Spartans skipper Wayne Buchanan insisted that his side have to keep looking to do the right thing as he reflected on the 1-3 loss against Ilkeston FC. The defeat at the New Manor Ground meant that it was three defeats on the bounce for Spartans at the end of a tough week that has seen them clock up over nine hundred miles on the road in seven days. However Buchanan feels their is only one way things will improve.
He said “It’s coming thick and fast and we are looking for a win but we have to stay positive. We have to take a look at ourselves and be hard to beat. There are so many teams in this league who stick together and work hard, they dig in and do their job. We have to match that and then results will come.”
A goal from Joe Kendrick early in the second half had got Spartans back into the game but they were killed off with an injury time breakaway goal by Gary Ricketts. That goal meant that Kevin Wilson’s side gained revenge for their 1-3 defeat at Croft Park two weeks ago but Buchanan felt that there were lessons to be learnt from the Robins and the way they ground out the win.
He said “It was a tough ask today against a strong side but we know we have to compete better. When we play and pass our way it looks good but other teams can win ugly but we can’t seem to do that. We are repeating ourselves all the time about being solid and staying in a game away from home but then we concede early in the second half and that’s not good enough. We need to take responsibility for our actions.”
Things don’t get any easier for Buchanan and his team mates as league leaders North Ferriby United travel to Croft Park for a blockbuster Easter Monday clash. The Villagers travel to Northumberland on the back of a 6-1 romp over bottom club Eastwood Town and have already beaten Spartans twice this season. However Buchanan felt that his side have shown enough over those two fixtures against the title favourites to suggest they can have some confidence going into the game.
He revealed “Monday will be tough but we can take the positives from the previous two games against North Ferriby, we have played well against them twice this season and although we didn’t get the results we know what we can do and what we have to do to get a result.”