Tuesday night’s 3-0 win at Hednesford confirmed that we are developing as a team. The clean sheet was the most pleasing thing for me in what was an all-round superb team performance.
The work rate and intensity of the performance was the key as we closed down everything and chased every ball. I thought that Joel Bembo-Leta was outstanding, really giving us an outlet down the right hand side… he was a sight to behold and was a big threat for us.
Everyone made a big contribution but I also would also like to pick out my captain, Jake Moult, who I feel has been a bit of an unsung hero. He was a colossus in midfield but all the players’ performances were really good, including those who came on in the second half as a substitute and that has made me a very happy Altrincham manager.
Watch the goals from Tuesday night:
That’s three consecutive clean sheets now, which is so pleasing, particularly as some people were branding us as being a bit naïve, a bit nice defensively. We are learning how to play with each other after things didn’t go our way in the first three games of the season. Goals were going in that had no right to and there were a few refereeing decisions that were made that I wasn’t very happy with, but I knew that the tide would turn as the players are too good for that not to have happened.
Also, the backroom staff have been working so hard to get players fit to play and then perform when they are out on the pitch. Tommy Uda, Ryan Murray, Chris Parkes, Ian Senior and Neil Sorvel have all done a terrific job and we are now seeing the results of their efforts.
Highlights of the win over Grantham:
We have moved into a play-off position with seven wins from our last eight league games and with the top two (Shaw Lane and Stourbridge) involved in the Emirates FA Cup today and third and fourth playing each other (Coalville Town v Farsley Celtic) we have an opportunity to get right amongst things at the top if we can overcome Stalybridge Celtic at Bower Fold this afternoon.
Like us, Stalybridge are a big club and in Steve Burr they have a top manager who has achieved a lot in the game. He will be hurting after their poor start to the season but will be looking to capitalise on their win on Tuesday night and we know that we are in for an extremely difficult assignment in Tameside.
Pictures: Michael Ripley
