Skegness beached as Moatmen win to go top of the table
GRESLEY Rovers went top of the UCL Premier League North with a 2-0 win over Skegness Town at the Moat Ground, writes Harry
Tizard.
Three red cards and a controversial penalty from which the Moatmen went ahead made for an eventful afternoon.
Gresley’s first chance came from a free kick on the left which Steve Hart rolled to Ryan Seal but the captain shot well over.
Hart hit the next Gresley free kick himself and when it deflected off the defensive wall, visiting goalkeeper Ricky Lovelace did well to parry the ball away.
Skegness had offered little going forward until the 20th minute, when James DeanAtkinson shot low from just inside the box but straight into the hands of Lewis Fenny.
A chipped ball by Hart found Danny Munday bursting down the left but his shot was tame, rolling into the palms of Lovelace.
Gresley took the lead after half an hour from the penalty spot, with Skegness reduced to 10 men at the same time.
James Field was deemed by referee Minesh Gupta to have blocked Seal’s shot with his arm and the player’s complaints about the decision were vehement enough to cost him a red card.
Seal was unmoved, stepping up to slot the ball into the bottom left corner with Lovelace going the other.
The numbers on the pitch were levelled up within moments.
Gresley’s George Clark conceded a free kick near the corner flag in defence and, in the off-the-ball clash that followed, he was given a straight red card.
Skegness emerged more strongly at the start of the second half and looked promising going forward but their hopes of getting back into the game were halted by a second goal for Gresley.
Hart, who had scored 11 goals in his last six games, scored in the seventh consecutive game he has played in.
Kane Lee was brought down on the edge of the area and although the position looked more suitable for a cross than a shot, Hart drilled a low shot which evaded players of both sides and nestled in the corner of the net.
Skegness tried to find a way back into the game, but Alby Lansdowne and Mason Frizelle both blocked shots well.
Fenny was called into action after 70 minute when the ball bobbled around the box and the Gresley keeper did well to tip a poked effort from close range by Cenc Acar around the post.
Munday went close to extending the lead. Coming in from his position on the left, he saw Lovelace claw away a good shot.
Munday still had his best chance to come.
Latching on to a ball over the top, he went round Lovelace before seeing his shot cleared off the line by Corey Cunliffe.
Lee Butler might have finished the game in style.
Bursting up from his makeshift position at right-back, he connected with a cross from substitute Louis Briscoe but Lovelace saved well.
Briscoe, not long on the pitch, was sent off in the closing minutes for a high arm around the neck of a Skegness defender.