Nine-man Grantham Town hold Long Eaton to a draw
Grantham Town showed a different side to their resolve at Long Eaton on Tuesday night when they were held to a 1-1 draw.
Reduced to nine men with still 20 minutes to go, the Gingerbreads dug deep to keep the hosts out and secure a point. The game had nine yellow cards and two reds with referee Mr Clayton at times seemingly unable to get control of the two sides.
“To play the majority of the game with 10 and more with nine, you’d expect to lose games of football,” said Grantham manager Matt Chatfield. “To be fair, first half we got it wrong and didn’t compete with a good Long Eaton side.
"The first sending off probably helped us, but you can’t coach what happened on the pitch from there on.
" Everyone should be proud of how hard they worked tonight.”
Mr Clayton gave no leeway for the torrential rainfall making the surface slippery as he booked two Gingerbreads in the first five minutes – Jake Wright’s challenge, that early in a game would normally warrant a talking to not a caution, and Jonathan Wafula seemed to slip as he challenged his opponent.
A player melée before Dan Cocks' sending off later in the half was partly due to frustration when Mr Clayton didn’t book Long Eaton’s Tom Marshall for a challenge similar to those early cards.
The home side played a fast, high pressing game in the early stages that pinned the Gingerbreads in their half. Despite the territory and possession, Long Eaton’s final ball was dealt with well by the Gingerbreads defence and Dan Haystead wasn’t tested.
Chatfield had to make a change after 21 minutes when Steve Leslie pulled up clutching his calf. His replacement, Sisa Tuntulwana, made an instant impact with a long throw that was flicked on and just evaded Nathan Tyson.
Long Eaton’s own first half substitution made an early impact as well. Brad Wilson had been on the pitch a minute when he got space to swing over an early cross. Alex Marshall had got between the Grantham centre halves and powered a header past Haystead.
It only took Grantham three minutes to level the game. A quick break from a Long Eaton corner sent Tyson away behind the home defence. Sam Wilson came off his line and Tyson was able to square the ball for Harry Wood. Wood held off two challenges and worked a slight space to fire into the unguarded net.
It was only three minutes later that Grantham were down to 10 men. Tom Marshall was only spoken to by Mr Clayton for a tackle outside the penalty area that deserved a yellow card.
When the free kick seemed to be deflected away by a raised arm inside the penalty area with handball claims waved away by the referee, Cocks chased down the loose ball and scythed across his man. A 20-player melée ensued with Cocks seeing red for the challenge and Long Eaton skipper Jamie McGuire a yellow for his part in the aftermath.
Despite their disadvantage, it was only Grantham who could create a chance in the remaining 10 minutes of the first half. Tuntulwana and Wood combined on the right, but the home defence cleared Tuntulwana’s cross.
After the break, Grantham slowed the game down and largely kept their hosts at arm’s length. Crosses and throws into the penalty area were dealt with well, with Haystead commanding his area confidently.
Tuntulwana was a threat again after 56 minutes. He ran at the home defence on the right with pace, cut in past three challenges and let fly from 18 yards out. Sam Wilson made a good save to keep him out.
Tyson twice went close as the ten men of Grantham had the better of the play. He had one shot deflected for a corner and as Grantham kept the pressure up, his 67th minute effort forced Wilson into another save.
The thrust of the Gingerbreads play was changed a minute later. Wright missed a long ball over his head, then was left behind by Jack Rogers. He caught the Long Eaton winger and was shown a second yellow card.
With only nine on the pitch, Grantham left Ricky Miller alone up front and tried to contain the Long Eaton attacks.
That was a game plan that the Gingerbreads executed perfectly. The home side were frustrated in their attempts to break through the Grantham defence. Forced to cross from deep, Haystead continued to dominate in the air in the penalty area.
Alex Marshall picked up a loose ball when Tuntulwana blocked the initial effort and drove in a low shot. Haystead gathered an awkwardly spinning ball on the wet surface. Jamie Walker hit a good shot with 12 minutes to go, but again, Haystead was in the right place to get his body behind the low shot.
The home bench incurred the wrath of Mr Clayton as they continually threw another ball on to the pitch as soon as the match ball went out of play, resulting in a yellow card flashed at the bench.
The best chance for the home side came and went five minutes before full time. A deep cross swung to the far post where Ben Hutchinson rose above the Grantham defence but couldn’t keep his header down.
The Gingerbreads were able to play out the remainder of time and the added four minutes with no further alarms.