Players’ response delights Town manager
DELIGHTED Stratford Town manager Gavin Hurren praised his players following their midweek defeat of Stourbridge but called for fans to be patient with his young squad.
The Bards scored two late goals to beat their Black Country visitors on Tuesday, bouncing back from a disappointing defeat at Barwell at the weekend.
Hurren said: “We have been consistent with our performances through pre-season. We took that into Needham but against Barwell, for whatever reason, we just weren’t at the races. It was not a nice feeling and I know the lads were disappointed and upset by their performance because it wasn’t good enough.
“I needed to see a reaction and the lads wanted to put things right and they did that against Stourbridge. Every player was a credit, and it shows that we have a team that is young and hungry. For us to go up against a Stourbridge side who had scored eight in two games and come away with not only a win but also a clean sheet, shows that the lads are buying into what we are doing at the club.”
Lewis Ison and Charlie Williams were on target for the Bards but the win was also down to a solid defensive display with the returning Liam Daly leading the way at the heart of the backfour.
Hurren added: “That feeling we had after Barwell wasn’t nice – not only for the team but also for the travelling fans because we didn’t put a show on. With nearly 800 there against Stourbridge it shows that the town is behind us.
“I’m not stupid enough to think that we’re not going to lose another game of football because we are, but as long as we give our all we will come out with a positive result more often than not.
“We have a very young squad with only four lads in the squad over the age of 24. They are still learning and we have to accept that there are going to be dips. They looked like men playing against Stourbridge but we have to remember that many of them are still just young boys. But they have shown me that they don’t like losing and are capable of putting things right.”
