Report by Julian Tyley
Whitley extended their winning run to seven games on Saturday to stay top of the table but assistant manager Barry Rizza was quick to acknowledge that they were far from their best after a hard fought 1-0 victory over Crook Town.
“Not a good day at the office to be honest, but I cannot fault the lads. A lot of them weren’t at the races today but they’ve dug deep and come away with three points. We can’t argue with that. On another day we probably wouldn’t. However there’s no easy games. No matter where you are in the league there are no easy games in this league. When I went to watch Boro Rangers last night at West Allotment you’d expect Boro Rangers to come away with a win but they didn’t and that’s the difference. Good teams know how to win ugly at times.
“The performance was a little bit disappointing in a way because so many lads weren’t at the races but the lads know that themselves. They’ve put their hands up and they took ownership. Sometimes we can’t win 4 or 5 nil but at the same time we’ve got a clean sheet and come away with three points and that’s what good teams do.”
A free week ahead of Friday night’s trip to Carlisle City is certainly welcome after a hectic programme in August which has seen a series of lengthy midweek away trips.
“It’s been hard to get them on the training ground with the fixtures we’ve had, so it’s a nice time to get them in and have a bit of time on the grass.
“When you’re sat near the top of the table you’ve got a tag on your back, teams are going to come and press and they’ve going to work hard. They’re going to get ten men in behind the ball. Crook had a bank of five with just one up top so it’s quite hard to break down. But put that aside, we know we haven’t had a good day today. However we’ve still got the three points.”
