Injuries give manager food for thought ahead of Runcorn test
LEEK Town manager Neil Baker wants a positive response from his players when fellow promotion hopefuls Runcorn Linnets arrive at Harrison Park on Saturday.
Blues were beaten 2-1 by local rivals Kidsgrove Athletic last Saturday, but managed to hold on to fifth place in the Evo-stik West Division table.
The defeat, Leek’s first in the league for nine games, was bad enough for Baker to take, but it was also the manner of the defeat he was really disappointed with and he wants that out of the players’ system before Linnets fly into town.
He insists a combination of players wanting to do their own thing and poor game management was to blame for the loss at Kidsgrove’s Hollinwood Road ground.
“We were not at our best, too many players were having an off day, but we still could have managed the game a lot better. Too many players were making the wrong decisions and that, in the end, resulted in us losing a goal right at the end,” said the manager.
Aaron Bott put Leek ahead after just seven minutes, but Kidsgrove striker and captain Anthony Malbon equalised just before the 20-minute mark.
And with the game heading for a 1-1 draw, Leek lost possession in midfield and Kidsgrove’s Kyle Diskin made them pay by firing a low shot past goalkeeper Danny Roberts at his near post.
Baker said: “Because of how bad we were on the day, I had settled for a point, because make no mistake, Kidsgrove were the better side, so I thought a point was not bad in the circumstances.
“But in time added on, we gave the ball away in a dangerous area when we had options to keep possession and they break to score the winner. Unfortunately on the day, our decision making and game management was not always there, which is disappointing because we had spoken about that in training.”
Leek went into the game without Niall Green and Niall Maguire, who were both injured, while Dan Trickett-smith only lasted for 45 minutes before he was forced off with a recurrence of his thigh injury. Striker Tim Grice was on the bench, but remained there as he hadn’t training all week as he continues to nurse a knee injury.
Baker however, refused to blame the unavailability of key players for the defeat.
“I’ve got a good squad here at Leek and this was an opportunity for those who have been on the bench for the past few games to step up to the plate, but for whatever reason, I didn’t get the performance I was hoping for, but that wasn’t just down to the players who came in.”
Baker will continue to monitor the injury situation ahead of the weekend game against Runcorn.
“There’s a chance we will have Niall Green back for the weekend, but with Niall Maguire you just never know. He has suffered with a back problem for a while now and the problem flares up every now and then, and that’s what happened on Saturday. Aaron Bott also has a back strain, he wasn’t as mobile as I would have liked on Saturday, so with Aaron and Tim struggling, I may have to think long and hard about my options up front for the Runcorn game. It may mean having a look around to see if there is someone we can bring in,” said the manager.