Saturday 21st July, 2001
GLAPWELL 0 WORKSOP TOWN 8

Yet, although the home side were run ragged thanks to a superlative performance from Paul Mitchell’s outfit, there were a number of fine performances, especially from the new arrivals to Hall Corner, which bode well for the coming campaign.

In midfield, Adie Carter, from Shirebrook Town, was easily Glapwell’s best player as he became involved in everything that the hosts produced.

And right-back, Martin Rowbottom, who also made the close-season trip from Langwith Road, shone on an otherwise miserable afternoon for Graham Gladwin’s side.

The match was virtually over by half-time with the Sandy Lane outfit notching up a three-goal advantage by the interval.

After a good opening twenty minutes by Glapwell, a 23rd-minute strike from African trialist Desmond Le Bon opened the floodgates.

Gary Townsend then pounced twice in the last eight minutes of the first-half before claiming his hat-trick on 54.

Le Bon continued to be Glapwell’s tormentor as his dominance down the left saw him create Worksop’s fifth on 61 for Christoff Kotylo and then their sixth soon after for substitute Micky Goddard.

Townsend added his fourth with a sweet lob before the Tigers claimed their fifth goal in 18 minutes when Goddard struck again on 72.

GLAPWELL: Jeffery, Rowbottom, Heighway, Poxon, Taylor, P. Morgan, Carter, J. Morgan, Booth, Yates, Scott. Subs: Davy, Parr, Cooper.
WORKSOP TOWN: Holmshaw, Smith, Hayden, Brookes, Wilsterman, Davis, Smith, Kotylo, Gray, Le Bon, Townsend. Subs: Goddard, Ludlum, Mason, Hindley, Grayson.
GLAPWELL MAN OF THE MATCH: Adie Carter.

Thursday 26th July, 2001
BLIDWORTH WELFARE 2 GLAPWELL 3

Adie Carter and Martin Rowbottom both showed their worth once again with assured performances whilst newcomers Chris Parr and Michael Davy impressed with confident displays on the right and left wing respectively.

Up front, the power of Malc Brown and Steve Dillon showed that Glapwell could have solved their recent striker problems, whilst the defence has surely been bolstered further by the arrival of Nev Silcock, who produced a fine second-half showing.

Glapwell got off to the perfect start when Parr latched onto a put-in by Davy to give the visitors the lead after just eight minutes.

But, by the interval, they were behind, Johnny Whitworth capitalising on sluggish defensive play to draw the scores level on 34 before, six minutes later, an exquisite lob from 30 yards by ex-Glapwell striker Robbie Clarke left keeper Mark Cooper stranded.

The second-half was proving to be a non-event, with Gladwin making several changes but, as the game entered the final twenty minutes, the visiting side took control. Danny Scott hit the woodwork following an enterprising run from the left whilst Adam Froggatt agonisingly missed a hat-trick of chances.

But, Glapwell made their authority pay when firstly, on 83, a superb run from midfield and a low 20-yard effort from Freddie Morgan made it 2-2 before, with two minutes remaining, a cross from the right was headed back by Simon Poxon which Yates guided home.

BLIDWORTH WELFARE: Allen, Price, Wilkinson, Curtis, Bower, Lee, Wiggington, Flint, Preston, Clarke, Shakespeare. Subs: Whitworth, Overton, Baughan, Waine, Flett.
GLAPWELL: Cooper, Page, Poxon, Brown, Heighway, Purdy, Parr, Carter, Davy, Rowbottom, Dillon. Subs: Yates, Scott, Froggatt, P. Morgan, Jeffery, Silcock.
GLAPWELL MAN OF THE MATCH: Steve Heighway.

Saturday 28th July, 2001
GLAPWELL 1 ILKESTON TOWN 5

Before the match, anyone arriving at Hall Corner could have expected such a scoreline, but the fact that it took 70 minutes before the Robins opened up a two-goal advantage was great testament to a Glapwell side clearly beginning to gel.

The match began in ideal circumstances with the hosts taking the lead on five minutes, following an excellent attacking move culminating in Gary Page’s cross being headed back across the face of goal by Nev Silcock and turned home by Steve Dillon.

But, two strikes in ten minutes, gave Ilkeston a half-time advantage, Carl Wright levelling scores on 26 before Glenn Kirkwood claimed the lead for the visitors.

The second-period began slowly before, on 66, the match suddenly sprung into life, with Brendan Yates spurning two clear-cut opportunities within a minute to equalise.

And, the misses proved costly as Ilkeston began to take advantage of the home side’s growing tiredness, Emike Nwadike with an excellent long-range strike on 70.

Then, David Holmes headed home eight minutes later to make it 4-1 after Adie Carter had missed a good opportunity to bring the hosts back into the game.

Ilkeston grabbed a fifth with seven minutes remaining, James Whitehead striking home from a Kirkwood nod down.

The scoreline may have been disappointing but, for all those who witnessed the match, there was enough in the Glapwell showing to keep the confidence going for the new season.

GLAPWELL: Jeffery, Rowbottom, Page, Poxon, Taylor, P. Morgan, Silcock, Carter, Dillon, Yates, Davy. Subs: Scott, Cooper, Heighway, Purdy, Froggatt.
ILKESTON TOWN: Ford, Whitehead, Eaton, Middleton, McKenzie, Knapper, Nwadike, Hemmings, Kirkwood, Wright, Foster. Subs: Timons, Holmes, Robinson.
GLAPWELL MAN OF THE MATCH: Adie Carter.

Monday 30th July, 2001
GLAPWELL 1 HUCKNALL TOWN 1

Manager Graham Gladwin was able to name possibly his closest preferred starting eleven and they proved that they could perform even better in the NCEL Premier Division this season with this assured showing.

Glapwell were unfortunate to go behind on 49 minutes when a cross from the right was headed into his own net by Chris Taylor following a misunderstanding between the centre-back and goalkeeper, Chris Jeffery.

However, it didn’t take long for Glapwell to equalise, when Freddie Morgan headed home a Michael Davy free-kick.

And, as the game entered its final throes and it was actually the Hall Corner side who ended the stronger, it was only Town keeper, Dave McCarthy, who kept the visitors in the encounter.

Firstly, on 63, Adie Carter was denied by the Hucknall captain following excellent build-up play with Malc Brown, whose strength was causing problems for the visiting defence.

Then, eight minutes later, in a classic bout of role reversal, Carter fed Brown through on goal who was also denied by the outstretched hand of McCarthy.

Hucknall tempers were beginning to fray but Glapwell could not capitalise on their opponents indiscipline and had to be content with the draw.

Town, meanwhile, were not so happy, as was evident from their extended training session after the match as punishment for their display.

GLAPWELL: Jeffery, Silcock, Page, Poxon, Taylor, Redfern, Carter, P. Morgan, Brown, Yates, Davy. Subs: Heighway, Purdy, Dillon, Froggatt, Marshall, Cooper.
HUCKNALL TOWN: McCarthy, Mayman, Hollingworth, Brown, Peace, Rankin, Roebuck, Wright, Ricketts, McGlinchey, Clarke. Subs: Gould, Bignall, McLaren, Chambers, Bailey.
GLAPWELL MAN OF THE MATCH: Michael Davy.

Wednesday 1st August, 2001
MATLOCK UNITED 1 GLAPWELL 4 [Pictures]

Booth’s double whammy, coming within a minute of each other on the half-hour mark, capped an excellent first-half showing by Graham Gladwin’s side.

But, a poor start after the interval saw the hosts claw one back before Glapwell took control once more and establish a three-goal lead with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining.

The match looked set to be the easiest of Glapwell’s pre-season campaign with United based in the Beauvale Midland Alliance, and Gladwin used the opportunity to once again have a look at the fringe players that had missed the two previous big games against Ilkeston Town and Hucknall Town.

The biggest news was the return of right-back Jason Bowater, now available after a season’s absence due to his Paras commitments, and it surprised everyone how quickly he slotted back into his role and demonstrated just how much the side had missed his influence last year.

But, he was not the only one to shine as striker Booth announced his credential with his double strike.

Firstly, Chris Taylor fed him through following a crunching tackle in midfield to gain possession, and the forward made no mistake in slotting the ball under the keeper.

Then, after another incisive piece of play from Malc Brown, Booth produced a breathtaking second with a first-time volley lob over the keeper from 25 yards into the empty net.

After United had pulled one back, Glapwell struggled to regain their first-half momentum, but nerves were calmed on 69 when Simon Poxon struck home after Freddie Morgan had hit the post from Nev Silcock’s corner. Then, on 75, Brown capped a fine performance with a close-range conversion of Morgan’s low cross.

GLAPWELL: Cooper, P. Morgan, Bowater, Poxon, Taylor, Brown, Silcock, Carter, Purdy, Booth, Davy. Subs: Marshall, Jeffery, Gladwin.
GLAPWELL MAN OF THE MATCH: Nathan Booth.

Thursday 9th August, 2001
GLAPWELL 0 MANSFIELD TOWN 1

Mansfield assistant manager Stuart Watkiss named a side with a handful of first-team squad players before switching to a more youthful line-up after the interval and they were well matched by the NCEL side who gave an encouraging account of themselves.

The visitors began strongly with Bacon being denied by an excellent save by Chris Jeffrey and, from the subsequent corner, Steve Heighway was forced to clear off his own line as Mansfield pressed for the opener.

And, agonisingly for the Hall Corner faithful, the Stags took the lead when a sloppy back-pass by Simon Poxon saw an interception by Bacon who rounded the keeper to strike into the empty net.

Alistair Asher almost doubled Mansfield’s advantage but his powerful 20-yard effort smacked off the Glapwell crossbar whilst Lee Williams and Adam Barrett were thwarted by Jeffrey.

Glapwell were, meanwhile, enjoying a fair share of possession but their only two chances for in the opening period fell to Malc Brown and Brendan Yates who both failed to hit the target.

The second-half continued in equally entertaining fashion with Glapwell almost taking advantage of Mansfield’s loss of cohesion as they produced their best spell of the game.

Firstly, on 73, Jason Bowater saw a 20-yard effort go wide of the mark before, from an Adie Carter corner, the right-back rose unmarked but guided his header off-target. Carter then had a great chance of his own when Danny Scott fed him through on goal, but his attempted lob over Jason White was easily claimed by the keeper.

GLAPWELL: Jeffery, Bowater, Page, Heighway, Poxon, Redfern, Carter, P. Morgan, Yates, Brown, Scott. Subs: Booth, Dillon, Silcock, Parr, Marshall, Rhodes.
MANSFIELD TOWN: Bingham, Asher, (Trialist), Lazarus, Andrews, Barrett, Williams, Rew, Elliott, Bacon, Ghaichem. Subs: Clarke, Holyoak, White, Robinson, Carter, Buxton, Mitchell.
GLAPWELL MAN OF THE MATCH: Chris Jeffery.

Saturday 11th August, 2001 
GLAPWELL 3 MATLOCK TOWN 5

With six first-team regulars unavailable, manager Graham Gladwin had to shuffle his pack from the excellent performance against Mansfield Town two days earlier. And, when Matlock took the lead on 15 minutes, Steve West taking full advantage of a defensive slip-up between Mark Cooper and Steve Heighway, it looked to be a difficult task for the hosts.

However, Glapwell rallied and equalised when Simon Poxon powered home a header from a Danny Scott free-kick. But, that goal only signalled a disintegration of Glapwell’s defensive play and they found themselves 4-1 down by the interval.

Firstly, on 34, an unmarked Jake Pidcock guided home from close range after Heighway had been left to mark two strikers in a quick Town attack.

A minute later, Taylor found himself through but blazed over the bar, but it did not take long for the Gladiators to double their advantage when Matt Varley guided home a cross from the left. 

And, prior to the interval, a speculative effort from Ian Clarke at the edge of the penalty box found its way into the back of Cooper’s net.

After a half-time barracking, however, Glapwell produced a far superior second-half showing and almost drew level as Town struggled to cope.

John Redfern guided home from close range on 52 following an excellent sweeping move down the left before, five minutes later, substitute Martin Rowbottom struck an incredible 30-yard effort with his first touch of the game to give the hosts a glimmer of hope.

But, they could not get the elusive fourth goal and, when Steve Charles struck an injury-time penalty after Poxon had handled in the area, Matlock secured a deserved victory.

GLAPWELL: Cooper, Silcock, Scott, Poxon, Heighway, Redfern, Carter, P. Morgan, Booth, Yates, Davy. Subs: Rowbottom, Parr, Rhodes, Bicknell, Marshall, Welch.
MATLOCK TOWN: Tye, McNicholas, Banks, Capuano, Lukic, Sucharewycz, Varley, Clarke, Taylor, Pidcock, Charles. Subs: James, Davies, Cunningham.
GLAPWELL MAN OF THE MATCH: Freddie Morgan.