Last weekend's fixture with Maynell brought with it a lot of negatives. Tempers flared, player communication broke down and Veno scored another goal. But from the ashes of defeat Stratford always seem to rise with the flaming energy of a phoenix. This weekend the team travel to Victoria Park to take on Florist Arms; a team they could only draw with at home earlier this season.
This is a preview from the players' point-of-view:
Connor Venus scored his second goal in as many games with a cheeky lob over the keeper in the second half. Just as the team stumbles, Venus has hit a hot streak.
"It was a great honour to score my second goal for Stratford. At the time I thought it might have given us the momentum to turn the game around, even if it was a bit lucky.
"Overall, I don't think we had much luck in front of goal. I think the passing wasn't really cohesive and as a team we didn't take charge out on the pitch. We gave them too much time and that let us down. There was a lack of communication between the back four and the front six, so overall it was quite poor.
"We need to stop going into games with the wrong mentality. We think the football will be too easy and that's what lets us down. We only ever seem to wake up when we go a goal down and that needs to change."
Elliot Greening uncharacteristically missed a penalty that could have sustained the Stratford momentum after Connor's goal. For someone who relies on consistency it was clearly a blow to his confidence.
"I didn't feel confident about taking the penalty, and I felt like I'd let everyone down when I missed it.
"A lot of things went wrong last weekend. In general, we aren't really clinical enough and don't execute when we need to. If we want to win games we need to start each game with as much energy as possible, not wait to get into it halfway through.
"We need a reaction this week. I think we just need to put in as much effort in as we can. If the technical side isn't there then at least give us some effort. The spine of the team will be crucial in making the difference."
Josh Jones redeemed his armband for the game but couldn't prevent four goals going in. Given that he is highly critical of himself anyway, the last loss was just another learning experience for the Athletic captain.
"I think the first half was really awful. We picked it up a bit in the second period but no one played well in the first. It was lucky that we were only three down when the whistle went.
"We didn't play our best last time against Florist but nicked a late goal. We need to be a lot better next time. I'm not sure that their league position does them justice, considering how they played against us.
"I expect us to play a lot better. I fancy us to take all three points. We're very inconsistent but always manage to bounce back after a run of bad form."
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