Interim Welling United Rod Stringer was left frustrated following his team’s defeat at home to Burgess Hill Town in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

“It was really disappointing because we’ve had some really tough games and this is the one that I felt was a must need win.” he said. “I’ve just had a good heart to heart with them in there. I haven’t shouted. I’ve just been honest. The game we watched today, on reflection of it, I thought that we definitely deserved to come away with something today.

“You’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net. The chances we’ve had today, we should have scored more than the one. And the one that we did score was an own goal. That’s alarming. When we had those opportunities, Femi (Akinwande) had a one on one and he just needed to put it over his (the goalkeeper’s) head and it’s a goal. He knows better than anyone that he should have scored that.

“The keeper’s pulled off a couple of decent saves, one from Aaron Williams-Bushell, one that he tipped over the bar, looked like a deflection.” Stringer continued. “It’s just mentality and not having enough senior players at the level to know how to keep the ball out of the net and how to be a little more potent in front of goal. I don’t think you can knock the boys for endeavour. I don’t think you can knock the boys for attitude or desire. I just think it’s quality in the right moments of how to keep clean sheets and how to put the game to bed when you get the opportunities.

“I said to them in there if you look at Folkestone on Tuesday night no team’s working as hard as us. We are working so hard but a lot of it is because of our own mistakes. We are trying to play in certain areas, giving the ball away, when the ball comes in from a corner we’re getting it topped out behind us and then all of a sudden we’re having to chase to get back into it. We’re working hard and the game’s so simple. Just put the ball in the back of the net. The goal that’s lost it was a corner that should never have turned into a corner. Both of the goals when you look at it, we’ve given away a cheap corner and Luke (O’Neill) should have probably put the ball down the side of them but he shanked it and gave it to their midfielder and they’ve broken and scored. We’re our own worst enemy with a lot of our decision making and to win a game of football that has to be a big part of the game.

“It’s demoralizing for myself, for the club and for the players. I think today you could tell by the supporters They were right behind us because they could see that we weren’t a million miles away from probably winning this game and then we’re just punching ourselves on our chin when we don’t need to. When we get the opportunity to punish teams, we don’t do it. When you look at clubs at this level you’ve got to have a structure. You’ve got to have a basis of players that know how to get through those periods of games and as much as we don’t play off the cuff, it looks like we’re playing off the cuff. It looks like we’re pressurised but I stayed with the lads today. I tried to give them loads of ‘well done’s’ and ‘keep going’.

“The problem is that if you’re getting played off the park then you can say okay we can see where the problem is but we’re not getting played off the park. We’re competing in every game but the bottom line is that it comes down to not being good enough in both boxes again. We’re not clinical at one end so we never look like we’re going to score, even with all the opportunities today and then we always look like we’re going to concede and I said this last week. We’ve got a soft underbelly.

“The more you don’t go on and win games, the more it becomes more pressurised for them so there’s no point in going in there and ranting and raving, I honestly do believe they’re trying but we’re not good enough.”

Once again, Welling were hampered with a first half injury with Eze Ebuzoeme limping off in the first half. That resulted in Stringer having to reorganise his side with square pegs in round holes. He said “It doesn’t help when we keep losing players. On Tuesday we lost two before half time. Today we lose one before half time, and they’re players that you really can’t afford to lose.

“When your luck’s not there, you’re luck’s not there but I put luck down to part of it but I also put it down to us not being good enough. We haven’t got the players here that are good enough to give us sevens every week. They’re doing some good things in games and also making mistakes in games. The communication all round the park is awful. No partnerships. They don’t talk.”

Image courtesy of Peter Jozwiak