Pinchbeck United bidding to bounce back from first defeat in style

Bullish assistant manager Allan Ross wants Pinchbeck United to use their weekend drubbing as a positive as they bid to bounce back in the Future Lions UCL Premier Division title race.

The Knights lost a league game for the first time in more than a year (36 games) last Saturday as leaders Daventry Town smashed them 6-0.

Rather than pushing the panic button ahead of this Saturday’s trip to 16th-placed Harborough Town (3pm), Ross wants the back-to-back promotion winners to start another run.

“In a way, the defeat can be a good thing,” said player/boss Ian Dunn’s number two. “The run’s over, but we start the process all over again.

“In a way, last weekend was our welcome to the UCL Premier Division. It was a bit like men and boys at times, if I’m honest.

“It was tough to take, but we need to remember that we’ve had a great start to the season – and there are plenty of other bigger teams below us in the league.

“We’ve still got a very strong squad full of talented players. The run was never going to last forever and, to lose the way we did, at least gives us something big to bounce back from.

“We’ve not had to deal with this kind of situation for a while, but how we react at Harborough will show myself and Ian the kind of characters we have in the dressing room.”

Pinchbeck, now third in the table, welcome back Tony Edwards and Jack Smith from their respective suspensions, but midfielder Nick Bishop is unavailable.

Injured trio Tyler Wright, Ash Murrell and Jordan Nuttell also remain sidelined.

The Knights are also in League Knockout Cup action on Wednesday night as they host top tier rivals Deeping Rangers (7.45pm).