Bartley couldn’t fault Blues effort
Marlow FC: Visitors fail to shine in possession during narrow defeat
Marlow boss Mark Bartley couldn't really fault his side’s work rate or commitment in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Southall, but he admitted they failed to ‘ignite’ with the ball at their feet in West London.
Off the back of three straight wins in the league, a confident Blues side saw plenty of the ball throughout the game, but they lacked quality in possession and failed to make the most of that possession in the final third.
There were aspects of the display that pleased the Marlow boss, not least the hunger and desire the players showed to win the ball back, however, despite forcing the Southall keeper into several saves - and seeing a penalty saved - this was not the Blues at their fluent best.
They fell behind to Anthony O’Connor's strike in the 24th minute, the striker gambling on a long punt from the keeper to ghost between Marlow’s static central defenders and slot home.
Against Basingstoke the previous week, Marlow came from two goals down to win 5-2, but on this occasion the ball just didn’t run for them in attack, and they lost a game they probably deserved to draw.
The result sees them slip a place to third in the Isthmian League South Central Division, however, results elsewhere generally went their way, with leaders Northwood, fourth placed Chertsey Town and fifth placed South Park all dropping points.
Reflecting on a disappointing day at the office, Bartley said: “I think that we didn't really ignite. I thought we did a good job in getting ourselves on the ball, we were good out of possession, but us in possession didn’t quite reach the same level. It can happen like that sometimes. We looked a little
off it quality wise, we missed a penalty and there were several half openings, but the ball just seemed to bounce closer to their goalkeeper than it did our strikers.
“Our work rate and commitment was great, we won lots of second balls and dominated possession mostly, but our quality deserted us on the ball. It was just one of those days for us, but looking at it, I think there was only one team in the top six that actually won so it wasn't a horrific weekend, but we want to do better. They were pretty direct, on that particular one, the goalkeeper’s kick went 10 yards further than his other kicks, and there was a mix up between our centre halves and the guy has gambled and gone through and scored. Our keeper made a save right at the end, when we were chasing it, but other than that our keeper wasn’t very busy.
He added: “Our focus will be on making sure we’re right to go again on Saturday because a lot of what we did was good. We just have to tweak things slightly.
Their keeper was man of the match for them. Our quality wasn’t at the level it has been in previous weeks, but on another day, we'll play like that and win a game. I didn’t get into the players too much. I was disappointed because we weren’t as good as we have been in possession, but we’ve set ourselves some high standards and we want to maintain them.”
The Blues were back in action on Tuesday night, when they played Thatcham Town in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup, but they’ll be looking to respond in the league when they host Guernsey at Oak Tree Road on Saturday, 2pm kick-off. Guernsey were beaten 6-0 by the Blues on their last trip to Berkshire, but Bartley is anticipating a tougher game this season.
“We’ve been very good in the league so far,” he said. “We hope to have a good go at them when they come to us. We know we need to be better than Saturday, that’s the focus and we’re looking forward to the game.
“They’re a better side than they’ve shown so far this season, and they’ve lost out to some sides in great form. We know it won’t be a walkover, but we’re really confident and we have some players coming back to the squad.
“Toby Raggett has been on the bench the last couple of games, which is a massive plus and
Curtis Chapple is now back to full fitness. We’ve signed midfielder Josh Boorn rom Kings Langley so we feel like we’re strong at the minute and we’re looking forward to Saturday.”