Buckland praises YM's attitude following win over Worthing United

Horsham YMCA manager Peter Buckland has praised his team's attitude following their 3-1 win over Worthing United, writes Sam Morton.
Peter BucklandPeter Buckland
Peter Buckland

Having suffered a surprise 3-1 defeat to bottom of the table Arundel, followed by the departures of Kieron Pamment to Worthing and Joe Shelley to Horsham, Buckland was full of praise for his side after bouncing back so well against The Mavericks.

He said: “Football is a confidence game.

“The game against Arundel was just one of those things, where you have to take it on the chin and move on but Worthing were just as stern as an opposition.

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“The win, on the bigger picture, done them a power of good. They looked a much happier bunch afterwards against a very resilient side.

“Worthing got off to brilliant start, scoring a worldy goal in the first half. That made me think it wasn't going to be our day but they dug in and brought it back to 1-1 before half time.

“I’m sure no one would mind me saying the second half was one way traffic. It ended 3-1 but could have been five or six.”

“It was exactly what I wanted.

“We had a bit of turmoil, as we lost Joe Shelley and Kieron Pamment so there’s been a fair bit of disruption going on behind the scenes which hasn't helped, but my pride and trusted done really well.

“They dug in, their good club men and they performed well.”

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Buckland highlighted that it was the attitude displayed by his team after falling behind that impressed him the most.

He added: “Their attitude after going a goal down impressed me the most.

“They could have easily thought the Gods were against us, as when someone scores a goal like that it’s quite unique.

“I thought it wouldn't do their confidence any good at all but the skipper Tom Gilbert rallied them up and they went for it.

“I was really impressed with their approach to the game.”

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Buckland also stressed that he will not be taking tomorrow’s game against Billingshurst in the Senior Cup lightly, but hopes it will provide a further confidence booster ahead of their crunch game against top of the table Chichester on Saturday (7th October).

“I take every game seriously.

“Whilst we will be making a couple of changes, I will not be taking it lightly.

“It's always a potential banana skin, they are a good little club but I expect to win.

“They (Chichester) are a big threat and it is a big game.

“They are a good side and we haven't enjoyed too much success down there for the last couple of seasons.

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“We are without a recognised forward as Phil Johnson and Sam Schaaf are both still injured so we will not risk them on Tuesday and hopefully they will be available on Saturday as it's a very big game in the context of the season.

“It couldn't get much tougher than away to Chichester but they have dropped points as well so we will go in good spirits and give it a good shot.”