Ward pleased with miserly Sleaford Town defence

Sleaford Town are without a fixture this week, but manager Tom Ward goes into the break full of praise for a defence which has kept three clean sheets in four games.

A 1-0 victory at Melton Town on Saturday moved the Greens up to 11th in the United Counties League Premier Division North, just four points behind Skegness Town in sixth.

Neat control and a clever finish saw Jacob Fenton convert the only goal of the game in the seventh minute at Sign Right Park.

But it was at the other end of the pitch where Ward was most impressed, the Greens holding onto their advantage to claim the three points and keeping a Melton side which included former Nottingham Forest attacker Paul Anderson at bay.

“Defensively, another good performance, another clean sheet,” said player-manager Ward.

“I’ve questioned our ability to see out clean sheets and they’re something I’ve always been very big on.

“And now that’s two in a row and three in the last four, so more boxes ticked.”

After shut-outs against Leicester Nirvana and Holbeach United in recent weeks, Garry Doran secured yet another with a fine reaction stop late on to deny Tom Harris.

Ward labelled his keeper’s performance ‘superb’ and also praised Doran for working on several aspects of his game in recent weeks.

Sleaford’s next fixture is the home contest against Pinchbeck United on February 19