Saturday 22 December 2007

Grampound 2-1 Saltash Utd.

(Duchy League Division 2)
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Grampound had not played at home for some weeks, and it looked like it as Saltash settled into the match much more quickly. Their passing was sharper and they looked after the ball whereas Grampound found it difficult to retain possession and gave the ball away with some regularity. Saltash looked dangerous from set pieces and hit the woodwork a couple of times but Grampound managed to keep them out for forty minutes, with the back three of Harris, Webb and Fletcher outstanding. The pressure told, though, when Grampound skipper Fletcher pulled down a Saltash forward in the penalty area on the half-hour but the resulting penalty was missed by Saltash's Tony Jane. Grampound breathed a sigh of relief and even made a couple of excellent chances through Bartlett and Weeks who both should have scored but didn't. The home team, though, were disappointed to go behind when too many opposition players were allowed to run at the Grampound defence and eventually the ball was crossed from the left for James Charlton to open the scoring for the visitors with a crisp shot from 15 yards.

Grampound looked to be under pressure again at the start of the second half, but the best chance was created when, 10 minutes into the half, Kev Toms was put away down the right for Grampound and his fine floated cross was not cleaned up by the visiting defence and goalkeeper. Shane Weeks was on hand and, unchallenged, he sidefooted the ball home for the equaliser. Grampound were buoyed up by the goal and sensed that an upset was possible as the visitors reacted poorly from a character point of view. Webb cleared up a ball at the back and strode into midfield before playing a precise ball into Weeks' run down the middle. The pace of Weeks was enough to take him clear of some fierce tackles - a penalty may well have been awarded - and he flicked the ball bravely past the goalkeeper to put Grampound ahead. Saltash did not react well again to going behind and a couple of yellow cards would not have been amiss. It was Grampound who showed huge heart for the remaining 25 minutes to keep the quick Saltash strikers at bay, with Stuart Harris being immense with his tackling and heading at the back for Grampound, along with many others who just would not allow Saltash to get back into the game. Grampound even created a couple of half chances on the break near the end and were very pleased to restrict the visitors to long crosses and shots for much of the second period. The superiority showed by the visitors in the first half was simply not allowed in the second half when Saltash did not create a clear chance. This was a tremendous win for Grampound, much appreciated by the home support, and should set the team up for an assault on the division's higher positions in the new year.

Squad

1. Bennett-Glew
2. Harris
3. Webb
4. Fletcher
5. Dunn D
6. James A
7. Maker
8. Trudgeon (sub Moseley, 78)
9. Dunn G
10. Weeks
11. Bartlett (sub Toms, 45)

Goals

Weeks (55, 65)

Man of the Match

Stuart Harris/Shane Weeks

Yellow Cards

None

Red Cards

None of the Match Yellow Cards Red Cards