Things seem to be looking up and Freddie Lapado could be a cult hero
After three months and nine straight defeats, we look like starting to turn things around.
Last Thursday we kept our first clean sheet of 2014 in a hard-earned 0-0 draw at Bishop’s Stortford and then followed that up with a 1-0 win over Concord on Saturday, courtesy of a fine strike from Kidderminster loanee Freddie Lapado.
It certainly marks a step in the right direction. The performances prior to these last two games have warranted more than we got, but the players have maintained their commitment levels and been rewarded for it.
You can trace it back to Ebbsfleet away a couple of weeks ago. The second half there could be seen as the turning point for us – you really couldn’t tell which was the side going for promotion.
At Stortford last week we defended resolutely but had chances to win the game. Then Freddie comes up with a great finish against Concord and we saw out the three points, which were vital.
The cheer from the crowd and the celebrations afterwards showed what that goal meant to him and us. I’m sure he will get a few more between now and the end of the season.
We’ve tried a number of different strikers and it just hadn’t worked.
But Freddie’s link-up play and his industry is what we’ve been looking for all season, and if he keeps banging them in like that he will become a cult hero before too long.
He and Pat Cox look like they’ve been playing together all season and young Samir Bihmoutine has been a revelation as well.
But everyone needs to be commended, from Mikhail Jaimez-Ruiz in goal and the back four through to the midfield. It just seems to be coming together at the moment.
In the moments after the Concord game, I was overwhelmed with pride for the boys because they’ve worked so hard.
It’s a long time since we had the music blaring out after a game and I told them just to drink the moment in.
Now we come on to a massively important game on Thursday night against Tonbridge Angels, who are just two points behind us in 18th at the time of writing.
The players had Tuesday off to keep them fresh for this one. It also allowed Tristan and I to go and watch Tonbridge play out a goalless draw at Basingstoke.
I don’t know how playing twice in 48 hours will affect Tonbridge but certainly their fans were saying after the match that the side was looking tired and they will need to make changes for the game against us.
I know they’ve got a few injuries and suspensions but until I get the teamsheet handed to me at 6.45 I won’t know what impact it’s had on them.
If we can come away with victory it moves us closer to the mid-table pack.
There is obviously a bit of a gap to teams like Basingstoke and Staines in 12th and 13th but we still have 13 games to go and 39 points to play for.
In this league, anyone can beat anyone as was shown by the fact that we got a point at Bishop’s Stortford and beat Concord, but then Concord went and won at Stortford on Tuesday.
Next week we face Sutton and Eastleigh, who with Bromley make up the three fighting for the title.
It will be very difficult for us but we tend to raise our game against the big clubs and we’ll certainly make them work for it.
As well as the top sides, we’ve still got to play Dorchester and Gosport twice, as well as Whitehawk. It’s a good chance, with our games in hand, to extend the gap to those sides in the bottom three.
We’ve been on a bad run over the last few weeks but now it’s time to accrue more points, starting with Tonbridge on Thursday.
With us having had the rest, we should be in good physical condition to play a high intensity game. And with no game on Saturday, the players don’t have any reason to hold back.
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