"To be honest, I thought we should have won" said Gordon Picker after
another draw at a packed Hartham Stadium. "But that's beginning to be a
mantra after each game & I need to be sure we aren't making excuses for
ourselves. A couple of the guys have said they'll lose sleep over misses
in the game & that's good as it shows they care! I hope everybody feels
the same.

It was frustrating from the touchline after we had so much play &
created enough to win two games to only come out with a draw!"

Yes it was another wasteful afternoon for Mangrove as their manager
pointed out afterwards & he'll be hopeful that the rain forecast this
week will help his team to cope with bouncing balls, after they conceded
another goal following a slack start to the game. There was, in truth, a
large slice of luck when Edwards hammered a clearance into the face of a
Hoddesdon player & the ball ricocheted to their best player on the edge
of the box. But Gordon Picker will be secretly fuming that he was not
closed down & managed to hit a sweet shot into Sharkey's left corner.

"I know I was a decorative player - a bit of a tart if you like - but
that means I understand the value of winning tackles & attacking the
ball & we didn't do enough of it in the first half. I've got big lads
out there who were second to the ball far too often & I need them to
stand up & be counted, be more physical, if we're going to turn
possession into points" he said in an honest appraisal of his team's
shortcomings.

On the plus side will be Craig Hills' fabulous equalising goal on 75
minutes & the fact that six or seven good chances were made with the
opportunity to create many more if the final ball had been better. There
were signs of poor defending across the middle with Hoddesdon being one
on one with the back four too often when play broke down & following the
dismissal of Hoddesdon's keeper for a high, late challenge on Hills when
the last man, the replacement in goal was not really tested.

Next week will see a visit to high-flying Royston Town A & there should
be some selection dilemmas with Everitt, Potter & Dean available again
plus the expected return of Andrews & Williams. One thing is for sure -
if Mangrove are serious about their ambitions to win this Division,
they'll need to start & finish the game, attack & defend a lot better as
a unit than they did here when they travel to Barkway.