Is that the South Derbys Gresley ? terrible ground.. unless they've moved.
Are you there ?
Yes, I was there. It was quite a short trip for me, so decided to take a look as soon as the draw came out. It will be the same ground that you're talking about ... they've played there since 1908 and it's not in the best of conditions. At one end there's just a sheer brick wall directly behind the goal - bound to injure a few flying wingers over the course of a season.
Neither goalkeeper had too much to do, and both sides lacked composure in front of goal. There were a few openings created, but a lot of shots ended up in the back gardens at both ends. Brackley were a little bit fitter and a bit slicker with their passing, whereas Gresley were a bit more hit and hope. The winning goal came in the 58th minute, and Brackley had hit the bar a few seconds earlier.
Gresley did apply a lot of pressure in the final few minutes. Their goalkeeper went up for a couple of corners and came close to connecting with a header from one of them. As the final whistle blew, the Gresley goalkeeper was actually in the opposing half and running down the left wing with the ball. It was a shame the ref blew time at that point, as it'd have been interesting to have seen what happened next.
I would have preferred a Gresley win. There's little doubt that there the lower ranked of the two teams and it would have taken less petrol to get there than going to Brackley, but on the night I don't think Gresley can have any real complaints about the result. But I didn't see anything to fear in Brackley either.
We can't expect a bumper pay day from the next round. The overall attendance tonight was 302, of which only about 10 were probably from Brackley. The away fans didn't make that much noise either, though at least their goalkeeper never shut up all night!
