Source: Grantham Journal

 A HUGE attendance witnessed Grantham Town’s return to the Northern Premier League Premier Division at The Meres on Saturday.

A crowd of more than 1,200 saw the Gingerbreads battle valiantly against one of the title favourites, FC United of Manchester. The Manchester side brought more than 700 fans who sang and chanted throughout the 90 minutes.

Grantham enjoyed what joint manager Wayne Hallcro termed a “dream start” early on to send the home crowd wild, but it was not to be Town’s day. Back on level terms, FC United went in front after the break after the home keeper was red carded. The match ended 4-2.

Hallcro said: “Looking at what we’ve achieved, there’s a lot of plus points. Hopefully people have had there money’s worth today. Young lads coming through the gates have probably never seen that atmosphere up here before. It was all good apart from the result.”

Co-boss Jimmy Albans re-iterated Hallcro’s sentiments: “This is what we’ve wanted for years. That’s the type of crowd we and the players want to play in front of. I hope they liked what they saw.”

Following the opening game defeat, the Gingerbreads immediately got back on track with a 1-0 win at Stafford Rangers on Tuesday night – finishing again with just 10 men.

Albans said: “Stafford was more like the week to week game we will be facing for the rest of the season. Our communication and togetherness will take us a long way this season. That showed by playing for 50 minutes with 10 men.

“With the way we set up, if we do get a man sent off, we can just drop one of the front two deeper into midfield and continue to play the same way from the back. On the night we deserved the goal and now need to keep on playing the same way and keep our good form.

“In any season, the first three points are always the hardest to get. Now we have got them, it doesn’t take any pressure off Wayne and me, but it does lift it from the players. There were signs of a lack of pressure on Tuesday night. We played a very relaxed game.”

Grantham can expect a tough encounter at Chorley tomorrow, despite the Lancashire side losing in midweek. Albans said that changes would be necessary due to a large amount of absentees – Rhys Lewis, Damien Magee, Gio Carchedi, Connor Higginson, Ash Robinson – with Martin Ball doubtful.

Albans said: “We are all looking forward to the game. We wanted to be here and everyone is enjoying every minute of it. The pressure is off us, but is on the opposition. Our consistency and style of play makes it difficult for opponents and easier for us.”

l Match reports on page 78 with more on the FC United game on page 4.

 Source: Grantham Journal

 GRANTHAM Town’s season opener ended in defeat after the Gingerbreads shocked FC United of Manchester by taking an early lead.

Evo-Stik Northern Premier League
Premier Division
Grantham Town 2
FC United of Manchester 4

A generally evenly-balanced first half saw early chances from FC United’s Carlos Rocca and Grantham’s Paul Grimes. Town keeper Jimmy Lindley punched Rocca’s fourth minute effort clear and Grimes’s curler went just past the far post four minutes later.

FC United posed little threat in the opening exchanges although they were able to keep Grantham penned into their own half at times.

The Gingerbreads shocked United and their 700-plus travelling support in the 13th minute. Grimes’s storming run down the left flank and into the 18-yard box ended with him slotting past keeper James Spencer.

Two minutes later, Town skipper Ben Saunders headed on target but it was too easy for Spencer. FC United were awarded a free kick in the 17th minute that was headed clear by the Grantham defence.

Ben Saunders set up Grimes for another shot on goal but his effort was deflected wide. Grimes turned provider to his skipper a minute later but Saunders’ strike was on the turn was charged down.

Grantham’s defending became slightly last-ditch as the half wore on but United were unable to take advantage.

Grimes was brought down on the edge of the United penalty box in the 28th minute. Martin Ball drove the free kick low through the wall but Spencer gathered at his feet.

Lindley faced a United free kick in the 34th minute. Grant Brindley made a bad late tackled on Lee Neville but Rocca curled wide from the 25-yard set-piece.

Four minutes later, United were level. Another Rocca free kick was headed in by Adam Jones, through the Grantham defence and Lindley.

The dying minutes of the half saw Ben Saunders head wide and Grimes fired off target after he hesitated a second too long and was closed down by United defenders.

Lindley was equal to Mike Norton’s close-range volley and Phil Watt did well to block Norton’s overhead kick just before the half time whistle.

Grantham had a chance to go back in front at the start of the second half, but Grimes scuffed a sitter.

It all started to go wrong for Grantham in the 48th minute. A quickly taken United free kick found Norton the ball behind the Town wall, appearing from the main stand to be well off-side. The flag stayed down, Lindley tripped Norton and referee Mr Finch pointed to the spot and showed the Grantham stopper a straight red.

Brindley took Lindley’s shirt and gloves and promptly saved Dean Stott’s penalty, only for Jerome Wright to fire in from the rebound.

Hardly recovered from the shock of it all, the Gingerbreads conceded again three minutes later. Naive defending allowed Rocca too much space to run in on a loose ball and he shot past Brindley with ease.

United’s celebrations were dampened a minute later when Grantham brought the scoreline to 3-2, with Sam Purcicoe firing in to reignite the Gingerbreads supporters.

Matthew Wolfenden skied a shot over the Grantham goal in the 56th minute as United continued to show more pace and cohesion as the game went on.

It was all hands on deck at times for Town as United surged forward and Brindley did well to tip substitute Stephen Johnson’s 64th minute corner kick from danger.

A minute later, Grantham were awarded a free kick from 20 yards out after Grimes was fouled. Grimes’s free kick was on target but Spencer was equal to it, with Town substitute Jamie McGhee on the United keeper’s toes.

Town threatened again in the 67th minute. Ball’s free kick found Sam Saunders whose flick-on header was just too high for Grimes to connect with.

United hammered the final nail in the coffin a minute later when danger man Norton threaded his way through the Town defence and tucked the ball past Brindley.

But Grantham continued to fight on. Ball’s 70th minute 40-yard free kick found Emeka Nwadike, whose header forced Spencer to tip past his post. Spencer punched Lee Potts’s subsequent corner kick out to McGhee but he fired off target.

As players came and went for both sides in late substitutions, the last real action saw Rhys Lewis’s 78th minute effort blocked after a Potts corner kick.

Grantham Town: Lindley, Purcicoe, Potts, Brindley, S. Saunders, Watt, Lewis, Ball, Grimes (Demidh, 72), B. Saunders (McGhee, 56), Nwadike (Magee, 84). Subs not used: Battersby, Jacklin. Att: 1,220.

Published on Monday 20 August 2012 11:32

 Source: Grantham Journal (see that link for video)

 PUNCHES were thrown by both sets of fans during Grantham Town’s 4-2 loss to FC United of Manchester as fan violence briefly marred an excellent fixture.

The atmosphere prior to the game was electric and good-humoured, with the away side bringing an estimated 700 fans to The Gingerbreads’ 500.

The terracing at the Meres - usually home to a small pocket of hardcore Gingerbread fans - was split in half to allow both sets of fans access but the FC United contingent far outnumbered around 150 Town supporters.

Both sets of fans were chanting towards each other with FC United of Manchester fans singing “We are United” and Town supporters retorting with “You’re not United” but there was no sign of the atmosphere boiling over until Town took a surprise early lead through Paul Grimes.

Both sets of supporters were divided only by a handful of volunteer stewards and a thin line of red and white tape - neither of which could prevent the two sets of fans coming together.

Punches were thrown by a handful of supporters from either side with those from FC United coming into the less heavily populated Grantham Town section.

What sparked the violence is not clear although at least one Grantham Town fan ran to the front of the terracing to goad the FC United fans after Grimes’ opener.

The Journal spotted at least two Grantham Town fans suffering from cuts to the face after the melee, which was over in a matter of seconds, while another couple had swollen features.

Police quickly arrived on the scene and at least two Grantham Town supporters were ejected from the ground.

The remainder of the game passed without any further clashes thanks in no small part to the efforts of the stewards and the presence of police.

Grantham Town chairman Steve Boam:

“I think my stewards handled it very well.

“We have learned a few things from this fixture - putting a bigger segragation between supporters and what have you.

“I think the police handled it very well.

“We well know who these people are and they will be banned from this football ground.”

Grantham Town joint manager Jimmy Albans:

“I think foot ball at any level, when you have had a few beers and it’s the first game of the season and everyone is buzzing and the lads have been on the way down from Manchester, and our lads...at the end of the day let the authorities and people like that deal with it.

“I’m not really interested in it to be honest.”

Grantham Town joint manager Wayne Hallcro said:

“I saw that there was a bit of a scuffle at the back - not too much I don’t think.

“I think the stewards did a good job. I think it was a mixture of excitement, reflief and booze.

“The ugly side of the game so I don’t want to talk too much about that to be honest because I think it marrs what’s been a really good day for both teams, for the club and especially me and Jimmy.”

 Source: Grantham Journal

 GRANTHAM went a goal up in front of more than 1,200 fans at the Meres today but were ultimately beaten after going down to ten men.

Newly promoted Grantham Town pushed FC United - one of the best supported non-league sides in the country - throughout a hard-fought game which saw Paul Grimes put Grantham one-nil up.

The celebrations were marred by ugly clashes between a small group of both fans from both sides (more to follow).

FC United levelled before the break and went ahead when Town goalkeeper James Lindley gave away a penalty and was sent off for a goalmouth trip.

Centre-back Grant Brindley went in goal and incredibly saved the penalty - only for United to take a 2-1 lead from the rebound.

FC United were soon 3-1 up but The Gingerbreads battled back with Sam Purcicoe quickly pulling one back for 3-2.

But any chance of a miracle comeback ended when FC United striker Mike Norton grabbed the away side’s fourth to make it 4-2.

Grantham Town joint manager Wayne Hallcro:

“It was a dream start really, being 1-0 up. Then we had a couple of half-chances and one really good chance that could have made it 2-0 - then the game’s clearly different.”

Grantham Town joint manager Jimmy Albans:

“I was delighted with the whole 90 minutes.

“I can’t complain about the application, the effort, the attitude. I think we set out to deprive them of the ball and make it very, very hard for them.

“We sat behind the ball and tried to frustrate them and I think it worked very, very well for us.”

Grantham Town chairman Steve Boam:

“I think we conducted ourselves well.

“We were a little naive at times. I think the sending off had a massive impact on the game. At that point I thought we were more than capable of getting a point out of the game.

“I didn’t see a lot there that would worry us and they are red-hot favourites to win this league.

“If that’s the hardest test we are going to have I think we are in for a good season again.”

(On the crowd of more than 1,260)

“It was absolutely brilliant news. It was what we expected - we expected 700 from Manchester and it was great to have near-on 500 from Grantham.”

 Source: Grantham Journal


 A BUMPER crowd is expected at The Meres tomorrow when Grantham Town host non-league leviathons FC United of Manchester.

Joint manager Wayne Hallcro described the fixture as “perfect” for the Gingerbreads’ return to the Northern Premier League Premier Division, following their championship-winning season in Division One South.

FC United are renowned for their large home support and sizeable travelling contingent. Internet forums this week suggested that the Manchester side will be bringing anything from 300 to 700-plus supporters, which could easily make an attendance of more than 1,000 for the season opener.

Hallcro said: “Saturday is the perfect game for opening day. With a big crowd and the lottery of [it being the] first game, we could cause a surprise or two. We would certainly prefer to be playing FC United now than in 10 games time.

“We haven’t watched them and don’t know too much about them. But would we change what we do at home? No way. We do need a plan B in case it isn’t working. We will have more information about them before the game.”

Despite two fantastic previous seasons, Grantham have suffered slow starts to their campaigns, but Hallcro does not see that as a problem and said last year’s opener against Lincoln United was more of a pressure game than tomorrow’s meeting with last season’s Premier Division play-off contenders FC United.

Hallcro said: “In some respects, we have got to go out and play our way and let them worry about us. We are all comfortable with what we do. We need to stay in the game as long as we can to get something out of it.

“We are under no pressure this Saturday and will go out to get a result. It is the first game in a higher league.

“We can’t be complacent because we won the league last time round. It is a big game and a big crowd lifts everyone.”

Hallcro said that the Premier Division was going to be a “massive” learning curve for the whole Grantham Town set-up and different tactics would have to be employed at times if they were to match their opposition, including FC United tomorrow..

He said: “If we defend properly and be patient, chances will come. We must make the right decisions when we have got the ball and need to clear our lines to the right place.

“Their front two are very experienced and we need to keep tight to them.”

Grantham chairman Steve Boam said he had spoken to FC United of Manchester on Wednesday night and they confirmed that they were expecting to bring around 700 supporters.

Mr Boam would have preferred the FC United game to have come a little later in the season but said that the potentially largest attendance of the season for the first game scenario was far more preferable than the Manchester side visiting The Meres on a cold, frosty winter’s night, watched by “one man and his dog”.

Mr Boam said: “We are expecting close on to 2,000 tomorrow, but I am forever the optimist.

“Looking at 700 travelling, I hope interest around town will at least match that. We have had record season ticket sales, which is a good indicator.

“I want people around town to get behind us 100 per cent and enjoy the level of football the club is at now.”

To be part of that big crowd atmosphere and witness what could the start of another momentous season for the Gingerbreads, get along to The Meres tomorrow for the 3pm kick-off.