Dunn unhappy with punishing fixture schedule

Pinchbeck player-boss Ian Dunn has hit out at a gruelling fixture schedule which could threaten to derail his side’s treble hopes.
The second-placed Knights face six Peterborough League Premier Division games in just 13 days as they continue their pursuit of table-topping Peterborough Sports Reserves.
This is then followed by two cup finals and Dunn is particularly aggrieved that his charges face midweek trips to Stamford Lions on Tuesday, which is followed 48 hours later by a lengthy Thursday night trek to Ketton.
Dunn said: “I think it’s unfair. We’ve played the likes of Holbeach, Wisbech and Leverington on a Saturday which isn’t far away yet have to go to Stamford and Ketton in midweek for 6.30pm kick-offs.
“It’s a big gripe of mine because playing six games in 13 days is a lot to ask of anyone at any standard of football.
“It puts us in a big predicament because we don’t want players picking up injuries and missing cup finals but, at the same time, we still need to field strong sides to maintain our title push.
“We are going to have to manage matches to save players’ legs because of the sheer volume of games, which is very frustrating.”
Pinchbeck started their hectic run of games tonight (Wednesday) away at Deeping Rangers Reserves.
They went into the clash at Outgang Road after a scraping a narrow 1-0 away win at struggling Uppingham on Saturday.
Despite prolific marksman Ollie Maltby seeing an 80th minute penalty saved, Liam Ogden fired home a stunning volley with just four minutes remaining to secure a vital victory against a home side who belied their lowly league position.
Dunn said: “Uppingham deserve a lot of credit. They made it really difficult for us. They worked hard and scrapped for every ball so fair play to them for how they performed.
“They didn’t play like a side near the bottom of the league and, if they’d had that team all season, they would be much further up the table. We haven’t played particularly well, but we’ve ground out a result.
“We can’t play well every week and, although we questioned the players’ work rate and endeavour at half-time, the second half was much better.
“It was a fantastic strike from ‘Oggy’ to win the game and the one bit of quality that we needed.”
Pinchbeck dominated large spells of the contest played out on a difficult playing surface.
But they came up against in-form veteran home goalkeeper Steve Parkin who produced a string of fine saves, including Maltby’s penalty.
He was eventually beaten in the 86th minute when substitutes Chris Shipley and Dunn combined to tee up Ogden who fired a stunning volley into the top corner from 20 yards.
Pinchbeck: Ashton, Bishop, Edwards, Gardner, Ross, Smith, Lawe, Ogden, Sergeant, Maltby, Wright. Subs used: Dunn, Eyes, Shipley. Not used: Ramos.