Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen.
I thought Saturday's FA Cup game was a great advert for how I would like our team to play in the months ahead. From start to finish we played with a high tempo and looked to be positive in possession whenever we had the ball. If I am honest I was slightly disappointed not to win by a greater margin as I think our build up play deserved more, but if you had offered me a 5-1 win and a place in the next round of the FA Cup before the game I would have taken it straight away.
Again there were plenty of outstanding performances on the day, but three lads who I thought were exceptional were Taylor Richardson, Greg Swansbury and Sparky. I thought young Taylor was a constant threat with his pace and trickery and to perform as he did on his debut only bodes well for the future and given time he will develop into a great player for us.
Greg was a welcome addition back into the squad and although it was a bit of a gamble to put him straight back in the team with very little training, it didn’t matter as his experience and quality showed why he is such an important member of the team and his fitness levels looked good which is credit to himself for ticking over while not being around the squad.
Also it was nice to see Sparky get a few goals; he works tirelessly on his fitness and is a fierce competitor and we know if we can provide the service in to the right areas he will get his fair share of goals, so long may it continue.
Today we turn attention back to the league before another testing tie in the FA Cup next week, so hopefully we will put some points on the board today as it is important to keep momentum going,and help some of the younger players feel comfortable at this level. Northallerton have had decent start to the season and beat West Auckland midweek, so will come here full of confidence. However, if we can take last weeks attitude and willingness to work hard into todays game we are capable of getting the positive result we all want.
Hopefully we will have few players back from injury which will help give us more options and will be crucial in the weeks ahead, as having a good squad all fighting for first team places is healthy for the squad and essential if we want to progress.
Thanks for your continued support.
Steve