13/11/13
The fans have voted for Guy Hollis as the player of the month for October which is a decision we agree with completely. Guy has been fantastic recently at the heart of the defence with his pace and strength and is such a key player for us.
Managers Jon Underwood and Neil Baker
Following Saturday’s excitement thought that we would provide a brief summary of last month’s games.
We only played three league games in the whole month, winning two and drawing one as October is often a month where the league campaign gets disrupted by various cup competitions and this year was no exception.
We didn't actually play a league game until 22nd October when we entertained Marlow at Holloways Park in a very hard fought game. In the first 20 minutes our opponents started brilliantly and in particular their midfielder Ben Gladwin caused us all sorts of problems. We both agreed on that showing he looked the best player we've seen at this level for a long time. This game showed the value of having a natural goalscorer in your team though and Eddie Smith delivered for us with two poacher's finishes to earn us a 2-1 win in a very tough game.
Disappointment however followed the following week at Aylesbury where we led 3-1 and looked comfortable with 15 minutes to go (having been behind at half time) only for a cruel deflection to allow them back in to the game before they stole a point with a late equaliser. This was definitely a case of two points dropped and we were all very disappointed afterwards but these things even themselves out and the Marlow win earlier in the week was easily a game we could have drawn or lost - that's football!
The following Tuesday we travelled to Chalfont where we dominated the game for large periods but were unable to get the breakthrough until late on when Warren Harris popped up with a winner to earn us the win we certainly felt we deserved. Seven points from 3 games in a week is always a good return in this league and we have to be happy with that. We ended the month sitting just outside the play-off positions. After our slow start to the season our aim has always been to be in the play-off places at the turn of the year and to be within striking distance of the leaders so we need to remain consistent throughout November and December if we are to achieve this.
In the cups we started the month with a 2-1 win at Godalming in the FA Trophy, a game which obviously meant a great deal to us as managers and to a number of our players - we certainly deserved what we got on the day. Unfortunately two weeks later we exited the competition with a 2-1 defeat at home to Merthyr after an incredible last five minutes in which they had two players sent off, we missed a penalty and then they somehow got a winner at the death despite only having nine men! We had hopes of a good run in this competition so to lose in this manner was a massive blow.
In the Berks & Bucks Cup we gave one of the performances of the season so far at Conference South side Maidenhead Utd, winning 3-1 in a fantastic game to set up a quarter final with Wycombe Wanderers. It was a really professional performance from the lads and one that confirmed our belief that we can mix it with teams from a higher level. The tough bit is getting out of this league so that we have the chance to prove it week in week out but as we know that is no easy task! Playing (and winning) games like this though certainly wets the appetite and gives you that extra incentive to make sure we do everything we can to achieve promotion this season.
The final cup competition in October was the league cup where a fairly routine 3-0 win at Chertsey saw us progress to the second round and a home match with Uxbridge. We gave a debut to youth team midfielder Seb Castello in this game and he gave a really encouraging performance and one that will guarantee him further opportunities as the season progresses as he is a player we have high hopes for.
Finally, the fans have voted for Guy Hollis as the player of the month for October which is a decision we agree with completely. Guy has been fantastic recently at the heart of the defence with his pace and strength and is such a key player for us.
We only played three league games in the whole month, winning two and drawing one as October is often a month where the league campaign gets disrupted by various cup competitions and this year was no exception.
We didn't actually play a league game until 22nd October when we entertained Marlow at Holloways Park in a very hard fought game. In the first 20 minutes our opponents started brilliantly and in particular their midfielder Ben Gladwin caused us all sorts of problems. We both agreed on that showing he looked the best player we've seen at this level for a long time. This game showed the value of having a natural goalscorer in your team though and Eddie Smith delivered for us with two poacher's finishes to earn us a 2-1 win in a very tough game.
Disappointment however followed the following week at Aylesbury where we led 3-1 and looked comfortable with 15 minutes to go (having been behind at half time) only for a cruel deflection to allow them back in to the game before they stole a point with a late equaliser. This was definitely a case of two points dropped and we were all very disappointed afterwards but these things even themselves out and the Marlow win earlier in the week was easily a game we could have drawn or lost - that's football!
The following Tuesday we travelled to Chalfont where we dominated the game for large periods but were unable to get the breakthrough until late on when Warren Harris popped up with a winner to earn us the win we certainly felt we deserved. Seven points from 3 games in a week is always a good return in this league and we have to be happy with that. We ended the month sitting just outside the play-off positions. After our slow start to the season our aim has always been to be in the play-off places at the turn of the year and to be within striking distance of the leaders so we need to remain consistent throughout November and December if we are to achieve this.
In the cups we started the month with a 2-1 win at Godalming in the FA Trophy, a game which obviously meant a great deal to us as managers and to a number of our players - we certainly deserved what we got on the day. Unfortunately two weeks later we exited the competition with a 2-1 defeat at home to Merthyr after an incredible last five minutes in which they had two players sent off, we missed a penalty and then they somehow got a winner at the death despite only having nine men! We had hopes of a good run in this competition so to lose in this manner was a massive blow.
In the Berks & Bucks Cup we gave one of the performances of the season so far at Conference South side Maidenhead Utd, winning 3-1 in a fantastic game to set up a quarter final with Wycombe Wanderers. It was a really professional performance from the lads and one that confirmed our belief that we can mix it with teams from a higher level. The tough bit is getting out of this league so that we have the chance to prove it week in week out but as we know that is no easy task! Playing (and winning) games like this though certainly wets the appetite and gives you that extra incentive to make sure we do everything we can to achieve promotion this season.
The final cup competition in October was the league cup where a fairly routine 3-0 win at Chertsey saw us progress to the second round and a home match with Uxbridge. We gave a debut to youth team midfielder Seb Castello in this game and he gave a really encouraging performance and one that will guarantee him further opportunities as the season progresses as he is a player we have high hopes for.
Finally, the fans have voted for Guy Hollis as the player of the month for October which is a decision we agree with completely. Guy has been fantastic recently at the heart of the defence with his pace and strength and is such a key player for us.
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