Bartley praises character after Marlow tame conditions and opponents for vital win

Shamar Moore. Photo: Marlow FC

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Mark Bartley felt his Blues side mastered the conditions – as well as their opponents – in Saturday’s 3-1 win away to struggling AFC Dunstable at the Creasey Park Community Football Centre.

The Blues came into the clash with the league’s second bottom side off the back of three league games without a victory, and with questions marks having been raised about their character and resilience in Tuesday’s disappointing 2-2 home draw with Leverstock Green.

However, they answered those questions and then some with an excellent display in difficult, wet and boggy conditions at Dunstable on Saturday.

Speaking afterwards, Bartley said he was happy with the performance, particularly the resilience shown by his players to recover from setbacks in the game. They were also smart in the way they played the game, opting for the ‘percentage ball’ when the pitch became increasingly cut up in the second half.

Jack Empson (30') gave the visitors the lead on the half-hour mark from Flavio Gyawu-Kyem’s cut back before Gyawu-Kyem’s hopeful ball into the box bounced through a crowded area and into the back of the net to make it 2-0 shortly before half-time.

On another day, the Blues might have crumbled after Dunstable hit back through Archie Nicholls (48') goal shortly after half-time, but they restored their two-goal cushion almost immediately when Mitch Parker’s cross was touched home by Shamar Moore from close range in the 50th minute.

Dunstable hit the bar in the closing stages, but the Blues held on for a deserved win and their first three points since Rayners Lane were beaten 3-2 at home back on November 18.

The Blues are 14th in the table off the back of the result, but only 10 points off the top five in a congested division.

They now have three home games on the spin in the run up to Christmas to put some more points on the board. Biggleswade are the visitors to Oak Tree Road on Saturday before the Blues welcome Stotfold on Tuesday and Thame United the following Saturday

Speaking to club media after the game on Saturday, Bartley said: “I was really pleased, particularly off the back of Tuesday as we obviously had a bit of work to do to make sure, we were a bit more resilient. I thought today we showed that.

“It was a difficult pitch for both teams, very heavy. They used the long throw to good effect, with lots of balls going into the area, but I thought we defended those quite well.

“When it went forward, we were the team that showed the better quality today and I felt we deserved the three points, We probably feel we should have scored a couple more goals but ultimately, I’m pleased with the performance and the response from Tuesday.

“You’ve got to be smart about it (the pitch and conditions). When we got into the final third we combined to good effect, particularly in the first half. In the second half, it was difficult to get any footing in the middle of the pitch, so you must be smart then. I think we did that.

“I don’t think we’ve really showed that side of ourselves yet. We know we’ve got a young group and a relatively new group, but that’s the first time we’ve really shown that we can be clever and play the percentage ball when we have to.

“It doesn’t always have to be pretty, and that’s the thing I come away from today feeling most pleased about. You play the conditions and we did that well today.

“We got the ball into good areas, and I felt we could have scored a couple more. “We brought on all five substitutes, and everyone played their part. That’s what we want. This is where we were a few weeks ago when all the subs came on and made an impact. You could see they lifted the game a little bit and we have goals that can come from different areas of the team.

“We need more of the same now for us. We’ve got to get in (to training) work hard and improve some of the bits that I wasn’t necessarily pleased with and make sure we’re better for next Saturday. But for me today, the players have done well on a difficult surface against a side that were game. We’re happy.”