Maynard: "We knew it would be a tough test"
Like the previous two fixtures against Yeovil Town, Wealdstone were held to a goalless draw at Huish Park as the Stones look to get back into the play-off places following three weeks off due to postponed games.
Stones manager Stuart Maynard made two changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Gateshead last Saturday but was unable to break down 10-man Yeovil and had to settle for the point away from home.
“It’s a good point on the road after last week’s defeat and having not played for three weeks before that. We knew it was going to be a tough test and Mark [Cooper] has assembled a really good team here. You can see his style of play start to get implemented here but I thought we could’ve been 3 or 4 up in the first half. The amount of chances we had on the counter, a little bit of extra care and extra quality in the final third and it could’ve been a different game.”
Following the draw at Huish Park, Wealdstone currently sit 11th in the National League, just three points off the illustrious play-off places. Being one of only two part-time clubs in the division, Maynard has received heaps of praise for the levels his team has reached this season and has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
“As a management team, our aim was to stay in the league, we set ourselves points tally and if we can achieve that we can have a really good season. We have to take it one game at a time and we can’t get ahead of ourselves.”
New signing Corie Andrews was handed his full debut against Yeovil following his move from Torquay and the forward will be hoping to score his first goal for the club sooner rather than later, having failed to score a single goal in 13 appearances for the Gulls, prior to his transfer to the Stones.
“He [Corie Andrews] is a proven goal scorer at this level, he had 11 goals up until Christmas for Aldershot Town and got his move to Colchester. It hasn’t quite worked out for him here and there but he’s a player that we’ve wanted for a while. It isn’t going to happen for him overnight as with some of the other lads who still need to get back up to speed after the three weeks off.”
Next up for Wealdstone is a tricky test against Daryl McMahon’s Dagenham & Redbridge this Saturday at Grosvenor Vale. McMahon’s side currently sit 8th in the National League following a strong first-half of the season but a win for the Stones would see them leapfrog the Daggers and potentially put them back into the play-off spots.
“I’ve seen Dagenham live the other night against Bromley and as a management team we’ll sit down and research them [Dagenham & Redbridge] in order to prep the lads during training ahead of the next game.”
You can get your tickets to Saturday's National League fixture, where the two London play-off hopefuls will meet by purchasing yours online HERE.
By Will Beaman