Great excitement preceded the Greshams fixture against Leiston Orient, which had been shifted to the moderately more convenient Saxmundham Sports Centre, a venue previously not visited by Greshams. Not only a new ground to experience, but the game was to be filmed by ITV due to one of the opposition seizing five minutes of desperate fame by going on the show Take me Out. Following two impressive victories there was a strong squad to choose from and Manager Cashen announced the side as Rob in goals; the familiar back four of Froud, Groggy Hamblin and Cash; In midfield, Emy, Matt, Rich Minns and Nathan; with Norfolk and Rob Minns up front and Danny Bond and Ollie on the bench. With a strong wind to contend with and a very low sun, conditions were not ideal, but against at strong Leiston side, Greshams started off well enough. Rich Minns was dominant in midfield and making a few of his typical surging runs, while Emy was an unpredictable menace down the right flank. Meanwhile at the back, Greshams were coping quite well with the inevitable pressure from a strong Leiston side, with Rob making one great save with his feet from a low strike. However after half an hour disaster struck. A mis-hit Leiston corner fizzed low towards the Greshams near post where Nathan took a swing at it only to shank it behind him and into the box, where after a bit of pinball, it was finally forced into the net by the Leiston striker. This setback seemed to rather take the wind out of the Greshams sails as shortly after, Leiston added a second when a ball into the box was controlled by the striker who managed to turn the injured Steve Hamblin and thump the ball home. Half Time Leiston 2 Greshams 0 At half time the talk from Greshams was generally positive. Despite the scoreline Greshams had been in the game, with a brilliant Matt Miller corner coming within a whisker of being forced into the net and a few other half chances coming and going. Steve Norfolk had a good half holding up play well and if Greshams could get the next goal they would be in the game. Greshams were forced to reshuffle at half time due to an injury to Steve Hamblin, with Rich going to centre half, Rob to centre mid; Danny Bond to right mid and Emy up front. Unfortunately these changes disrupted their rhythm somewhat and it was Leiston who got the next goal early in the half, to be fair a well worked goal which carved open the Greshams defence and was finished emphatically giving Rob no chance. Greshams were now up against it and the next Leiston goal had a touch of good fortune about it when a good tackle by Rich Minns right on the edge of the box was judged to be a foul. The resulting free kick was well struck into the net leaving Greshams nursing a sense of grievance. At this point Ollie came on for Cash but the pattern of the game did not change, with Greshams conceding a further three goals, one of which being the most stone wall penalty you will ever see as a frustrated Froudy rugby tackled the striker to the ground in the box. Greshams did have the occasional chance, notably when Danny Bond found himself free at the back post a couple of yards out with the goal apparently at his mercy. However Danny fluffed his lines in embarrassing fashion, sending a weak effort woefully wide.There was however a late consolation for Greshams as Emy , as usual chasing a lost cause, got to the bye line, swivelled and sent the ball across to Rob Minns who was able to stroke it into the empty net. Full Time Leiston 7 Greshams 1 Greshams have come up against Leiston a number of times in recent seasons and they are a strong side. However the score line was a disappointing one. To compound the Greshams misery, a technical issue meant that the ITV cameras were not rolling, meaning that all their preening pre match preparations involving hair gel and leg waxing, had been a waste of time. Manager Cashen went home in a sulk, only for matters to get worse when Everton were thumped by Leicester to round off a thoroughly depressing Sunday! Man of the Match While the team performance was disappointing, several players had decent games, Steve Norfolk working hard up front to little reward, and Rich Minns being dominant in midfield in the first half. However the bubbly this week goes to Steve Froud. Despite his disappointment at not being filmed, Steve never gave up, put in a few strong tackles, and acquitted himself well against the useful, if intellectually limited, Leiston number 11. Well played mate.
