Published: 05-11-2011

Programme Notes v Woodford

Written by Steve Bateman

Manager Steve Bateman

I believe we learnt something from the game as Chesham worked extremely hard against us and gave us a lesson in how to shut the opposition down all over the pitch, whilst also trying to pass the ball.

Steve Bateman

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Holloways Park for a Division One Central League encounter against our opponents today, Woodford Utd.

We go into the game as league leaders following a hard fought 1v0 victory at Leighton Town last Saturday when we dug in deep and battled our way to a satisfying away win and another clean sheet in the process. The players have shown they can work hard and grind out a result where necessary and those qualities will I hope stand us in good stead for the remainder of the season.

No-one will be getting carried away with our current position and we have a lot of hard work ahead as we look to build upon a solid start. We have a run of games including midweek fixtures during November that gives us an opportunity to consolidate our current position and we will be looking to maximise that opportunity and utilise the squad to do that. The players have shown over the last couple of weeks, through their performances,that we have the ability to rotate the squad and keep things fresh and competitive whilst at the same time being adaptable.

Last Tuesday, we lost narrowly to a full strength Chesham Utd side in the Red Insure Cup, having played 60 minutes with only 10 men following Adam Martin's dismissal for a rash challenge. I was pleased with the effort and commitment in the 2nd Half and we certainly put them under pressure late on but couldn't draw level and take the game into extra time. I believe we learnt something from the game as Chesham worked extremely hard against us and gave us a lesson in how to shut the opposition down all over the pitch, whilst also trying to pass the ball.

On the squad front, congratulations are in order for Adam Logie who recently married and has been on honeymoon in Mexico these last 3 weeks so it will be good to have him back and available to us as we embark on a run of games. Dom Jean-Zepherin will be off to represent Haiti in a Qualifying game next week so we wish him good luck and a clean sheet of course.

So, a tough game today in prospect and I'm sure the lads will want to stay in our current position and will work hard to try and do that. Woodford are always competitive and we will need to reach the same performance levels as the last two league matches if we are to get what we require.

Once again a big thank you for your continued support and getting behind the players and lets hope we can continue our promising form in the league.