Pre-match: Steve O’Reilly’s pre-match notes v Wormley Rovers

Here are Steve O’Reilly’s pre-match notes before tomorrow tonight’s game with Wormley Rovers,

“A fortnight ago I wrote in my notes how we had been on a run of games where we didn’t get the points our performances had warranted. Happily, as I type this today, it has been a good two weeks for us in terms of results and we have given ourselves a platform from which to attack the final seven games.

“It’s easy from the outside looking in to assess results purely on that basis, and ultimately football is a results game so it’s something you have to accept. However, I feel there was something in our narrow defeat at Tring that sparked a belief in the group that had been a key missing ingredient. Yes, we lost that game, but in that second 45 minutes we played with an urgency and commitment we have needed in the subsequent games.

“For the most part we have replicated that, other than a disappointing 25 minutes after half time at Harpenden last week where we surrendered a two goal lead. Reflecting more on Saturday, it is fair to say we blew what was mostly a young Arlesey Town side away. It’s an interesting one, a lot of focus has been on the age of the opposition and clearly it was a factor, but you prepare for each game on its merits and they had come into the game having gone toe to toe with teams in much stronger positions than ours. So our lads deserve credit for showing a ruthless edge to our game and finishing it before half time.

“We have scored 15 goals in our last four games which is a great return, and it’s always good to have your attacking players scoring goals and playing with confidence. Luka (3), Plamedi (4), Jake, Hadley and Israel have all scored in that run, which is great for them individually. We have also seen goals come from elsewhere in the team and we continue to look an attacking threat.

“It may have been a quieter second half on Saturday, but we have kept painfully few clean sheets this season and our overall defensive record pains me to look at, so unsurprisingly there was a big focus on maintaining that clean sheet until the end of the game. To reach our ultimate objective over the next three and a half weeks we need to make sure it isn’t our last.

”Onto today’s game and we know we are going to be in for a real test having played Wormley just last month. It was a game that could have gone either way, both teams had spells on top. In the end we were left to rue missed second half chances and, to the credit of the opposition, they scored a couple of very high quality goals to earn the points.

“Tonight we need to keep up the high energy performances we have put in during our last two home games. The players have fed off the excellent support received in both of those games and there is a positive atmosphere now. We will keep trying to entertain but most importantly win. Your support goes a long way in helping us achieve that, so keep backing the lads.”

Enjoy the game!

Steve