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Time we proved a point or three!

By Andy Davies on Nov 25, 08 04:08 PM

THE biggest positive to come out of Friday's 1-1 draw was that our unbeaten home record remained intact.
The game was hampered by the strong wind causing both sides difficulties on what was a freezing night at Bastion Gardens.
We will point to the chances we missed and the opposition being down to 10 men as reasons we should have won, however we were up against a determined Connah's Quay side and a goalkeeper in fantastic form who was able to repel anything we had to throw at him.
It's easy to say that the result was still a point gained and not two lost but there was a genuine feeling amongst the players for some time after that it was an opportunity missed. That fact was emphasised in the results the following day with teams below us picking up points and gaining ground on us. I think maybe some people have been looking at our league position and our home form and believing we're already safe. We're not. We need to find a consistency in our results that see's us not win one game then lose two, but get a win and remain unbeaten in the other two games. Picking up those extra points over the course of a season are what can keep you up and that is why we need to address our away form this Saturday.
If we can go through our next three games unbeaten and get five points it will give us a massive boost going into the festive period and the big games we have coming up then.
If we continue to struggle producing performances and more importantly results on our travels, we will soon find ourselves looking over our shoulders and not chasing those ahead of us.

A NEW system was put in place for our trip to Aberystwyth with a recall for myself in a new role playing just in between the back four and midfield.
It was a system designed by the manager with the intention of making us hard to break down and hopefully allowing us to get a result from the game. For nearly an hour, it worked.
I don't feel it was a defensive move by the manager as I feel it allowed our other two midfielders to push forward and commit themselves to attack knowing that they had the 'insurance' of me sitting in. Indeed, we started really well and for a spell in the early stages penned the home side in and caused them problems.
The difficulty was always going to be after half time and who got the all important first goal. Aberystwyth got that goal and we quickly went two down a couple of minutes later and in was very much a case of back to the drawing board as we went in search of goals.
We just couldn't get a goal quick enough. If Dave Hayes' header comes back off the bar and one of our lads taps it home with 20 minutes left then I believe we would have got something out the game.
Unfortunately it wasn't to be and we were left to ponder another away defeat. The performance had been a good one with some good football played and excellent work-rate from the lads. With the game being our first with a new system, we coped well and will be better off for that experience if we ever choose to employ that formation again.
This Friday its back to home matters and a Connah's Quay side we have already faced in the League Cup twice and lost both times. In both games we felt we could have gained a result and I don't think you can pay much attention to those results. Friday will be an opportunity to continue our good home form and consolidate our position in the league.
Hopefully with a good crowd at the game to cheer us on, we can do just that.

Time to kick on

By Andy Davies on Nov 12, 08 02:34 PM

Saturday's 1-0 home win against Neath would have delighted the manager because of one reason. We won 1- NIL.
For several weeks, even months, the manager has spoken to us about the need to keep it tight at the back and not concede goals.
Conceding goals has been a problem at home, away, in the league and cup competitions so far this year so the manner of our victory would have been as appreciated as the three points that came with it.
It was a gritty performance which we need to try and replicate this Saturday when we travel to a very good Aberystwyth team who will most likely be looking at our away form and thinking they can beat us easily.
But if we show the same grit and determination as Saturday and accompany that with our passing football and attacking play, we could cause them a few problems.
And having kept the opposition out on Saturday there should be a confidence in the squad that we can go away from home and do the same. When you've struggled away from home, as we have, its vital you go back to basics and start from the defensive side and work forward. Picking up a 0-0 or 1-1 will be by no means a disaster.
Of course we defend as a team and I'm confident that should we keep together as a group of players and work for each other, we will reap the rewards.
Questions have been asked recently of players morale and the answer is in the scoreline and the match report from Saturday. We stuck together and fought for each other and got the result.
Since I've been here the morale and team spirit has been fantastic. There may be issue's to be resolved over certain things and they will be sorted I'm sure.

As for Saturday, the time is right to kick on from last weeks result and start gaining momentum as the big games start to come thick and fast in December.

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Andy Davies

Andy Davies - Andy is a reporter for the Visitor newspaper and writes a weekly column which this year covered Prestatyn Town's title challenge and eventual promotion to the Welsh Premier League.

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