Alcester boss Janes bemoans 'terrible' pitch
ALCESTER Town player-manager Danny Janes described the Stratford Road pitch as ‘terrible’ following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with derby rivals FC Stratford.
Keiran Downey gave Alcester the lead, but a second-half own goal from Ben Pattison ensured the points were shared.
Janes was happy with the draw, but said the state of the pitch made it a difficult afternoon for both sides.
He said: “The pitch was terrible and it impacted on the quality of both sides.
“It was very difficult to try and play football on.”
Opposite number Dave Poulson, a former manager of Alcester, echoed Janes’ comments, saying: “It was a crying shame to see the pitch as it was.
“It really affected us and Alcester. It cut up easily and was hard to play on.”
Janes handed starts to debutant Josh Moore, Brendan Hicks and Captain Keiran Downey.
Alcester started the better of the two sides as they applied early pressure to the Stratford defence.
Alcester found success as the pace and direct play of Davies, Brendan Hicks and Josh Moore caused problems.
The pressure was rewarded as Downey reacted to a loose ball from a corner to slot the ball past the goalkeeper. Alcester continued to press as they looked for a second goal, however, both teams struggled with the heavy pitch.
Stratford started the second half strong as they looked to level the scores. The opposition started to outnumber Alcester in midfield as they found gaps to run into.
Alcester looked to play on the counter as Stratford began to throw players forward. Stratford were eventually rewarded for their dominance when Alcester defender Pattison directed the ball into his own net in an attempt to head the ball over the bar.
Stratford continued to press for a winner, but Alcester were dangerous on the break.
In the end, neither side could find a winner, leaving both managers satisfied with the outcome.
“I think the draw was a fair result,” Janes said.
“I thought we edged the first half, however, Stratford put us under a lot of pressure in the second half.
“I was really pleased with the way we soaked up all their pressure, on another day we could have nicked it at the end as we had some very good chances.
“Stratford deserved to equalise because of the amount of pressure they applied, Ben was unfortunate with the own goal — he tried to do the right thing but just didn’t get enough on the header.”
Stratford boss Poulson added: “I don’t suppose I could complain about the result.
“I felt we were the better team and we were going for the win.
“The second half we were pretty much at it from the start, which came nearly to our cost, as they nearly caught us on the counter. We certainly at least deserved a point.”
Alcester take on Barton United at home this weekend, while FC Stratford have a weekend off. Their next game is against Inkberrow on Boxing Day at the DCS Stadium.
