Manager Nathan Haslam was full of praise for his players after an action packed game when they battled the windy conditions to earn a point at Bishop Auckland despite playing most of the second half with ten men. “It was a stressful game for a manager and I think it was a great game for the neutral. I’m really, really happy with our lads today.”
Two youngsters were in the starting line-up for the first time, Jake Martindale who had made brief appearances from the bench in recent games along with debutant Coleby Shepherd, and the manager was delighted with both players. “They were both outstanding. It’s as simple as that! Coleby Shepherd’s only 17. He’s come in from Hartlepool to gain first team experience at men’s level and every decision that he made today was on point. Physically he stood up to it, caused problems and he kept going for the full 90 minutes so I’m really, really happy with him. We’ve got him for as long as it takes him to probably get in Hartlepool’s first team and based on what I’ve seen today I don’t think that’s going to be too long! He’s come here for experience and he’s going to get that but what he showed to us today, the rest of the lads in the squad and anyone who was here watching is that he’s a very, very good player.
“The wind has played a massive part in the first half. Although we’ve played brilliantly with the ball, Bishops, credit to them they’ve put a lot on our keeper and put the ball in dangerous areas and they’ve been lucky, fortuitous. Things landed right for them, they scuffed one that’s gone in, one’s just landed right for them and’s gone in, and one that’s gone in direct from a corner. But that happens and we’ve had to show character to come back from that against the wind and at 4-3 at half time we were happy because we thought we’d go on and win the game.”
Things did not go to plan after the interval with Luke Taylor’s red card. “It was just our luck, we’ve dictated the game against the wind and in the second half we’ve opened the game up well again getting on the ball then against the run of play they’ve gone through and Taylor’s been the wrong side of his man and gets sent off. They’re a young group of players and being 4-3 down they could have put their heads down and felt sorry for themselves but they didn’t, they believed in themselves, they kept doing the right things and they kept the ball, great decision making. I think we were by far the better team in the second half as well so its credit to them for grinding out the draw.”
As Haslam acknowledged, Connor Smith’s equaliser was a replica of Bishops’ fourth goal, going in straight from a corner. “Yes it was exactly the same. We said at half time we’ve seen how much havoc the wind was playing. Normally in our routines we do out-swinging corners but we changed that over and said we need to put in-swinging corners on the keeper and it’s worked for us.” Another youngster Ben Davison made his debut as a late substitute and went close to grabbing a winner. “He’s been unlucky, he was put on for six minutes and was there to graft and if he gets a chance he’s great finisher, but I still think we’ve created enough to win the game with ten men. Their keeper’s pulled off some good saves, pushing the ball away from the danger areas and not back into them. We were unlucky, we just couldn’t get on the end of things but I can’t ask any more of them. I’ve got nothing but admiration for them and I said that in the changing rooms. They believed in themselves. For a team who are so young and are learning very quickly it’s a massive plus to have that frame of mind. With the ball we are a good team, we all know that. It’s what we do at both ends of the pitch that defines how well we do but there’s something I’ve seen today which fills me with a lot of optimism moving forward.
“I’ve said before that we need more consistency and I’ve got to say I think we have struggled over the course of the season to be clinical and score goals on a regular basis There’s only one game where we’ve changed the top three – today – and over this one game I think they’ve done very, very well creating numerous opportunities and we look a good team, so the team picks itself going forward, it’s a simple as that. We know we’ve got a young team and the thing that’s catching us out is experience but you get experience by playing and that’s what they’re doing and it does stand us in good stead moving forward. These lads have just got to stick together, not get in a position where they get frustrated. We all want to win, that goes without saying, and we’ve got to find a way to win but this is a great opportunity for us moving forward with a young team and we’ll get much better as the season goes on and beyond.”
Midfielder Lewis Orrell does not often get on the score sheet but he caught the eye at Bishop Auckland scoring twice in the first half and drew praise from his manager. “I think Lewis is the most improved player in the team from pre-season, he’s developed his game and I would class him as an outstanding Northern League player at this moment in time. I think he can go much higher, there are a few chinks in his armour which we can improve on but he’s only 19 and people don’t always see what Lewis does because he’s a midfielder and he grafts, he plays good balls, he does things that are streets ahead for this level and we’ve seen a massive improvement in Lewis. Today we’ve asked him to probe and to go and advance and attack and he’s scored two goals.”
