Grantham game gives food for thought

The game against Grantham Town, confirmed a lot on how the pre-season has gone so far for Rainworth. There are areas of strength that bode well for the coming season and areas of obvious weakness and possibly concern.

Rainworth threatened the Grantham goal as early as the 2nd minute when Jared Holmes went close in quick succession, his second effort just clearing the bar. Rainworth were punished however, in the 5th minute, when their inability to clear a ball in the penalty area resulted in Greg Smith heading home from close range. That was to prove the only goal of the game. For the remainder of the half both sides failed to test either goalkeeper, apart from Nathan Watson who in the 33rd minute put Greg Smith’s pass wide of both the keeper and the post. The 1-0 score line was a fair reflection of a half that neither side threatened to have a major impact.

The second half saw both sides introduce their substitutes, without either looking likely to add to the solitary goal of the first half. Grantham may have been reduced to ten men early in the second half, had the game been more than a pre-season friendly, although this abortion was a ‘one off’ in a game played in a good spirit.

Rainworth will be far from disheartened with the narrow defeat by a team from the ‘Premier’ division who haven’t been beaten yet in pre-season, having taken some notable scalps in the process. With players not available and possible additions to the squad, the next three weeks prior to the start of the season will be crucial to Rainworth’s chances in the coming campaign.