Match Report By Sam Morshead Swindon Advertiser Swindon Supermarine boss frustrated to drop points Swindon Supermarine must learn to adapt to the conditions in front of them if they are to challenge for promotion from Southern League Division One South & West. That is the opinion of manager Dave Webb, who cut a frustrated figure after watching his side get held to a 1-1 draw at mid-table Godalming Town. A Luke Abrahart strike gave Marine the lead in the 62nd minute in Surrey, but the visitors were pegged back by Gavin Miller’s strike 12 minutes later on a difficult playing surface at Wey Court. Webb was disappointed with the display, suggesting some of his players did not appear mentally up for the challenge. He said: “It was not a great day for us, really. We kept the same team that played very well at Mangotsfield and we didn’t really perform. “We had to make one or two changes at half-time to try to change it. “We didn’t start the game well and found it difficult to get into the swing on the game. It’s not a question of the players being good enough but it showed us up a bit when they needed to adapt. “As the weather deteriorates as we approach Christmas the pitches we play on will get worse. The players we’ve got are good players but they need to learn to adapt to the situation in front of them. “If we want to have success this year and improve on last year then we need to be doing better, especially going to places like Godalming where I feel we should be getting a result.” Kent Kauppinen made two excellent stops in the first half of Saturday’s game to keep Marine level at the break, with Ben Whitehead and Josh Morse spurning the visitors’ two chances of any note in the opening period. After the interval Marine improved slightly and, after Sam Morris saw his header cleared off the line, substitute Abrahart brought down Kyle Lapham’s cross to volley home via the underside of the crossbar. With their noses in front, Webb expected his side to hold on for the win but Godalming hit back as Musgrove scrambled home from close range from a corner. Whitehead and Rob Dean both saw late efforts hacked off the line, while Webb praised his goalkeeper Kauppinen’s heroics for making sure Marine took something away from the trip. “If it hadn’t been for Kent Kauppinen making three good saves then we would have ended up not getting anything from the game and that would have been a travesty. We just looked out of sorts all over,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to adapt. We’ve got to be up for games all the time if we want to be up at the right end of the table. If we want to have a good season we have to do better than that. If we don’t, before we know it we’ll be in the middle of the league. “I was very disappointed for those who travelled to watch it. “That’s the problem with the success we’ve had. “The expectation now it to be challenging up the top of the league. We’ve had a good start and it’s still early days but there are things that need working on.”
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 20:16:24 +0000
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