Parkway Seek League Revival as Bracknell Visit the Theatre of Trees
Parkway v Bracknell Town | Match PreviewBy Jack Hobbs
Saturday, October 11 – 3:00pm KO, Bolitho Park
Southern League Premier South
Following a 3-2 win against Gosport Borough in the Izusu FA Trophy, Plymouth Parkway are looking to carry their momentum into their league clash against Bracknell Town this Saturday.
The Yellows secured their place in the First Round thanks to a header from Jack Veale and a double from Rocky Neal.
Speaking on their cup progression, long standing Parkway maestro Mikey Williams said: “We kept the ball well in the first half, but conceded a couple of goals that were a little bit preventable from our perspective.”
“We showed good resiliency and effort to come back into the game and get the result in the end.
“I think it was an important result to get and hopefully we can use that to kick on now and sort of reset our season.
“In the previous three games we’ve been on the end of a couple of last-minute goals and poor results, so being on the other end of it for a change can hopefully help give us some momentum to take forward into our league campaign.”
It hasn’t been the most straight forward start to season for Parkway. Strong performances have come without points which is something that has not gone unnoticed by the players.
“To be honest, we feel like we’ve been a bit unfortunate not getting as many points on the board as we would have liked”, said Williams.
“From our perspective, we’ve done a lot of discussing as a group internally about what we can do better, especially in the closing stages of games – how we can manage games better, work together a bit more as a team and communicate a little bit more on the pitch to hopefully improve our results and get what we deserve from games.
“I think it’ll be a case of, we’re all making sure we’re all on the same page.
“Knowing that in the past, we’ve been a bit weak towards the last 10-15 minutes of games and not being able to see results out.
“We’ve all come to have bought sort of a collective in saying, ‘right, this is what we need to do, this is how we manage a game.’
“We’ve come to realize that if we dictate games a little bit better in the first half of games and early on, it will put us in good stead for the for the second half, towards the latter stages of the game.
“Then it’s just making sure the whole squad as a collective knows their jobs, roles and responsibilities. That’s the starting 11, to the guys that come off the bench. It makes everyone’s on the same page.”
With cup action out of the way, focus now returns to the league.
Saturday’s opponents, Bracknell Town, find themselves bottom of the Southern South Premier with one win, two draws and five losses in their opening eight league games.
Parkway sit one point ahead in 20th despite playing an additional two games.
“It’s a big game”, said Williams.
“You have to win your home games, especially against teams down and around you in the league.
“It’s probably too early to call it six pointer, but it is an important one, and it’s vital that we are using momentum from our last win at Bolitho and we take that into account and use it for the game at the weekend.”
Williams has had a bright start to the season, chipping in with a few assists and scoring a brilliant strike against Walton & Hersham in the league opener, but Parkway’s Wizard feels his best is yet to come.
“There’s obviously areas you think you can prove anytime you play”, said Williams.
“It’s been a little bit stop-start for me, playing a couple of different positions and I’ve had a few little niggling injuries that have impacted the way I play a little bit.
“It was nice to start the season well. I’m one of those players who will play anywhere the management team need me to play. Higher at the pitch or further back, I’m happy just to try and contribute as best I can for the team.
“I’ve tried to adapt, and I think once I get myself fully fit and games under my belt regularly, I think it will only put me in good stead for the rest of the season.
“It’s also gelling with new members of the team. We’ve got a few new players so it’s just understanding how they how they play, and how we can get the best out of each other and try our best to kick on and get as many points as we can.”
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