Manager warns that his side fears no-one

NINE-MAN FC Stratford held Hellenic League Division One leaders Droitwich Spa to a 1-1 draw in midweek prompting boss Jon Hill to admit that his side fears no-one.

Anthony Umoh and Ralfie Penton were sent off for the Arden Garages Stadium outfit with Cory Rudd seeing red for the visitors who are unbeaten with ten wins and two draws this season.

“It was a great advert for football and a game played by two teams who will certainly be challenging for the top of the league,” Hill admitted.

“We know that Droitwich will be probably the favourites to win it but I thought the way we applied ourselves against a very good side is something we can take a lot of character and heart from.

“I am really proud of the effort from the players and subs - it was a really entertaining game to watch. We went out with a game plan of having no fear and that performance showed that we just don’t give up.”

Umoh was dismissed just before the half-hour for pulling back a Droitwich player midway inside the Stratford half. Penton’s sending off late in the game, and after he had scored an 84th minute equaliser, was for an elbow while Rudd picked up two bookings.

Hill added: “I thought it [Umoh’s] was a very harsh red card because there were two covering defenders and when those moments in games go against you you find out what the character of the team is like. I thought that although they scored shortly after we went down to ten men, we stood up to a man whereas before we would have crumbled.

“The referee will watch it back and probably think he has one of our two red cards wrong - the first was never a red.

It is frustrating that we lose two players now just when we were beginning to get a settled side and relationships.

“We went in at half-time and said that if we could keep it at 1-0 for as long as possible then we would keep moving the ball and take their legs away from them.

“We intended to take the game to them because if we had sat off then the attacking threat they had could have hurt us. They have a lot of goals across their front three and we wanted to keep the ball away from them.

“As the game went on you could see the chances coming - Cian Hodson will never hit a better shot in his life that hits the bar. You start thinking if it is going to be our night but we stuck to the plan and had a breakaway which is put away by a substitute.

“I am massively proud. That point feels like a win against a team that hasn’t lost all season. We are proud to have come away with anything against such a strong side. It was almost like a free hit for us. It’s a point gained but that will be even better if we can back it up with a win on Saturday.

“We are trying to push towards the play-offs now rather than in the end of season madness.

“The lads have surprised themselves tonight. It showed that we fear nobody and if I was looking at the result then I’d be thinking that FC Stratford are ones to watch.”