Our dressing room was a very happy place to be just before five o’clock last Saturday afternoon.
There were lots of positive aspects from our 3-2 victory over Gainsborough Trinity in the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round.
Most importantly, we won a game of football for the first time this season and a win does more than anything else to breed confidence in players. The style of the victory was really good… we played some very good football and it looks as if the players that I have here generally want to get the ball down and play attacking football… which suits me down to the ground.
There were times on Saturday when our football reminded me of my time at Morecambe, when we played some great stuff and scored lots of goals. John Cyrus returned to the defence and he really made a big difference and was my man of the match.
I played Alan Goodall alongside him and whilst that’s not my skipper’s natural position, he did really well and his experience and knowhow shone through and helped John a great deal.
It looked as if the game was going to end in a draw when Nathan Jarman made it 2-2 with a quite brilliant volley in the 83rd minute, but we showed great desire and fitness to take the game to Trinity in the last few minutes and we eventually scored in added time.
I couldn’t really see what was going on in the six-yard box as it just looked like a game of pinball, but eventually Damian Reeves has nudged the ball over the line from close range. Looking at the Alty TV replay, the last touch was off a Gainsborough player, but it’s Damian’s goal.
Watch highlights from the cup win:
The win brought £4,500 in prize money, which is good news financially and we have another home draw in the next round against Morpeth Town.
Today though, it’s back to league action and Boston United are our visitors. They are a bit like us, in that they are a big name club in this league, but haven’t got off to the best of starts. Having said that, there recent form is good and in their last four games, they have taken seven league points from nine and progressed, like us, in the FA Cup.
One player who is not available for today is Phil Marsh, as we are waiting for international clearance from the Football Association of Wales for the former Bala Town player. I believe that international clearance can take up to 30 days to complete, which is very frustrating, particularly as there is another player, currently playing in the League of Wales, who I am interested in bringing to the J Davidson Stadium.
Pictures: Michael Ripley Photography
