had been coming duly arrived after 50 minutes as Spencer fashioned an unmissable chance for Turville from 8 metres directly in front of goal.  1-1 Three Bridges thought they had equalised almost immediately but, as my American friends would say, there was a flag on the play.  It was a lino’s, for offside.  The game settled into a windswept regular pattern.  Gresley pressing and looking likely to score with Jepson prominent in midfield, and Three Bridges looking potentially dangerous on the break but never quite finding the right final ball.  Here are a couple of clips. Lehkyj distinguished himself by doing just enough to claw the ball away, more than once.  One such occasion, together with an unsuccessful appeal for a pen, is caught on the next clip. There were no more goals, so we went to extra time.  1-1 at 90 minutes Gresley continued in the same direction for the first period.  Here are three short clips to sum up.  A Gresley shot goes high and wide.  Tim Rivers hits the bar to remind everyone that Three Bridges are still around.  A Gresley shot goes closer. However, there were no goals.  Had Gresley missed their best chance? They now had to face a final fifteen minutes facing the wind.  1-1 after 105 minutes To their credit, Gresley did manage some attacks during this time, but Honeymoon Hateley had the final say with a double save, as shown on this final clip.  1-1 at the end of extra time All this counts for nothing as we move to Sussex next week.  On the final final whistle, a Gresley player kicked the ball away in frustration and a Three Bridges player punched the air.  All to play for.
A snippet from the programme
The progamme is called “Taken as Red” and this blogger approves of that for a start.  The chairman thanks Harry Southern in an insight into how clubs run at this level … “It takes a lot of hard work to run the Social Club and I can consider myself lucky having Harry at the club.  Unpaid for over thirty years, thanks from the board and the supporters, Harry, I take my hat off to you.”
What Next?
A quick sprint to Leicester for some British Basketball League courthopping action – Leicester Riders v MK Lions.