Bootle in town as we go for three in a row
There’s a buzz around the place at the moment – there’s no doubt about it. Last Saturday’s 2-1 win at home to Stalybridge Celtic started the momentum building but what’s really got us going is the fantastic midweek performance in winning by the same scoreline at Runcorn.
Some of the football we played on Tuesday night in beating one of the traditional heavyweights of our league on their own patch was scintillating – quick one touch, pass and move. It was fluent and it was possession with a purpose. Our opponents – magnanimous in defeat – said we were the best they’d played this season. And they’ve played a lot more games than us!
Now, it’s about how we back it up. In his post-match interview with me on Tuesday, our gaffer Neil Baker said to a man that he thought individual performances were at 8/10, which is naturally outstanding. What we can’t allow to happen though, is for there to be a big drop off after the Lord Mayor’s Show as it were.
That’s precisely what Bakes will have been drilling into the lads in training. Tuesday was superb – a watershed moment in terms of the level of performance but tomorrow is another day. And it’s another day against a club that had started the season really well. I say had as their recent form has dropped off alarmingly.
Our Liverpool opponents tomorrow started the season with three successive league wins and then went 3-0 up inside 15 minutes at home to Vauxhall Motors in their fourth league game. Then came a bit of a sliding doors moment as the Motormen, who are now second in the league and have a chance to go top tonight, came charging back to win the game 6-3.
Bootle steadied the ship briefly after that but are once again on a bad run, having lost five of their last six. With our confidence on a real high and our opponents’ inevitably on a low, we need to start tomorrow’s game with purpose and continue from where we left off on Tuesday if we can.
In terms of team news for tomorrow, with no further injuries from the win at Runcorn, it’s hard to argue a case for changing things as we look to extend our four-match unbeaten run. Jake Twyford is back available again after being away and we’ve signed a striker, Ethan Morgan from Stafford Rangers who will also be added to the match day squad. Otherwise, it’s a case of rinse and repeat.
To show just how well in touch with the teams above us in the league table we are, one of the quirks of the number of games in hand we have due to our FA Cup exploits, is that if we beat Bootle tomorrow – who are currently fifth in the league table – we will move above them. It’s still very early days but things are undoubtedly moving in the right direction.
Come on Castle!