COX TAKES POSITIVES FROM GOALLESS DRAW

Wealdstone manager Sam Cox was encouraged by his side’s performance despite being held to a 0-0 draw against Eastleigh at Grosvenor Vale on Saturday afternoon in the Enterprise National League.

The Stones produced a dominant first-half display and created a number of opportunities, but were unable to find the breakthrough even after the visitors were reduced to ten men.

Reflecting on the performance, Cox was pleased with the way his side started:

“I thought the first 45 minutes was very promising. We dominated the ball, created a lot of opportunities and worked well in our attacking patterns. The boys have had a really tough week, but they played with our identity. A big focus for us recently has been cutting out those naive goals and we can take a lot of positives from keeping another clean sheet.”

The turning point came when Eastleigh went down to ten men, but instead of opening up, the visitors sat deep in a 4-4-1 shape. Cox admitted his side found it difficult to break them down:

“They’ve got experienced players and once they dropped into that deep block it was tough to penetrate. We tried to move the ball side to side and attack the half spaces, but it didn’t quite click in the final third. We lacked a little spark. That said, the lads ran their socks off – Obiero worked tirelessly, Tshikuna has been excellent recently and Fela gave us a real boost in his first start.”

Cox was also encouraged by the return of key players as he looks to build squad depth.

“It was great to have Fela back – he hasn’t had a full pre-season, so we’re managing his minutes, but he made a real impact in winning the foul that led to their sending off. Max has been excellent since his return from injury too and across the squad we’ve now got genuine competition for places, which is exactly what we want.”

He also highlighted the adaptability of his backline, praising Enzio Boldewijn for slotting into central defence seamlessly:

“Defensively, we’ve been fantastic in the last two games. Whoever has come in has done a job. Enzio was excellent today – he’s versatile, reliable and that’s why he’s one of our captains.”

With Brackley up next on Wednesday night, Cox is looking to build on the positives:

“Defensively we’re in a really strong place. We’ve only conceded once in two tough games and that’s credit to the players. We just need to ensure that doesn’t come at the expense of our attacking spark. I’m sure if you look at the stats from today, we dominated in most areas – it just didn’t quite drop for us in the box. If we keep working, the goals will come.”

The Stones will now turn their attention to Wednesday’s Enterprise National League clash away at Brackley, aiming to convert strong performances into maximum points. The Supporters Club are running a coach to this game, book HERE.