MANAGER Les Jones says he hopes Malvern Town’s stunning victory over runaway leaders Lye Town can be the catalyst for a scintillating second half of the season.
A stern defensive display and a brace from James Lush saw Malvern end Lye’s 26-match unbeaten run with an impressive 2-0 win at the Langland Stadium.
A total of ten points now separated themselves in 13th spot and tenth placed Smethwick Rangers and Jones said he was confident his side can secure a top ten finish, which has been Town’s aim since the season got underway.
“It was a tremendous performance against Lye,” he said. “We had lost 5-0 away from home against them but for 60 minutes in that match we were 0-0 and created a load of chances, so I am not surprised by our win over Lye. I knew if we scored the first goal we would stand a good chance.
“I also thought our back four and our goalkeeper were outstanding. To keep a clean sheet against a side who had not lost in 26 games was really encouraging.
“Hopefully we can now kick on and try and finish in the top ten. Out of the 13 league games remaining I think we can win nine of those. We are not saying we don’t want to win all of our games, but having looked at the fixture list we have picked out matches we know we have got chances in.”
Jones said he has been delighted with how his players have battled back after a disappointing start to the campaign, which at one stage saw Town lose six league games on the bounce.
But having won their last five successive matches at home, the Malvern boss has challenged his side, whose clash against Smethwick was postponed on Saturday due to a water-logged pitch, to pick up more wins on the road in the second half of the season.
“We have got Wellington Amateurs next Saturday who are above us in the league,” Jones added. “We know it will be a long trip, but we will arrive in good spirits.
“Winning anywhere is not easy as there is some top sides in this league and it is always a disadvantage when you’ve got to sit in a minibus for two hours to get to the game. But I think we can start winning more away from home and if we can maintain our home form as well things will start to look really good for us.”