After a run of five league losses, Elston found a way to swin against Gedling Southbank but they did it the hard way. With James Smith sent off in the 40th minute for a second yellow card, the Clams were forced to play for over 50 minutes with 10 men, but a fine second half finish from James Scott was enough to secure the three points.

Elston started brightly and enjoyed most of the possession. Even so, chances were at a premium and a header from Scott that just went past the post and a fine volley from the hard-working Rui Thacker was brilliantly saved by the Gedling keeper were Elston’s best chances in the first half. At the other end, two breaks from Gedling led to excellent stops from Hugo Grzelazka, Elston’s new goalkeeper.

In the 35th minute there was a set-back for Elston when Niall Parsons was forced off with a hamstring pull, but the key incident of the match happened five minutes later when Smith, who was already on a yellow card, was slightly late into a challenge. The referee showed him a second yellow before pulling out the red card and Smith had to leave the pitch.

In the second half, even with 10 men, Elston continued to dominate the ball and in the 50th minute Xander Millar crossed the ball for Barney Repper – who had made a great run into the box – and he was able to lay the ball off to James Scott to slide the ball home.

Gedling did react to that goal and had chances of their own, hitting both the post and crossbar, as well as forcing Grzelazka into two more fine saves, but Elston also created further chances in a solid, hard-working second half display. Scott had several shots well blocked by the Gedling defenders and in the last 5 minutes Teddy Furman’s shot whistled past the Gedling post. As both teams tired, Elston were able to see out the rest of the game without any scares and secure a well-deserved victory.

Elston United: Hugo Grzelazka, Barney Repper, James Smith, Toby Craven, Xander Millar, Toby Cullen (Archie Dillon 75), Niall Parsons (Sam Lloyd 35), Thomas Hazelwood (Jake Ledbetter 46), James Scott, Will Veys (Teddy Furman ), Rui Thacker (Sam Adcock 80).