Boss refuses to panic after “freak” loss - The Malvern Observer

Boss refuses to panic after “freak” loss

Malvern Editorial 15th Oct, 2014 Updated: 20th Oct, 2016   0

MANAGER Les Jones described Malvern Town’s 6-0 defeat to Gornal Athletic on Saturday as a “freak result” as they were left to play most of the game without a recognised goalkeeper.

After thumping Dudley Town 4-0 in midweek, Jones said he was confident of beating their visiting opponents who sat one place above them in the West Midlands Regional League table.

But disaster struck in the opening few minutes when Chas Weaver was forced off after colliding with the goalpost. With no other keeper on the bench, striker Lee Hooper was handed the gloves.

The Town boss said the incident was a “major factor” in the game as Gornal ran out comfortable winners in front of a stunned crowd at the HDanywhere Community Stadium.




“The result was bitterly disappointing as we played fantastically well on Wednesday, winning 4-0 away,” he said.

“But unfortunately Charlie Weaver crashed into the post. He tried bravely for about seven or eight minutes but he could not carry on, so we had to put Lee Hooper in goal.


“The goals weren’t his fault, but it completely unsettled the team and also meant we had only two substitutes left to use.

“It was a setback which we could not recover from. It was also a tremendous boost for Gornal to see us without a proper keeper and they took advantage of it as they kept trying to get the ball into the box as often as they could.”

Jones said it was a “luxury” to have a keeper on the bench at Malvern’s level of football, but Town were also without second choice stopper Niall Hacking, whose wife gave birth this week.

“We could have brought the reserve keeper in, but we just went with outfield players,” he added.

“The previous Saturday we had gone without a keeper and nothing had happened, so it was a freak incident.

“Bilston who are in a similar position to us in the table lost 7-1 at home to Black Country Rangers on Saturday. I know their manager and he said they were 1-0 up at half time and conceded six goals in 18 minutes and that can happen in football as it is so unpredictable.”

Malvern host struggling Shifnal on Saturday and Jones said his players are determined to return to winning ways.

“We have got to draw a line under it and go again on Saturday against Shifnal and then Wellington on Tuesday,” he said.

“It is disappointing as we had a big crowd last Saturday, but we have got to accept it and move on.

“We are a decent team and I am sure we will bounce back.”

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