Carter: It’s not doom and gloom all round

Moneyfields travel to Thatcham Town tonight looking to put their first Southern League Division One South points on the board.

They have lost both their league games so far, 2-1 at Cinderford Town and 2-0 at home against Melksham.

Manager Dave Carter also has the job of picking his players up after their thumping 6-2 FA Cup home defeat to Cray Wanderers.

He insists it isn't all doom and gloom, though.

'We haven't been playing that badly but keep giving away giftwrapped goals,' he said.

'Our opponents must be thinking Christmas has come early.

'Defending has been very poor and that has mainly been down to individual errors.

'If we want to achieve anything then we must cut them out.

'The players have been guilty of making rash decisions and it has led to a lack of confidence at the back.

'We keep getting caught in no-man’s land.

'The focus now has to be on putting league points on the board and we have to view this game as an opportunity to put things right.

'It is also a chance to put our FA Cup woes behind us.'

Playmaker George Barker is a doubt after pulling up with a hamstring problem after only eight minutes in the cup tie.

Tyler Giddings remains ruled out with a knee injury and Connor Hoare is on holiday.

Carter is insisting his team take the positives from their cup performance.

'We played well for the first ten minutes and improved in the second half,' he said. ‘It wasn't all negative.

'We played well in spells against a very good Cray Wanderers team.

'Sometimes you get forced into making errors.

'Our first goal came at the end of a great passing move and finished off by Steve Hutchings.

'What we need to do is to focus for the whole 90 minutes.

'We must look to kickstart our season and put a run of positive results together.'

Thatcham - top of the table when last season was halted in March - are also looking for their first league win.

The Berkshire hosts have, however, picked up two points in goalless draws against Paulton and Willand.

They are yet to score in three league games and Moneyfields may need to keep it that way if they are to collect their first points.

After tonight’s game, Moneyfields have three successive home matches in three different competitions.

A league game against Paulton Rovers on Saturday is followed by next Tuesday’s Hampshire Senior Cup semi-final with AFC Bournemouth held over from last season.

Moneys then welcome divisional rivals Basingstoke Town to Dover Road for an FA Trophy tie on October 17.

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