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GINGERBREADS SHOWING VAST IMPROVEMENT 23/01/2010
With football back on the agenda and a well-earned point against Glapwell under their belts, UniBond League Division One South club Grantham Town have a second home game in quick succession as Carlton Town are the next visitors to The Meres.
Joint-manager Wayne Hallcro looked back at the Glapwell game: “The whole team is showing natural energy,” he said. “Lots of teams in the division would not have had room to moan if they had lost to us on Tuesday`s performance. It is important to teams to keep the ball immediately after conceding a goal, or scoring one. It was important to keep the ball after their goal. You can’t re-build confidence if you haven’t got the ball, but if you have, you can. It’s like if you fall off a horse, the best thing to do is get straight back on again. In the past we have allowed teams to get the ball straight after scoring against us and that puts us right on the back foot. On Tuesday we nullified that.”
Hallcro (pictured) felt that the way Grantham dealt with the threat that Glapwell posed was a vast improvement on a few weeks ago.
“Defending in a three didn’t allow Neil Grayson to get on the ball,” Hallcro said. “We won a lot of first headers as a back three and that changes the direction of the game. We needed to play hard against a player like Grayson. He is an experienced player and you can’t afford to let him have his own way too much. As a team, across the pitch, we are winning our individual battles. We are not being bullied by teams any more. There is still a way to go, but we are certainly going in the right direction.”
Once again, Lee Potts was felt to deserve special praise from Hallcro. Although not expected to be involved on Tuesday, Potts played a major part on the right hand side in making sure Grantham could get something from the game.
“Hats off to Pottsy,” Hallcro enthused. “He trained on his own while he was in Mexico and only stepped off the plane on Tuesday morning. But when we asked him if he was ready to play he was surprised, but really up for it. He justified the decision to play him by giving us everything for an hour.”
Gingerbreads striker Ben Saunders broke his personal drought with his first goal for two months. His first goal in eight outings was no more than he deserved according to his manager. “The goal was the right reward for Ben’s efforts. I don’t accept any excuse for a lack of effort. Everyone gave it and Ben got what e deserved. What a difference a month has made to us! We are having a go for everything now and that is when things start to happen.”
A third loanee from Mansfield Town made his debut on Tuesday night. Sam Persicoe is part of the same youth team as Naill O’Rafferty and Nick Langford.
There was another new signing on Tuesday night as striker Chris Hewitt who has been released by Saturday’s opponents Carlton Town joined Grantham.
Hewitt was signed by the Millers from Clipston Miners Welfare and has scored a couple of times in only a handful of games in the UniBond League this season.
He will play a few games for Clipston to get match fitness back before he comes to The Meres.
The Grantham squad has expanded a bit in recent weeks and given Hallcro and fellow joint-manager Jimmy Albans a bit of breathing room as far as player selection goes. Grantham fans have been questioning whether Martin Wormall is still part of the Gingerbreads set-up after he signed forms with Hereward Teamwear United Counties Leaguers Sleaford Town last week.
“The ball is now in Marmie’s court,” Hallcro explained. “We have kept in touch by text and at training. He was supposed to be with us on Tuesday, but something cropped up to stop him coming. His last text said he would train on Thursday. It is a bit like the situation with Danny Steadman, it is up to him to show us that he wants to be part of things at Grantham Town.”
Recent signings and the performance on Tuesday night have given Hallcro and Albans a selection headache.
“There were no injury worries after Tuesday." Hallcro stated. “The way everyone played makes our job hard for Saturday. Ian Robinson is available after suspension, so we have a proper squad to choose from. That means that someone will be disappointed. That could be anyone. Robbo had been great before his suspension, but can you drop anyone from Tuesday? The subs who came on all did what was expected, is it right to drop someone off the bench who didn’t get a chance on Tuesday? It will be a tough decision.”
He expects a good performance from his side. “Admittedly Carlton were missing a few players when we played at their place,” he said. “But you still have to beat what is in front of you. We did the job there and see no reason why we can’t do it at home as well. The 91 who turned up on Tuesday were brilliant. They got behind the lads and made a difference. Those who didn’t come missed a good game of football. Hopefully we will see them on Saturday and we will all see a good performance.”
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