KJM SPORT REPORT Shepton Mallet 3 Saltash Utd 1

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Created on Sunday, 08 October 2023 13:13

Last Updated on Sunday, 08 October 2023 13:13

Published on Sunday, 08 October 2023 13:13

Written by KEVIN MARRIOTT at KJM Sports

Saltash need to discover a cure for their travel sickness quickly if they are to continue making progress after a rocky start to the season.

The new-look Ashes side have started to look comfortable and confident at their Waterways Stadium home but still struggle in away games.

That was the case again on Saturday for their 200-mile round trip to Shepton Mallet where they were always chasing the game after conceding twice in the opening half hour.

Leo Eglin broke the deadlock after 13 minutes and a superb direct free kick from Josh Jenkins doubled the home side’s advantage.

Saltash laid the foundations for a fightback when Tylor Love-Holmes got a goal back nine minutes into the second half and they had plenty of the ball in the search for an equaliser.

But they were caught with a sucker punch in the 81st minute when the home side’s man of the match Will Banks made it 3-1.

All of which left Ashes boss Macca Brown feeling frustrated after another fruitless away day.

He said: “Nobody will be surprised seeing the result and I’m not surprised in the slightest either to be honest and that is damning for the boys to hear.

“But it’s also a wake up call for myself because at the end of the day I’m the one sending the team out there each week and watching it unfold, without rectifying it.

“It’s disappointing after last week, when we were brilliant, and we’ve been very good for a few weeks now. We weren’t ‘bad’ we were good in spells, but good isn’t enough to get results in this league.

“But it’s been the story of our season so far away from home where we’ve been a different animal without our home comforts.

“We have to respect away games more. We are far too easy to beat and score against on the road. We missed a host of great chances in the early stages, but when that’s the case you have to keep the door closed at the other end but it doesn’t happen.

“We’ve conceded 18 goals away from home this season and 50% of those are set pieces. Our games are lost by half time and it was similar yesterday.

“Our half time record is woeful, yesterday we were 2-0 down, three down at Welton, two down at Illfracombe, and behind at Oldland, Brixham and Barnstaple and with all due respect other than Barnstaple these aren’t teams operating in the top area of the league.

“We have to turn up ready and focussed, and that half time situation suggests that isn’t the case.

“That’s why I say it’s not a surprise because it’s happening so much. Again, like a host of those games we were probably the better team in the first half, but we looked more vulnerable with the ball and Shepton Mallet just waited for an unforced error and then picked us off to go ahead.”

Brown went on: “We struggled to play the pitch. It’s a big pitch and we were too tempted to try and hit the space in behind when it was never going to work for us.

“Last week we were electric because we played short, sharp football, at Shepton we were too direct and rushed things. We needed to sustain attacks more and wait for the right moment to create a good chance, rather than rush it and it causes us more problems.

“But I must take responsibility. I can’t sit there and criticise when I’m making the same decisions that get the same results yet do nothing about it.

“Maybe my belief on what we are capable of is unfounded, and we have several away games in the next month and perhaps we’ll have to try something different.

“I’ve managed teams in this league who have kept 12 clean sheets in a season, and whilst we are scoring goals and looking good going forward it can’t be at the detriment of our own goal.

“I do believe in what we have and accept there’s ups and downs, and we’ve spent a lot of time working on what we do with the ball and seen progress there.

“Now it’s time to focus on what we do without it because it’s something that needs to improve immediately.”

Saltash: J Mead-Crebbin, E Wright, E Goodman (B Goulty 90+2), T Huyton (J Foster 69), H Greening, L Murray, K O’Melia, T Love-Holmes, J Johnson (J Preece 57), J Ewing, T Badcott.

Sub not used: R Howe.

SWSN Star Man: T Love-Holmes.

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