MATCH PREVIEW: Rothbury v Seaton Burn
Timing is important in football. You know when you’ve struck a ball sweetly and if the timing has been just right, it will fly without much back lift. Conversely, you also know when you’ve shinned a Billy Bobbler if your timing is all off.
I tapped gaffer Tom Macpherson for some quotes last week just as he was awaiting the birth of his second child in the hospital. Awful timing. I’ll not make that mistake again this week, I thought, and tapped his brother Sam Proudlock – who was just washing his hands and getting scrubbed up to go into theatre! Talk about putting your foot in it. Again.
The Red’s defender took it all in his stride, as usual, however, and got back after his shift at the hospital to say that last Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat by Newcastle Independent was just a result that you put behind you and move on.
“It was one of those where we just had to hold our hands up and say we weren’t good enough,” he admitted, as goals from Theobalds and Hall – with an unlucky own goal from himself sandwiched in between – handed the high-flying visitors their sixth straight win.
“The conditions were perfect, we had a strong team with a strong bench, dare I say even the ref had a half decent game. We just seemed second to every ball and they nullified our possession football well. It was very frustrating as you want to play good football but it just wasn’t working,” said Proudlock.
“They were always going to be up for it ever since their horse bolted from the two-horse race and it turned into show jumping in Division 2 a few years back. The goals we conceded were poor, including a trademark oggy from myself – bread and butter stuff. I was trying to stretch my 2-dimensional limb to block a shot only to divert it inside the post. Things you love to see,” he continued, with an ironic roll of the eyes.
The tough-tackling centre-back wasn’t going to let the defeat impact on the mood in the camp as they dusted themselves down afterwards
“There are always positives to take. We need to remember that we are a young side and will learn way more from defeats than we do in victory. Independent are a good side and we need to learn to be more careful in possession and change it up when things aren’t going our way,” said Sam, who is looking forward to the Reds bouncing back on Saturday when they take on Seaton Burn at Armstrong Park (kick-off 2.30pm).
“There’s a lot of wrongs to put right and we owe the crowd a better performance. Seaton Burn’s results haven’t been the best recently but there are no easy fixtures in this league so we’ll need to be on it from the start.”
“We have a team meal at La Mensa in Rothbury after the game so hopefully we can enjoy it with 3 points tucked in the back pocket. The atmosphere is class in the dressing room at the minute – there is a real sense of battling for each other on the pitch, and socialising together off it – which ultimately is what it’s all about at the end of the day.”
Words: Jon Tait