Saturday 10 November 2007

Gerrans 0-4 Grampound

(Wovina Embroidery League Cup, Round 1)
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Gerrans got into their stride the quickest against an initially sluggish Grampound team who took some time to get going. The team had to be on their game to keep Gerrans at arms length and this was managed but in the opening half-hour Grampound's midfield won precious little but gradually started to offer a threat in the home half. Bartlett on the right and Weeks up front looked sharp for Grampound but the ball and decisions seemed not to go the visitors' way until 5 minutes before half time when Shane Weeks chased down a ball on the left. Against the odds he secured control of the ball and then neatly chipped the ball to the far post for Glyn Ford to head the ball home and give Grampound the lead. From that moment there was only going to be one winner in this match.

The second half saw Grampound take complete control, using short, neat passes to maintain possession and keep the pressure on the home team rather than trying difficult, killing passes too often as they had for much of the opening period. Ten minutes into the second half a good passing movement released Ford down the left and he was brought down by a desperate defender. Cotterill's chipped free kick was met by Cooper at the far post and his header hit the underside of the bar only to be forced over the line by Ford. Weeks and Ford were increasingly finding space up front by now and good movement and passing allowed Ford to square the ball inside for Weeks who hit a sweet shot into the corner past the keeper's right hand to put Grampound further ahead. The final goal was the pick of the game and arrived 20 minutes from the end when man-of-the-match Weeks outsmarted and then outpaced defenders down the right and picked out Glyn Ford with a pull-back from the goal-line. Ford's right-foot volley could not have been hit much better and the ball zipped into the net, again past the keeper's right hand. A very solid first half and an outstanding second-half performance will have buoyed Grampound's confidence after some mediocre displays with the simple passing of later in the game being a joy to watch. Gerrans, in the second half, had no answer and seemed unable to put together any kind of response that would unsettle a very tight Grampound defence.

Squad

1.Cooke
2. Leaney
3. Webb
4. Fletcher
5. Bartlett (sub Dunn D, 70)
6. Cooper
7. Maker (sub Ford T, 85)
8. Cotterill (sub James A, 70)
9. Dunn G
10. Ford G
11. Weeks

Goals

Ford G (40, 55, 75),
Weeks (70)

Man of the Match

Shane Weeks

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