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| NPLD1S - Grantham Town 4-1 Willenhall Town |
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| Written by Matty B | |||
| Monday, 08 February 2010 17:02 | |||
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Northern Premier League Division one South - THE MATCH Grantham Town 4-1 Willenhall Town - Saturday 6th February 2010 - Kick-Off 1500 Niall O'Rafferty PEN 23, 70, 75 Ben Saunders 42 Matthew Whitehouse 62
'An Absolute Rafferty!' - Official Match Report After the resignation of Steve Pomroy, Willenhall Town put in one of their most committed performances of the season under the watchful eyes of Dave Cooper, Kris Baugh and Matthew Wood.Willenhall, who had just 11 players, with no substitutes, found themselves under early pressure, as two Ben Saunders efforts forced saves from Matt Jones. Whilst Nick Langford found himself one on one with Jones, but the keeper managed to pull off a fine save. Willenhall kept level until the 23rd minute. When a penalty was awarded for a handball against Dwayne Robinson. Niall O’Rafferty converted the spot kick. 3 minutes later and 3 Grantham shots rained down on the Willenhall goal, but a save from Jones and clearances from Robinson and Jamie Harper kept the scoreline at 1-0. Willenhall started to show a more attacking approach, with George Pomroy-Crowe and Carlton Rose having long range efforts that came close. Grantham doubled their lead on 42 minutes, as a ball in from the left was deflected to Ben Saunders, who forced the ball in from close range. Half time: Grantham 2 Willenhall 0 On 54 minutes, a good ball into the box found Sam Saunders in space, but his shot from 10 yards went over the bar. 2 minutes later Willenhall had the ball in the net following a corner, but Jamall Pinnock’s effort was ruled out, as the ball was adjudged to have gone out of play before coming back in. Another goalmouth scramble came on 58 minutes, as several Willenhall players tried to force the ball over the line, but despite their appeals no goal was given. At the third time of asking, Willenhall did pull a goal back on 62 minutes. Good running from Rose saw him close down a clearance from home keeper Richard Stainsby, the ball fell to Matt Whitehouse who hit a first time shot into the top corner. After a Willenhall counter attack almost brought an equaliser, Grantham went 3-1 up on 70 minutes. As a free kick into the box was only cleared to O’Rafferty, who volleyed the ball first time into the bottom corner. The scoring was complete on 75 minutes, as a ball from the half way line was allowed to bounce inside the area, and O’Rafferty was waiting at the back post to turn the ball in for his hat-trick. Willenhall, already suffering as Dean Humpage had to play through the pain barrier with hamstring problems, were reduced to 10 men as Whitehouse received a straight red card following a challenge. Late on, substitute Danny Hargreaves had two efforts, one saved by Jones, one cleared off the line by Robinson. Grantham line-up: Stainsby, Percicoe, S. Saunders, Asher, Sucharewycz, Hallcro, O’rafferty, I. Robinson, Langford (Hargreaves), B. Saunders (Potts), Carchedi (Brooks). Willenhall line-up: Jones, D. Robinson, Ryan, Griffiths, Doughlin, Pomroy-Crowe, Whitehouse, Harper, Humpage, Rose, Pinnock. Attendance: 146
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