WINNER BALL DOES FAMILY NAME PROUD
JIMMY Ball thinks he may have made it into the Guinness Book of World Records after leading his Forest Green side to a thrilling win in his first game as interim head coach.
Ball, son of England World Cup winner Alan, who replaced axed boss Mark Cooper, got off to a flying start as goals from Jordan Moore-Taylor, Ebou Adams and Chris Stokes saw Rovers end a four-game losing streak to get their play-off hopes back on track.
Ball follows in the managerial footsteps of his dad Alan and grandfather Alan Senior in managing in the Football League.
He said: “I’m waiting for someone to tell me that it has been done before, anywhere in the world. I don’t know if three generations have done that.
“I’m sad Mark Cooper lost his job, he’s a good man, but I’ve been given an opportunity and had to take it.
“The club is about the future, the ethos is about the future, but I can’t think like that at the moment.
“I’ve got to think about three points, winning games and giving this club the opportunity to be where it wants to be.”
Ball saw his rejuvenated Rovers post ten corners in the opening 20 minutes.
Scunthorpe keeper Rory Watson miraculously denied Stokes an early opener – gloving the ball off his line from Nicky Cadden’s corner. Rovers got their noses in front after 21 minutes when Moore-Taylor nodded in from an Adams cross. Harrison McGahey levelled for Scunthorpe on the cusp of the break, drilling beyond Luke McGee.
Abo Eisa put the Iron ahead after 52 minutes – spanking the ball into the bottom of McGhee’s net from just inside the box.
Rovers equalised after 72 minutes when Cadden’s free-kick glanced in off the unmarked Adams’ head.
Cadden fluffed his lines from the penalty spot with 11 minutes to go after Adams was fouled by Jacob Bedeau, but a minute later Rovers regained the lead when captain Stokes stabbed the ball through a crowded goalmouth.
A delighted Ball heaped praise on Watson, who produced a save he compared to Gordon Banks. He added: “Their goalkeeper made an outrageous save off Chris Stokes, it was like Gordon Banks’ save off Pele – and he made another world-class save in the second-half.”
Iron boss Neil Cox admitted there were lessons to be learned from the game.
“We were disappointed not to see the game out when we were 2-1 up,” he said.
“We can’t just let the season fizzle out. We don’t want that sort of mentality at the club.
“We’ll go again, but we need to learn quickly how to defend from set-pieces.”