Easter Saturday at the Waltons
Walton & Hersham vs Parkway | Match PreviewBy Jack Hobbs
Chris McPhee is hoping his Plymouth Parkway side can end the season with a bang ahead of their busy Easter weekend clashes against Walton & Hersham and relegation threatened Frome Town.
Parkway are in the midst of another three game winning streak, having beaten Sholing 3-1 at Bolitho Park last Saturday thanks to goals from Reece Thompson, Tom Dean and Callum Hall.
Speaking on the win and their fine run of form, McPhee said: “It was really, really pleasing.”
“I mean, we started the game pretty brightly last week. We played with a little bit less quality with the ball, but we were very, very good in transition, which we’ve been working on over the last few weeks, and probably some of the reasons that we’ve got we put a run together.
“We were very good at regaining possession and breaking quickly, getting players forward, and that’s how we created a majority of opportunities in that first half.
“Conceding the goal just before half time wasn’t ideal, but it was almost inevitable with some of the decisions that were being made in that first half, and we felt a little bit hard done by.
“We had a conversation at halftime with the players that we weren’t necessarily as good as we can be with the ball. Can we be better in those areas, and can we show a little bit more resilience, a little bit more belief and determination in other areas? And we got a reaction.
“The players are fantastic in the second half. We had pretty much full dominance in the in the game, lots of control, and we scored some very well taken goals. It was a fully deserved win.
“When you shake the opposition managers hand at the end of the at the end of the game, and they say that you fully deserve that, it’s extra confirmation that that we’ve done something right.
“It was good to sell the score. I said last week that it was probably one of the most painful defeats in the reverse fixture, and to win the game on Saturday was extra sweet because of that.
“it’s put us in a position where, barring goal difference, we’re safe. We are very pleased with how the last eight games have gone. Winning six games in the last eight is really something to be proud of with a group of players, and just goes to show that we’re starting to see their potential turn into performance and quality which is really pleasing for the whole club.
“The plan is the same again this weekend, to do our do our work leading up to the game, have a little bit of a plan to go to Walton and be competitive and try and cause them problems. It’s a surface that we believe we can play well on, and that we can hurt the opposition.”
Saturday’s opponents Walton & Hersham are sat comfortably third in the table and, prior to their defeat to Dorchester Town last week, The Swans had been 16 games unbeaten in the league.
Parkway will then have a swift turnaround and face relegation candidates Frome Town, who sit second from bottom, at home on Easter Monday.
Speaking ahead of the tight turnaround, the 41-year-old said: “I think the approach we will be going at from the management side of things towards the players, is we want to finish the season extremely strongly.
“We want to be in a position where we can use momentum come these closing games into next year and build that kind of respect within the league where we’re a team that play certain way, and we’re a tough opposition to face.
“With back-to-back games so close together, we’ll have to utilize the squad. There will be opportunities for players to play some good minutes, and we will have to manage fitness levels because Frome play Friday and then Monday, whereas we play Saturday and Monday. So they’ve got an extra 24 hours rest.
“Ideally, we go into every single game trying to win it. Off the back of the Hersham game, we’re straight bang into Frome. We want to be in a position, physically and mentally, where we can do everything we possibly can in that game to win that game.
“We’ve got a score to sell in that one. Going there on Boxing Day and getting beat 5-0 was a painful one. We got embarrassed up there.”
Unfortunately, Parkway will now be without star full-back Tom Dean who was recalled by Exeter City on Wednesday. The 19-year-old racked up 20 goal contributions, four goals and 16 assists in all competitions, and has since signed a new one-year contract at The Grecians.
“Deano’s now gone back to Exeter after a really good season with us and he’s probably going to be in and around their first team”, said McPhee.
“Hopefully we see him feature for the first team before the end of the season. We can feel, as a club and as a as a team, that as we’ve contributed to that by the opportunities we provided him and from the performances he’s put in for us.
“Having 20 involvements for us this season, he’s been top drawer. His work rate and attitude has been excellent, and he deserves that opportunity to go back in there and try and fight for a league debut.
“It’s fantastic, but it does obviously reduce us our numbers because we’re beyond the window, so we can’t replace him but it gives an opportunity for players that have been chomping at a bit, desperate to get on the pitch, that little bit more of an opportunity.”
Parkway Partners
