After a convincing 4-1 victory over promotion chasers Hartley Wintney FC, Moley caught up with First Team manager Ross Weatherstone to talk about the win.
Moley – Ross, that’s three wins now from the last four Isthmian League games, but how does that one feel?
Weatherstone – “Yeah, I think as I said on Tuesday when we lost, I never like losing games, so to win any game of football. This one was bittersweet with me managing Hartley Wintney last year. For me it was fantastic to see all those fantastic people they bought the club before and after the game, but yeah, that one definitely felt good.“
Moley – And then obviously, Dontaye Whittaker returning from injury must have given you a boost pre match, but he certainly made an impact on the pitch, just talk us through his performance.
Weatherstone – “He didn’t start the game that great. He’ll even tell you himself, he felt a little bit leggy, and then probably got a second wind. The goal helped him, deliver a really good performance for the team. It was never an issue point Dontaye back into the team because I knew what I was gonna get out of him and my key messages to him and any forward players you know, breaking with pace is making sure we get in the box and on the end of crosses and Dontaye scored two goals from two crosses and as any good striker does, he’s in the box at the right time to make sure that they clinical and they hit the back of the net.”
Moley – And then Ethan Lindo has scored in three consecutive matches now, how important has he been the last few weeks?
Weatherstone – Yeah, he’s still young so we’ve got to manage him but he’s he’s come in and been fantastic. Ethan is someone I’ve worked with for a while. So obviously, as a young player, I understand how you get the best out of him. And I think that’s a key piece in relation to how you develop young players. You know, Ethan is someone that definitely has a lot of talent but you have to put that talent to work. And since he’s arrived to be with you, you know, he’s listened to the instructions from me and the coaches. And I’m really, really pleased that he’s getting some success. You know, he’s scoring some real crucial goals for the team and long may that continue.
Moley – You were 3-0 up it up at the break. What did you sat to the lads at halftime? A very good performance, I guess?
Weatherstone – “Quite the opposite, actually. I actually went into halftime and got stuck into the team to be honest with you. Because, looking at the performances that we’ve made over the last three or four games, we’ve not started well. So I basically just got into them and highlighted that they can’t go out there half out the second half and replicate, a bad 15 minutes, which could cost them the win. So, for me it was it was more a case of making sure that they were focused on the job in hand because, that’s one of the things that I want to want to develop is part of the process, which I talk about a lot in relation to developing confidence in the group. You’ve got to know how to win football matches, and you know, I’m delighted to the winner in the second half and delivered a real professional performance to go on and get the win.“
Moley – And onto the second half, Jack Matton has been so solid in defence in recent weeks, but he grabbed himself his second goal for the club, just talk us through that.
Weatherstone – “Yeah, listen, he’s been a brilliant and he’s, you know, Jack has been really committed to the cause which is pleasing as he was one of my first signings that I brought in. The goal is scored with everything that we have been working on, in training, the technical detail to watch the ball, come down and volley it across the goal.It’s definitely not one of the centre half I suppose, if we’re going to stereotype but, you know, he definitely got back has potential and obviously I hope that we can continue with this football club to give him a platform to develop his skills.“
Moley – And it finished 4-1, just talk us through how the players were after the match.
Weatherstone – “For me, they were brilliant, we were a class act. I think it’s fair to say that there are a lot of crossovers between the two clubs with regards to players and staff.
Theres some ex Binfield players over at Hartley (Wintney) and vice-versa, which happens a lot at this level. So yeah, after the game, I just was really impressed with how they conducted themselves but more importantly, you know, we still celebrated that success.”
Moley – Moving forward to Tuesday night, how important is it to kind of channel that professional performance and the confidence gained from it and build that into three more points.
Weatherstone – “I think everyone would have thought that in using the word belief a lot, because I think sometimes even now, you know, we get some successes, you know, in some results and performances genuinely mean it when I say if the current group continue to believe, but even the method is believing the information given to them. You know, they can continue to to perform and upset some of these teams that are challenging for promotion. I think if they continue to believe in themselves and the team that’s what I want to make sure that that we bring into the game against Hanworth Villa and create some performances that replicate this one. Obviously I appreciate there’ll be some bumps along the way in that part of the process. But yeah, for me, it’s just reinforcing the belief in what we’re doing. Because I think if we can continue down that line, then you know, we’re going to compete in every game and that’s, that’s the most important bit for me.”
