30 December 2017
The bad news: We're one place farther down the table than we were a month ago.
The good news: We're closer to a playoff place than we are to the relegation places. In fact, we basically halved the distance between us and the top of the table.
Our first teamers were still a bit tired after the Wimbledon match, so I played a rotated squad in the FA Trophy game against Whitstable Town. The game was a neutral's delight, going back and forth until the visitors nicked a late goal.
Pat Bleasdale, a young midfielder who has been fantastic for the Under 21s, took his goal very well. He's not ready for regular first team duty yet, but he's developing into a player who could be useful soon.
I honestly didn't think we'd get much out of the trip to Eastleigh. That changed before the match was 20 minutes old, as the Spitfires' Nicholas Thompson got sent off for a vicious two-footed challenge that sent
Tom Wilkinson flying. Ten minutes later, Tom got the best revenge of all when he got to a
Dominic Hutchinson free kick and lashed it past the 'keeper. Not to be outdone, Ben Stewart hacked down Hutchinson and earned an early bath, too. We pounced all over our undermanned opponents. Wilkinson went on to bag a hat trick, and
Paul Douglas, who hasn't enjoyed a great season so far, got a goal, too.
Based on our scouting report, I switched our formation to 4-1-4-1 away to Chester on Boxing Day. They eat teams that play 4-4-2 for dinner. I'm still not satisfied with the way we attack from that formation, but we were very solid in the back and squeezed out a win.
Then came the reversal, against an Exeter team that has been somewhat disappointing this season. They were far from that against us. We were never really in the game. So, I'm left wondering what kind of team we are: the one that took six points from playoff contenders, or the one who went down without a trace against another mid-table club?