After getting ninety minutes under his belt in the topsy turvy 3-3 draw with Marine, Spartans defender Carl Jones looked ahead to a big week for the club as they prepare to travel to Stocksbridge Park Steels on Tuesday night and then entertain Garforth Town in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup next Saturday. Jones was impressive at the heart of the Spartans defence alongside captain Wayne Buchanan and said “We are all a bit gutted in there but we have to take the best parts of our performance against a team that were top of the league. On Tuesday we have to bounce back and do what we have done well there. If we get the win there we have the FA Cup here next week and have a home tie which is all you can ask for. Hopefully we will have a bumper crowd here and get ourselves into the next round and obviously for financial reasons that can be great for the club”.
Looking at his own performance in the draw with Marine, Jones was happy to get more game time as he continues his recovery from the shoulder injury suffered in pre-season against Tonbridge Angels but was disappointed that his side’s impressive performance wasn’t enough to take all three points. The former Gateshead man said “I’m pleased to have got through ninety minutes which is important for me and I want to establish myself in the side but you can’t help but feel disappointed for the lads. The way we have played, we are a bit deflated with the late equaliser but we have to stay positive and go and get a good result on Tuesday”.