LES JONES says Pershore Town should take heart from the performance, if not the result, against unstoppable West Midlands League Premier Division table-toppers Shifnal Town.
Despite becoming only the third different team to score against Shifnal this season, Pershore fell to a 2-1 defeat at the Community Stadium last weekend as the Shropshire side made it six league wins from six.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Smethwick Rangers, the Plums lie tenth but boss Jones says the display last weekend showed they have enough ability to soon climb the table.
“We were disappointed at the result but not the performance,” said Jones. “It was a close game.
“Shifnal had scored 22 goals and conceded two before Saturday and they were hanging on at the end but we just couldn’t get the equaliser.
“There were plenty of positives, We showed we are not far off the best team in the league, but we still need to get results.
“We said at the start of the season that we would take stock ten or 12 games into the season and assess how we’ve done and where we need to strengthen. We’ve played seven now and we feel we could have done a lot better.”
Last weekend, Pershore were given a flying start when Sam Clark slotted home a right-wing cross after five minutes.
However, Shifnal hit back with goals from Tom Hill and Brad Sharman to take the points.
Pershore will be sweating on the fitness of goalkeeper Matt Gwynne for the clash at third-from-bottom Smethwick, who this season are playing at Tividale.
The keeper suffered a twisted knee against Shifnal and is expected to have an MRI scan to check the damage.
Ben Lane and Tom Harding remain on the sidelines but James Baldwin will be available after holiday.
“If you look at the way the fixtures landed, the first few weeks of the season we’ve played all the teams above us, the likes of Shifnal, Wolves Casuals, Worcester Raiders and Littleton,” said Jones.
“Now we’ve got three teams below us in Smethwick, Wem and Wolves Sporting. They are all tough challenges – and both Smethwick and Sporting have new bosses – but we need to get a run going.”