The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
MIXED FEELINGS: Graham Drury (left) and John Chand (right).
Joint Holbeach United bosses John Chand and Graham Drury weren’t totally happy despite making it two wins from as many UCL Premier Division games on Saturday.
Chand, who won the UCL title with the Tigers in 2013, admits that defensive Desborough made life difficult for his side – but was happy to get away with three points.
He said: “We weren’t at our best. It’s almost a case of the lads having to re-educate themselves to play at this level, having dropped down.
“Teams like Desborough will come and play for a draw and make it difficult for you. On another day it could easily have finished 1-1, but I don’t think we should be beating ourselves up about the performance.
“I thought we played well at times and created a lot. The late goal was a bonus – it would have been easy to let them drag us down with them.
“There’s more to come from this team, lots more. What I will say is that Jonny Allen was outstanding at the back.”
Drury (pictured above, left), meanwhile, admitted that he and Chand had to do a lot of tinkering in order to get the win.
He said: “I was disappointed that we let our standards drop if I’m honest. They came to spoil and we didn’t really play with the right tempo.
“I had a feeling that they would score from their only chance and so it proved.
“We made a lot of changes in terms of player positions and formation. Thankfully we’ve got good players and that shone through in the end.
“We certainly had to work a little harder for it than we should have.
“I’m of the opinion that, regardless of if you win, lose or draw, you shouldn’t be happy if you don’t play well. That was the case on Saturday and I told the lads just that after the game.
“But I will give them credit for pushing on and getting the points which is important at this stage of the season.”
