Horncastle boss pleased with response to heavy defeat
John Rawdon said his young Horncastle Town squad responded well to another demoralising midweek defeat as they faced Immingham Town on Saturday.
The Wongers had been beaten 10-1 by Wyberton on Wednesday night but put in a much-improved overall display on Saturday despite eventually losing 3-0.
And joint-boss Rawdon said it was good to try and put the memories of the heavy loss to bed as quickly as possible.
He said: “Last Wednesday was a tough day at the office, despite having started well in the first ten to 15 minutes and gone 1-0 up.
"We’ve had to shuffle the pack a bit due to a couple of injuries but no excuses, Wyberton were too strong for our young side. It was a physical battle we weren’t up to and a lot of the goals came from set pieces and it’s something we have to improve on.
"Immingham went second in the league by beating us and 3-0 was probably a fair result but in the first-half we had eight or nine corners and a bit of sustained pressure without really testing their keeper, but to say they’re at the top of the league and chasing the title and we’re in the bottom facing relegation, for 45-50 minutes there was nothing to separate the teams, or that would identify the teams in terms of who is at which end of the table.
"To be fair it was a great 25-yard strike that put them ahead and it probably took something like that to separate the sides at that point, but I was really happy at half-time at 1-0 down as the lads had shown a lot of fight and desire in really poor playing conditions.
"We conceded again early in the second-half but responded brilliantly but just didn’t ask enough questions of their keeper despite showing some great resilience, then we didn’t deal with a ball into our box and they got their third.
"But there were positives from the game – to lose 10-1 at home was embarrassing but the lads responded well. I don’t want to make excuses but the injuries are having a massive impact and we’re having to shuffle the pack and use very young players, including 18-year-old Harry Masters in goal who has been really good in both games."
Horncastle host Louth Town Reserves in the League Cup on Saturday, with Rawdon adding: “We can’t wait for the game as it gives us a chance to focus elsewhere than the league and in a local derby.”