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Belper Town still await
their first league victory of the season but to come away from the Moat
Ground having avoided embarrassment has to be considered something of a
moral victory.
Considering there were no
Anthony Wilson, Gary Middleton and Krystof Kotylo, all players who would
have been first choices, the Nailers can feel proud of their performance
on the slope that has been such a disaster area in the past.
It was a frustrating game
with both teams struggling to keep the ball in play whilst consistently
conceding possession and not much of an advert for UniBond League
football.
Belper kicked up the slope
in the first half and knew perfectly well what to expect, and they
weren’t disappointed.
The Moatmen know how to
make the best of the incline and to the Nailers’ credit they managed to
stem the tide whilst occasionally making progress at the other end.
In fact after only two
minutes Danny Toronzcak crossed to the edge of the six-yard area where
Ross Hannah couldn’t connect properly and a good opportunity to strike
first had gone.
Gresley’s Oliver Hancock
tried his luck from 22 yards with a fiercely struck shot in the 5th
minute but Adam Ogden saw it safely over the cross bar.
Belper’s two front men
Toronzcak and Hannah are beginning to forge what could be a lethal
partnership, and they combined well to set up Mark Smith on 7 minutes but
he also couldn’t make the most of the opportunity.
Gresley went ahead on 15
minutes after Andy Rushbury was caught by the bounce of a typical
searching pass, leaving Hancock in a one on one with Adam Ogden.
Hancock managed to get his
shot away but the referee deemed Ogden’s challenge over zealous and
awarded the Moatmen a penalty – cautioning the Belper ‘keeper in the
process.
Nicky Carter blasted home
the spot kick to put the home team in an all too familiar position.
After 15 minutes of very
tedious play from both teams the Nailers found themselves back in the
game after Toronzcak’s cross intended for the unmarked Hannah struck the
outstretched hand of Shaun Ridgeway.
There was an element of
‘ball to hand’ but it was so obvious that Belper would have been denied a
scoring opportunity that the referee was forced to give a penalty.
Danny Toronzcak expertly
converted to level the scores.
The Nailers rode their
luck on 31 minutes when David Blenkinsopp struck the inside of the post
and there were a few moments of panic until Rushbury affected a
clearance.
More good work between
Hannah and Toronzcak nearly yielded a goal but veteran defender Tony
Hemmings managed to head Toronzcak’s deflected shot over the bar.
Ross Hannah finished a
respectable first half with a low drive narrowly wide just before the
whistle, and the Nailers trouped off the field knowing, or hoping that
possibly the worst was over.
Indeed Belper could have
begun the second period in fine style when Danny Hudson found Toronzcak
on the right and Hannah failed to connect with the resulting cross.
Hannah must have begun to
wonder if it wasn’t his day with a shot that went straight to David
Clarke on 51 minutes, then he was certain it wasn’t when he controlled
Hudson’s pin point pass and turned to blast over the top from less than 8
yards.
The Rovers’ ‘keeper saved
brilliantly to deny a Lee Stevenson thunderbolt as the game entered the
final 15 minutes after Rushbury played a short free kick.
Travelling supporters
might have been thinking that the Nailers had done enough to win all three
points when Blenkinsopp made his own luck to force his way through
Belper’s rearguard, only to see Ogden dive full length to push the ball
inches around the post.
All in all and bearing in
mind Belper’s past record in recent seasons at the Moat Ground, a point
wasn’t a bad return for an afternoon’s hard graft.
Those first three points
surely can’t be far away.
Tim
Harrison’s Photo Gallery
Nigel Oldrini
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