Dronfield Town exited the Derbyshire Senior Cup at the third round stage but not before putting up a valiant display against step four side Gresley Rovers. A 38th minute Lewis Archer strike was all that separated the sides on a bitterly cold evening at the Moat Ground. Town had their moments against the Northern Premier League Midland Division outfit but were unable to force the late equaliser that would have sent the game to a penalty shootout. Dronfield now return to the bread and butter of the Northern Counties East League with a visit to Retford FC on Saturday.
An early Lewis Archer shot from the hosts was palmed into the side netting by Dronfield stopper Lewis Naylor but Town were far from overawed and battled hard against their higher ranked opponents.
The 12th minute saw a testing ball in from the left by Matt Crowe, which found Callum Mawbey unmarked. Gresley keeper Leon Phillips pulled off a point blank save from the Dronfield leading scorer.
Chances were at a premium throughout the game and Gresley suffered an early blow as Christopher Camwell had to leave the field on 24 minutes to be replaced by Bekir Halil.
A useful spell for Dronfield was concluded on 37 minutes when a useful cross from the left by Matty Ord saw Phillips scrambling to gather the ball.
Ironically, Gresley immediately went up the other end and broke the deadlock. A low ball in from the right flank was met by a sliding Lewis Archer to force home from close range to make it 1-0 after 38 minutes.
The half ended with Mason Frizelle playing in Lewis Belgrave, whose 18 yard effort was tipped away by an athletic Lewis Naylor.
Despite the late first half chances, Dronfield were undeniably competitive and far from out of the contest. The opening quarter of an hour of the second half passed by unremarkably before Halil fired wide from close range and Naylor pulled off a close-range stop from James Spruce.
Dronfield made three quick substitutions – Callum Mawbey, Matt Crowe and Sam Bebbington making way for Nick Benson, Owen Lester and Lewis Furness.
Gresley too made a triple substitution but it was Dronfield’s Benson who caught the eye on 71 minutes when his useful low cross across the face of goal failed to draw a connection from a Town player.
A flurry of activity punctuated the 75 minute mark. Dronfield’s Regan Rooke headed off the line from Gresley sub Nathaniel Graham as Town went immediately up the other end. Matty Ord fed Connor Chapell, who saw his shot saved by Phillips and as Gresley returned the favour, Keiron Berry stuck the post to end a memorable 60 seconds.
Dronfield committed everyone forward deep into added time. An Ethan Flower free kick from half way was spilled by Phillips, Nick Benson slipping too as Town were unable to force the ball home.
The win marked Gresley’s first in eight games. Despite the loss, Dronfield were left with many positives to take into their next game, a journey to seventh placed Retford FC on Saturday for their latest NCEL Division One fixture.
Gresley Rovers: Phillips, Clark, Gough, Lansdowne, Frizelle, Morris, Spruce, Belgrave, Archer, Williams, Camwell. Subs: Hunniford, Chirata, Halil, Berry, Graham.
Dronfield Town: Naylor, Bebbington, Flower, Rooke, Riley, Gladwin, Chapell, Mawbey, Crowe, Lindores, Ord. Subs: Lester, Furness, Wright, Cameron Knight, Benson.
Attendance: 68
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