Despite seeing his Spalding United side drop into the bottom two in Evo-Stik NPL East Division, boss Matt Easton insists that he has much to pleased about.
The Tulips chief was delighted to see his side “sneak” a draw at relegation rivals Stockbridge Park Steels last weekend (see page 37) despite being down to the bare bones squad-wise.
He’s hoping that his 19th-placed side take that strength of character into this Saturday’s Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field showdown with play-off chasing Belper Town (3pm) and feels an elusive win isn’t out of the question.
He said: “I thought the lads did themselves proud at Stocksbridge, given the circumstances.
“We had a few players that could have easily cried off and a host of injuries, but we dug in and snuck a point.
“We really didn’t deserve a draw – and when they went ahead with about ten minutes left, you fear the worst really.
“But we got our goal and even had a chance to win it. The strength of character we showed was brilliant and it was a great point.
“We’ll need to take that into Saturday, as Belper are a good side and flying high.
“The lads will have a good week to rest and be ready for the game.
“You have to expect that they’ll be strong opposition, but I think that we’ll be stronger after what we went through last weekend.”
Easton has no new injury concerns, but hopes that key midfielder Kegan Everington will return.
Jenk Acar, Ben Davison, Neal Spafford and Jack Brownell are all aiming to shake off knocks and illness to play a full part in a game his side could do with taking something from.
Striker Bradley Wells could also feature after re-joining the club from AFC Mansfield on Friday.
Wells was top scorer at the Sir Halley and was a key player in the season Spalding reached the play-off finals under the stewardship of Dave Frecklington and Chris Rawlinson.
