Lack of cutting edge key to Sleaford loss
Matt Evans felt a lack of confidence in front of goal proved costly as his Sleaford Town side fell to a home defeat on Saturday.
Sleaford lost 1-0 to Stapleford Town, with a late goal from Ryan Hughes enough to seal the deal for The Saxons.
The winner came with just over five minutes to play. Hughes was found in behind, and his shot flew past Josh Wilson, rattling the post and finding the back of the net.
And Evans said it was a game where his side just couldn’t find the cutting edge.
He told the club’s media: “It was a frustrating afternoon. There weren’t many really good chances for either team and there were times where the wind was a real leveller too and didn’t lend itself to great football.
"There were some half chances which Stapleford got the better of with the goal they got, whereas we didn’t have the quality to finish it off.
"Josh has made some good saves so credit to him for keeping us level when they could have gone ahead much earlier.
"At the other end, there was a real scramble in the first-half but we just couldn’t get the touch to put the ball in which was just a bit of bad luck, then we had a one-on-one but couldn’t finish it off.
"One or two look like they’re lacking confidence at times and a goal early on might just have settled them down a bit and give us something to build on, but again they’ve come off feeling quite down.”
Saturday’s result came four days after a 1-1 draw at West Bridgford, all of which means Sleaford lie 15th in the early standings with 11 points from their first nine games.
Attention now turns to the UCL Knockout Cup this weekend and a home tie with Premier South side Northampton O.N. Chenecks.
Evans added: “We’re getting much closer to having a full-strength squad now and the fact we don’t have a midweek game helps as we can rest and recuperate.
"It’ll mean we can be ready to go again in the cup.”