It all felt very strange being in the 'away' dressing room playing at Chalky Lane, and then the away dugout brought a very different viewing perspective, and one that just didn’t feel right.

The game itself was nondescript. We started well and nearly scored in the opening minutes when Archie's long-range strike was turned onto the crossbar and John's follow-up turned over for the first of about 7 or 8 early corners that came to nothing. Neither side had any real control, but it was we who took the lead from the penalty spot. Whether it was the level of protest from Banstead, I'm not sure, but 5 minutes later the referee decided to give Banstead a penalty of their own, which was one of the softest that you would ever see that they converted, and before you knew it, we had reached half time. It was a game of few open play opportunities and lacked a spark, and we lacked any real ideas or fluency, and for all the world it looked like we were carrying the disappointment of the previous two games on our shoulders.

We said at the break that we were the better team, which I believed we were, but only just, and that we needed that one moment to secure the win. In all honesty, other than from set plays where we continued to look dangerous, we created nothing of note, and with Banstead reaching similar levels of creativity, it all ended with a whimper rather than a bang. With the game went our playoff chances, and it was difficult to accept that this was the third game in succession where we had held a lead and drawn.

Maybe the hard work of the last 8 weeks had finally taken its toll on a set of players that had, by and large, been selected week in and week out with no respite, all of whom had invested a lot physically and emotionally, and maybe it just caught up with us. However, the last 14 games have yielded 9 wins and 5 draws, with 3 of those wins coming in the last 3 games, which is incredible and a great achievement. The players have shown they have the capabilities to be successful, which I now hope will carry over into next season.

With this level of form, it shows that whilst the attention will inevitably be focussed on the recent drawn games from winning positions, it was actually our start to the season that cost us, where we only took 12 points from the first 13 games. We have 1 to play, which I'm desperate to win as it would be fitting for the team to now remain unbeaten over the last 10 weeks of the season.

Glynn Stephens
First Team Manager