Sheffield 1-2 Grantham Town
Northern Premier League (Division One-East)
Wednesday 24th April 2024
Two nights ago, it was Ossett United who secured their survival in the Northern Premier League.
Last night, it was the turn of Grantham Town - playing their second away game in the space of three days, who put in an absolute shift to beat Sheffield FC and pull off a remarkable ‘Great Escape’.
Only a few weeks ago, Grantham looked dead and buried. Languishing at the bottom of the table with Winterton Rangers, it seemed a case of when, and not if, the proverbial ‘Fat Lady’ would start belting out a few songs and the Gingerbreads relegation would be confirmed. The gap between them and safety was significant, the task seemed insurmountable and matches were fast-running out.
Where were the points needed going to come from? With just one away win all season - and plenty of away games left, it certainly didn’t look like it would be on the road!
But if there’s one thing about this Grantham Town team, it’s that they’ve got spirit and don’t give up - even when the odds appeared to be stacked against them. They won at Ashington. They won at Liversedge.
And on a night which will be remembered for a while, those in grey shirts became the ultimate heroes to the 100 or so traveling fans who witnessed something special as they won this game too!
Despite having nothing to play for other than pride, Sheffield didn’t just lie down and get easily beaten. Ryan Cresswell’s team wanted to spoil a possible party - it was evident, so Grantham had to work hard to achieve this victory!
On a night when the Gingerbreads knew that three more points would GUARANTEE survival with a game to spare (something which seemed incomprehensible not so long ago), they drew first blood just past the half-hour mark when Sisa Tuntulwana flicked the ball home off a long-throw to put them on the brink of achieving their mission - thus also causing Sheffield’s PA announcer a whole heap of problems in trying to pronounce his name as the scorer!
With the lead established, big Matty Doyle - who knows a thing or two about dramatic games after he scored in this one for Barnsley’s U18s at the end of last season, went close just after half-time when a ball dropped to him inside the box and he forced a near-post save. Close. But no cigar!
There were other half-chances too, and then on 65 minutes came a special moment that Harry Olivant will never, ever forget as he scored probably the best goal of his life by slaloming his way through the Sheffield defence on a counter-attack with some neat and nimble footwork, reaching the edge of the box and then producing the perfect finish by slamming a low drive past Edd Hall before being mobbed by his jubilant team-mates.
At 2-0, this was ecstasy. Survival felt so tantalizingly close with the impossible dream so close to fruition.
However, Sheffield weren’t about to just chuck the towel in and let Grantham have it so comfortably and when their attacker was sent sprawling in the area, the referee had no option but to give a penalty. Up stepped Cameron Johnson to send Curtis Hall the wrong way and bring them back to within one goal of an equaliser.
The game was on again. It was tense. It was tight. It was nerve-wracking. The proverbial cat was amongst the pigeons with many counting down the seconds. And those nerves weren’t helped by the fact the referee added on five extra minutes and proceeded to play 12 before FINALLY blowing her whistle to spark joyous scenes between Grantham’s players and fans who knew they’d just achieved the impossible SURVIVAL. And what a feeling!
Nobody would have predicted this a few weeks ago!
The irony about the result is that, barring a 15-goal swing, Saturday’s game away at Winterton Rangers is now effectively meaningless - because this win for Grantham effectively sends Winterton down. Saturday’s game has been talked about for weeks as being a potential decider. A game which was meant to have so much riding on it but now, instead, it’ll be a nerve-free day for everyone associated with Grantham Town because the job is done!
And what credit the team deserves for what they’ve pulled off with a game to spare!
Sheffield could yet still be party-poopers as they host Hebburn Town on Saturday who, at the opposite end of the table, know they need to win that game to clinch the title. And judging on how bland Hebburn looked on Tuesday in their defeat to Ossett, plus how fired up, determined and ‘rattled’ Sheffield looked at times in this game, it certainly won’t be an easy game.
What a battle that could be!
But what an occasion this was for Grantham Town!
