Written by Andrew Madaras
This was a difficult watch for Dunstable’s travelling fans who again showed up in good numbers on an afternoon where the weather flitted between blizzards and blue sky and sunshine.
If the weather couldn’t make its mind up then most of the away fans could sympathise as they watched their team struggle to adapt to the conditions and to impose any type of authority in the second half having gone into the half time break a goal to the good.
Head Coach, Joe Deeney, did not hide his frustration and disappointment at the second half display when the game plan was not followed.
He made no excuses and took the result on the chin as you knew somebody as honest and plain speaking as Joe would do. His team hadn’t done what he’d asked and had been found out and punished.
It had all started so well for the Blues. A free kick on the Dunstable left on 20 minutes saw Dan Naylor open the score with a shot which appeared to bounce awkwardly for the home keeper.
A first goal for the Club for the former Kempston Rovers man and one which was fully deserved on the balance of play.
Ethan Creary thought he’d doubled the lead on 40 minutes but his header was ruled out by the match officials.
In between Jamie Nicholls was sin-binned but this had been the Blue’s half and hopes were high that a similar performance in the second half would be enough to bring all three points back to Creasey Park.
Full credit to Holmer Green who climbed out of the relegation places after the final whistle and took their chances when they were presented them.
Their equalizer came on 49 minutes & from a free kick out on the left hand side and galvanized the home side who played with a purpose which belied their league position just as they had done at Creasey Park in November when a controversial, late penalty saw them return to Buckinghamshire with a point.
Isaac Olaleye who had signed for the Blues on transfer deadline day from London Colney made an impressive debut and looks destined to become a favourite with the Creasey Park faithful. Strong in the tackle and a good distributor of the ball he did enough to justify his inclusion and played the full 90 minutes.
The winner came with 15 minutes still left on the clock and came from a cleared Dunstable corner. Not dissimilar to the goal that Crawley Green had scored just before Christmas it did have the look of being preventable. However, take nothing away from Kudzai Chunga who broke clear down the left & curled the ball away from Dan Gould to give his side all three points and a renewed hope of survival.
Tea leaf readers & crystal ball gazers may have sensed a difficult day awaited the Blues, as they’d struggled and not been at their best in the away match against Baldock Town on Tuesday night.
Apart from a blistering strike from Kelvin Osei-Addo the Blues never really looked like scoring and were indebted to three world class saves from Dan Gould to secure a point.
Head Coach, Joe Deeney always predicted there would be bumps on the road. The last two games will have taught him a lot about his players. As we near the end of the season and reflect on what was a difficult and unsettling first couple of months at the Club, a mid-table finish is a respectable and worthy achievement.
The way Deeney has gone about transforming the playing side of the Club has been nothing short of sensational and the jump in attendances by 50% to numbers higher than even at Step 3, shows how the supporters have warmed to his never give in, never say die, work ethic.
The good thing about the business end of the season is that games come thick and fast. Tuesday night brings Risborough Rangers to Creasey Park.
They have two games in hand over New Salamis and are just three points behind the League leaders. It should be an entertaining game with the Blues looking to restore a little bit of self-respect and some damaged pride.
On Saturday they travel to Oxhey Jets for an SSML fixture. Kick off is 3 pm.
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