Alcester Town aiming to push on from unbeaten December

ALCESTER Town joint-bosses Matt Seeley and Richard Briggs hope the Red and Blacks’ unbeaten December run acts as a springboard to success in 2019.

Town won all six of their games in all competitions throughout December, scoring 22 goals and conceding just four.

It is a run of form which has seen Town reach the quarter-finals of the Birmingham Vase as well as climb into fifth place in Midland League Division Three.

“We are in a good position right now,” Seeley told the Herald.

“We want to continue this form going forward and maintain our unbeaten run for as long as we can.

“In terms of the league, we are not getting carried away because it can be a very funny division.

“You only have to have one dodgy game or poor performance and you can get turned over.

“It’s all about making sure the players understand that no game is going to be a walk in the park.”

Town make the trip to rock bottom Shipston Excelsior on Saturday, but Seeley stressed the Red and Blacks will be firmly focused on themselves.

“It’s a game where we want to come away with the three points,” added Seeley.

“We have to make sure we focus on playing our own game.

“Shipston don’t have the best of pitches which can sometimes turn a game into a war of attrition but hopefully our style of football will see us through.”

Alcester head into the game on the back of Saturday’s 2-0 victory over struggling WLV Sport.

Callum Debar opened the scoring for Town after just 20 seconds before Callum Burston-Keeley found the net to give the hosts a comfortable 2-0 half-time lead.

Despite a number of chances, Alcester failed to build on their lead in the second half.

“WLV Sport turned up with a complete new management and squad of 16 which surprised us a little,” said Seeley.

“Just watching them warm-up, they looked very professional so we knew we were going to be in for a test.

“However, we went 1-0 up really quickly and should have won the game more convincingly in the end as we spurned a number of chances.

“Overall, though, I thought it was a good performance as we defended well and looked good going forward.”

Craig Gasiewski made his debut in the victory over WLV Sport after signing from Paget Rangers and Seeley believes the experienced player could be vital in the promotion push.

“Craig will tell you himself he’s not quite match fit but I thought he did really well on Saturday.” added Seeley.

“With two of my left-footed players in Joshua Cullen and Matt Magee injured, I really needed to bring someone in and Craig brings a wealth of experience.

“He has a great left foot, can play a number of roles and is good at keeping the ball.

“He anchored the midfield really well on Saturday and his distribution was fantastic.”

Cullen and Magee remain sidelined for the Shipston clash, with Luke Dugmore and Billy Fagg also missing out through suspension.

However, this does not worry Seeley in the slightest.

“We’ve got plenty of strength in depth so we’re not going to be hitting the panic button,” he added.