THE GAFFER

After a bitter defeat in the Anagrams Trophy last weekend, today is when we put things right.....

Hello and welcome to the management team and players from Sungate football club.

February finished and we remained unbeaten, drawing just one game and winning the rest. I am absolutely delighted with how the month went for us. We played 7 games in 25 days which is a lot of football for a team at our level and all of the boys put a shift in and enjoyed the challenge at the same time.

The Toby match had a sort of ‘derby’ feel about it, such was the way the game progressed to be a battle due to the conditions. It was a very tough, physical game but we didn’t shy away from it. This squad have shown a number of times, that we can mix up our style and we’re happy to go toe to toe physically with anyone aswell.

The pitch conditions did make things harder on the night but we dealt with it quickly and I would say we had put ourselves in a great position at half time being 3-0 up. The second half was more about game management and the clean sheet was fully deserved.

Saturday away at Chipperfield was a bitter pill to swallow, especially in the fashion in which we lost the game with the very last kick. We battled hard on a horrible pitch and against a very physical team. Although we had quite a few players missing, it was nice to be able to call upon a few of the reserve boys and they fitted in nicely as always.

We’ve had to dust ourselves down quickly, train and prepare for today’s game.

Liam Oliver has found his stride now and getting fitter each game,. He is enjoying his football and working hard and that’s why he is getting his rewards in front of goal and finding the back of the net. Two hattricks this season and scoring in his last five games isn’t to be sniffed at!

We have also now got Aaron Baldwin back from a small injury issue so they will both be chomping at the bit to keep pushing the team and each other forward on the goal front. It is fantastic healthy competition to have, especially as they are both in the league top scorers chart in the top 5 at present.

I hope both of them stay focused and keep helping the team. Their teamates are creating chances so they will both get more opportunities to increase their tally before the end of the season.

Enjoy the game today and have a safe journey home.