Chris Hargreaves’ Glovers picked up a much-needed win against Solihull Moors yesterday at Huish Park, here are Ian’s Five Conclusions…
The win was well-deserved. We’ve seen so many draws this season where we’ve deserved more and yesterday we finally got the result our play merited. Grant Smith was called into action a couple of times in the first half but we had the better of the chances, showed more determination to get forward and kept Solihull’s key players quiet. We looked comfortable, confident and even after taking the lead we didn’t sit back or let Solihull gain a foothold.
Charlie Wakefield looked more like himself. It was the performance we’ve been yearning for from our Starman. Without having to think about his defensive duties so much, Charlie was playing instincitvly, he was confident with the ball and getting himself in the right areas too. He got through plenty of socks, with his running and was given the full 90 minutes. He’s made a case to play further forward, let’s hope he stays further forward.
Chiori Johnson put in another impressive performance. He should have opened the scoring early when he spurned a chance in the opening five minutes, but he didn’t let that miss bring him down. He was in the right place at the right time to score the opener, albeit with sloppy defending from Moors. There’s something about playing on the left side isn’t there? Against Chesterfield he was a standout at right wing back, and yesterday he was strong in left midfield. He’s pacey, versatile and a well-disciplined player and he’s setting himself up to become an important figure in the team.
I thought Solihull looked lethargic. I thought we looked comfortable after going in front. Solihull really didn’t seem to have the urgency I thought they’d show after conceding. This wasn’t the same game as the Dagenham win where it was backs to the wall. They had one chance through Josh Kelly, but other than a couple of corners, we weren’t overly stretched defensively. Andrew Dallas was kept quiet, Joe Sbarra didn’t do a lot and Neal Ardley’s changes didn’t bear fruit. In his post-match Ardley was livid with his teams performance and understandably, it felt like they settled for defeat.
This needs to be the springboard. We’ve got what could be a tricky FA Cup tie with Taunton next weekend, followed up with Oldham away and Aldershot at home. If we’re going to climb the table, we need to put our foot on the gas and follow this up with wins. The celebrations of supporters, players (particularly Alex Fisher) and the manager were one of immense relief, let’s bottle it and drink it with thy cider.