WITH Jersey Bulls two goals up within the opening 20 minutes at Cobham on Saturday, it seemed like the present which carries most weight in football – points – would be delivered back to the Island just in time for Christmas.
As it was, Santa transformed into the Grinch in Surrey, the hosts rallying to excellent effect to claim a point in a 2-2 draw.
And Bulls boss Gary Freeman was frustrated to see his side return to habits which he’d thought they put behind them, evidenced by a run of form which had seen them lose just once in their previous 16 encounters.
“It was a bit of a slow start from us, but once we’d got the goals you’re thinking ‘great, now let’s kick on from here’.
“We’ve been really, really strong defensively of late so it was disappointing to concede that first goal off a counter,’ he said.
“We spoke at length before the game about how it might play out. The pitch and surroundings at Cobham are tight, so the ball pings around quicker than you think. Even allowing for that, when you look at the goals we’ve conceded, we have to be doing better.
“We’ve also played a large part of the second half with ten players given the double sin-binning.
“While we need to look at that from a discipline point of view, I don’t think much has been said, from Fraser (Barlow) in particular. The referee has maybe been suckered in a little bit, and that hasn’t helped.
“You have to credit Cobham, though. Their league position is probably a little false and they are still in the FA Vase, so they have plenty about them. We saw that when they came to our place, also.”
Despite the draw, which ended a five-game winning streak, Freeman has steered his side into the play-off spots and into the fourth round of the Vase.
After the festive break, there is the luxury of four consecutive games at Springfield in league and cup, before visits to two of the current bottom three in Epsom and Colliers Wood.
“A former manager of mine used to call it ‘Judgement January’ and I’d say that’s pretty apt for us too,” commented Freeman.
“It’s a crucial month because lots of sides will reset in this holiday period and get a second wind, so we have to make sure we are ready for some tough games.
“Alton, Redhill and Balham are all seasoned teams at this level and then we have the Vase game in among that also, which will be high-profile. We’ve got some tired bodies in the group, and I think you saw that out there this afternoon. Luke Watson and Luke Campbell aren’t getting any younger, so we have to look after some of these lads to make sure they are fresh for that January run.
“We’ll enjoy a good week off now, and then get them back in on the 28th for a light session. Then we’ll have two get-togethers in the run-up to the Alton game and go from there.”
Meanwhile, Bulls learned that it will be Hamworthy Recreation who will be turning up to Springfield on 13 January for the fifth round of the FA Vase after the Rec beat Wells City 2-1.
