Dronfield Town climbed a couple of places in the UCL Division One table with a tense 2-1 victory away at Gedling MW. A fifteenth minute Dan Shelbourne header gave Town the lead and they extended that two minutes into the second half through Arran Bovill. Gedling substitute Joel Stevens pulled one back for the home side, which led to a nervy final twenty minutes as Dronfield held on for a hard-fought three points. Town climb to twelfth as a result ahead of an October programme of seven games that starts with the visit of Nuneaton Town to the Stonelow Stadium in the UCL Cup.
It was Gedling who produced the first opportunity of the game through their leading scorer Gianfranco Ciaurro. Just six minutes had elapsed when he managed to dink the ball past Town stopper Lewis Naylor. However, Tom Gladwin came up with a goal-saving challenge on the line that kept the game scoreless.
Dronfield were much better from thereon. On 14 minutes, a delightful flick on from the head of Sam Bebbington went straight into the path of young striker Arthur Pashley, whose useful attempt produced a decent save from Gedling keeper Glenn Guyatt.
Dronfield did take the lead a minute later however. Bebbington was involved again – his pinpoint cross from the left being glanced home by the head of Dan Shelbourne to make it 1-0 to the visitors.
Pashley grasped his starting opportunity with enthusiasm and on 21 minutes he cut usefully in from the right before curling a left footed shot just past the far post.
It was all Dronfield by this stage as demonstrated when Chris Simpkins ball in from the left was headed narrowly wide by Arran Bovill.
Gedling finished the half strongly. Two minutes before the break, Courtney Hastings volleyed over the bar and before the half came to an end, Lewis Naylor was forced into a point blank stop at close range from Ciaurro, who had broken through the Dronfield rearguard.
The second half was frantic and incident-laden, beginning when Dronfield got their second two minutes after the restart. A well-timed run from Arran Bovill through the middle saw him use his long limbs to lift the ball over the oncoming Guyatt and into the goal to make it 2-0.
Dronfield almost got a third on 51 minutes. Tom Gladwin’s header played in Sam Bebbington but a last ditch challenge from Gedling saw his attempt go out for a corner.
Chris Millington’s side went down to ten men shortly after. With his man backing into him, Chris Simpkins was adjudged to have committed a foul. The referee was unimpressed with Simpkins’ questions following the incident and sent him to the sinbin with 55 minutes gone in the encounter.
With Dronfield reduced to ten men temporarily, Gedling tried to capitalise. A well-struck free kick from Buba Ceesay from 20 yards out was expertly turned round the post by Lewis Naylor.
Naylor was powerless to stop the hosts pulling one back on 69 minutes however. The ball was hooked over from the left flank to the back post where Gedling substitute Joel Stevens was on hand to head home comfortably to make it 1-2.
Dronfield should have sealed the points on 71 minutes but had a goal ruled out in controversial circumstances. Arran Bovill looked to have scored his second of the encounter but the referee blew for a foul on Guyatt, who had clearly been impeded by his own man.
The remainder of the game was edge of the seat stuff with Dronfield doing all they can to prevent a Gedling equaliser. Another low save to his left by Naylor from Stevens was the final key moment as all three points headed back up the M1 to North Derbyshire.
Town rise from fourteenth to twelfth as a result ahead of a seven game run in October, which includes five home fixtures. The first of those fixtures sees Nuneaton Town, once of the Football Conference in a previous guise, visit the Stonelow Stadium next Saturday for a UCL Cup first round clash.
Gedling MW: Guyatt, Uyiosa, Ceesay, Jepson, Brett, Clarke E, Clarke O, Harrison, Hastings, Ciaurro, Eisa. Subs: McCaughey, Loscalzo, Stevenson, Stevens, Wiggins-Thomas.
Dronfield Town: Naylor, Vardy, Simpkins, Stewart, Shelbourne, Gladwin, Chapell, Bovill, Pashley, Bebbington, White. Subs: Hatton, Reardon, Bancroft, Appleyard, Fereday.
Attendance: 77
