Grantham Town have signed defender Richard Black from Cambridge City

Towering defender Richard Black has become the latest addition to the Grantham Town ranks.

The centre-half joins the Gingerbreads having spent last season in the Northern Premier League with Cambridge City.

He made 40 appearances for the Lilywhites last term and was previously skipper of Dereham Town.

Head coach Louis Bland commented: "I'm delighted to have Richard through the door and signed.

"He's one we identified we wanted to sign straight away. He was here last pre season but decided to sign elsewhere but now the club is on the right track on and off the pitch it became a more appealing option for him.

"He’s been training with us since the start of pre-season and has looked sharp. His stature and his leadership will be massive for this group going forwards."

Striker Ryan Rushen has departed the Gingerbreads to sign for United Counties League Premier Division North newcomers Newark Town.

Grantham started their pre-season friendly schedule with a draw at home against newly promoted fellow step four side Sherwood Colliery on Saturday.

The Gingerbreads had many of their new signings on show and were good value for the draw, showing some good football along the way.

Bland said: "We started really brightly in the opening minutes but dropped off a bit in the mid-period.

"We expected that they might be stronger having had one more game so far than us.

"I want to see us play on the floor and be aggressive when we don’t have the ball. We did that most of the time, a couple of things that went wrong, but that’s what we want to see.”

The opening quarter of an hour was Grantham looking bright and passing the ball well.

There were few chances, Sam Muggleton only finding the Sherwood goalkeeper when he hit a shot after 16 minutes.

The visitors showed they had strength to their game, taking control of the contest and forcing Curtis Hall into a couple of good saves, the first of which needed a follow up from Ryan Ebanks to clear the ball off the line.

Sherwood took the lead after 33 minutes. Hall came out of his goal to block off a run wide to his left. He found himself out of position and, struggling to get back as the ball was crossed in, it nodded into the unguarded net at the far post.

The Gingerbreads levelled the game after 55 minutes.

A long clearance from a Sherwood attack found Harry Olivant just inside the visitors' half.

Olivant ran at the visitors’ defence, taking the ball between two defenders, before slotting it past the Sherwood goalkeeper.

With the two sides facing each other in the FA Cup in a few weeks’ time, neither manager wanted to give away too much.

Both sides made a number of substitutions as the game ended level but overall it was a good run out for Grantham's first pre-season game.

The two sides will meet again next month after being drawn together in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup with the Gingerbreads heading to Nottinghamshire on Saturday, August 3. The winners will travel to either Yaxley or Godmanchester.

Grantham have a home draw in the FA Trophy against Northern Premier League Midlands Division rivals Coleshill Town on Saturday. September 7.

The Gingerbreads were 3-0 winners in their friendly against United Counties League Division One side West Bridgford on Tuesday night.

Goals from a trialist, Rodrigo Goncalves and Muggleton secured the win in the match that was played at Aslockton and Orston.

Grantham head to United Counties League Premier Division North side Deeping Rangers on Saturday for a South Kesteven Charity Cup clash.

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