Match Report: Regents Park AWAY

Regents Park Rovers 2-2 Stratford Athletic

Sunday, 30 September 2012 - KO 13:30 - Mabley Green, Hackney

Squad: Deacon; P. Stanley, Jones (c), Wachowski, Hope (Gallie); Wall; Pruce, Venus (Barber (Kelly)), Bishop; F. Stanley, Greening

Stratford Athletic picked up their first point of the season away at Regents Park Rovers.

Rovers took an early lead when a terrific strike beat Deacon and his defence to creep in off the far post. A goalmouth scramble brought about the equaliser, with Ryan Bishop claiming he'd knocked the ball over the line in suspicious circumstances.

In the second half Athletic rallied and found a break through. After a terrible back pass, the opposition goalkeeper missed his attempted clearance and Elliot Greening raced clear to fire the ball into an empty net. But Regents Park are a good footballing side and piled on the pressure towards the end. Matt Wall was shown red for a second bookable offence before Rovers netted a sublime equaliser. Collecting the ball from a short corner, the Rovers winger had time to pick his spot and curl home a stunning equaliser.

With the pressure mounting, Deacon pulled off a close range save as Olly Kelly missed a golden chance to net the winner at the other end. At the final whistle, Stratford were left celebrating a good performance; it was a hard-fought point for the Reds.

After the match Manager Mike Earll said: "That was a good way to get our first point, and we might have gone one further on any other day.

"I was impressed with all the lads out there today, everyone put a shift in and they can be proud of themselves.

"As for the red card, these things happen. I'm sure Matt will bounce back stronger than ever, but we'll miss him in the middle when we play Shoreditch next week."

New Billboard Makes First Appearance

Match Report: Walthamstow Village AWAY

Walthamstow Village 3-1 Stratford Athletic

Sunday, 23 September 2012 - KO 10.30 - South Marsh, Hackney

Squad: Winthrop (Deacon); P. Stanley, Jones (c), Wall, Smith; Gallie, Pruce (Hope), T. Reynolds, Bishop; F. Stanley, Greening

Stratford Athletic started their first competitive season with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Walthamstow Village. 

Elliot Greening scored on his competitive debut before Matt Wall diverted the ball into his own net. Then goalkeeper Will Winthrop was injured following a brave 50-50 with an opposition striker, Chris Deacon replaced him. In the second half the squad lost the drive that had seen them perform so efficiently in the first 45 minutes and Village took control. A quick-fire double from the home side was enough to take all three points, despite hard work from Greening and Fred Stanley up front.

Manager Mike Earll said: "I just don't know what went wrong today, we seemed to fall apart in the second half. We started well, made a few chances but we never created anything that could be considered clear cut.

"We still have time to get ourselves in shape and learn about one another as a team. I was impressed with everyone's hard work out there. Next week I'll change a few things and see where it gets us.

"As far as the goalkeeping situation goes, we'll have to wait on Windy's scan. Our physio/player/triplet is confident that it's only a knock so I'm hopeful he'll be back in training this week."

Interview: Q&A with the Boss

As the new Stratford AFC manager, how much do you think you can achieve this year?

I think we can go all the way and win the league. I'm expecting a lot from this "special" group of lads so if we all turn up to training and put the effort in then there's no reason why we can't win this league. Nonetheless as long as the team gives 100% I will be happy.

After being promoted from within the coaching staff, is it an advantage that you already know the lads?

I think its definitely an adavantage. I got to know each of them quite well during my previous spell as a coach here and they're all quality lads. I want the lads to know that they can come to me with anything, my door is always open. Also I think it was key to continue some of the good work from the last regime and then add my own personal touch to get the team to a whole new level that they haven't reached before.

What are you looking forward to most about the 12/13 season?

I'm looking forward to a decent cup run. You can't beat the magic of the Hackney & Leyton Cup, which is such a prestigious competition in my eyes. I think the players will deserve a big day out at playing in a cup final and for many it will be the biggest game of their careers. Also looking forward to the team nights out so the lads can bond and get absolutely hammered while I oversee proceedings (as im not a drinker) and while making sure the press dont get involved. I want to see my players all over the back pages not the front.

Do you have a preferred tactical system in mind?

I have a couple of systems I prefer but as everyone knows I'm a pretty flexible guy. I'll be picking the team based on who has trained well and who is available to me on matchday and pick the right tactical system from there. One of my systems is 4-4 f******* 2 due to the great man himself Mike Bassett.

After bringing in Free Agent Tomasz Wachowski from Poland will you be looking for more bargains in Central Europe?

I bought Tomasz in to bring that little bit of continental flair to the team. The negotiations were tough but finally we got our Pole. I think that's it for us in the transfer market but I'm a wheeler dealer so anything can happen. I got in touch with Cristiano Ronaldo after I heard he was sad at Real Madrid but wages were an issue there. I might give my mate Sir Alex a ring and see if I can bring Bebe in on loan. I wont be wasting big money on over rated players like a certain Kenny Dalglish did at liverpool.

Finally, will you be donning a suit for the big games?

Well everyone knows I take great pride in my appearance so maybe. A cup final is a suiting up occasion and I'm so confident we will get into a cup final I guarentee the suit will be worn this season. Other than that I'll be going for a smart-casual look as im a trendy guy like that.