Marty calls for instant reaction
... while Baffins insist the derby clash is a ‘free hit’
Marty Wallace is calling on his AFC Portchester players to quickly pick themselves up from a weekend thrashing when they host Baffins Milton on Tuesday night.
The Royals enter the derby clash on the back of a 4-0 home drubbing by Wessex League Premier Division leaders Hamworthy at the weekend.
That was a first defeat in three matches since Wallace took interim charge in October.
He knows defeats are inevitable as a manager, but he does not want that first loss to turn into a run of bad results.
Instead, Wallace wants the Royals' players to immediately bounce back against Baffins.
‘I’m experienced enough to know that there are highs and lows,' he said.
'Where we’ve come unstuck previously this season, we’ve had a blip like this or had a defeat after a couple of wins.
'It’s the reaction now so we don’t allow this to become another loss or a run of poor results.
'You always look forward to these type of games and it’s the same with the players.
‘What tends to happen is, again, the opposition will raise their game and they always do.
‘We’re seen as a scalp and rightly so, but we’ve got to go in there with the confidence that comes with playing for AFC Portchester.'
Wallace felt the loss of captain Steve Ramsey was a big blow against Hamworthy.
The former Hawks midfielder sustained a wrist injury in an accident at work prior to the weekend.
However, Wallace was hoping the skipper might return to face Baffins.
‘Steve was a big miss for us,' he admitted.
‘Hopefully he’ll be back for Tuesday. He’s a big player and when you lose your captain, who’s the heartbeat of the midfield, it leaves a big hole.'
Danny Thompson insists the pressure is off Baffins tonight.
Rovers’ assistant manager says his side are relishing the chance to record a positive result in front of what is expected to be a big crowd.
Baffins go into the game after substitute Billy Connor’s last-gasp strike salvaged a 2-2 draw for Thompson’s nine-man side against Alresford at the weekend.
Despite Portchester sitting ninth, having lost five of their 11 league matches, Thompson still feels everyone will be expecting a home victory.
But the man taking charge of Baffins while Shaun Wilkinson serves a stadium ban, is hoping his side can spring a surprise result.
Thompson said: ‘We haven’t got anything to lose. If you look at it, people are going to look at that fixture and say ‘it’s a Portchy win.’
‘We’ll go there, no pressure, we’ve got nothing to lose and we’ll be going to give it a good go.
‘If we can pick something up away from home at Portchester it’ll be great. ‘We’re under no pressure, it’s a bit of a free-hit for us, no-one is expecting us to go there and turn them over.
‘You never know, football is a funny old game, so we’ll give it our best shot.’
Josh Warren’s suspension for his red card against Alresford is not likely to start until Saturday, so he should be available to face his former club. Attacking midfielder Callum Dart could also be in contention to return following his injury lay-off.