MANAGER Mark Owen has re-iterated the need for his side to cut out lapses in concentration on the back of a fine 5-2 win at Team Dudley last weekend.
On target for the Saltmen at Priory Road were Jordan Cox, Jack Davies and Matty Hunt, while James Lemon starred with another two-goal salvo – something which has become customary in recent weeks for Spa’s second-top scorer.
After a result which propelled Droitwich into fourth place in Division One of the West Midlands (Regional) League and just two points off the summit, Owen expressed his gratitude for the goal threat at his disposal.
“It’s a great situation to have with the firepower in our squad, it gives us every chance of scoring every time we play, and we’ve been free scoring in many games this season,” he said.
“But we’ve just got to stop those little spells where we lose focus after playing well.
“I think it was one of those [on the two late goals conceded] where we switched off for five minutes in a 90-minute game, otherwise we played fantastic stuff throughout.
“Despite the win, the players were disappointed with the two that we conceded which is a pleasing response to see.”
Droitwich captain Hunt opened the scoring in the Black Country 12 minutes in after firing home a loose ball, a goal which was followed by a number of chances in which the visitors lacked a clinical finish.
A second did eventually arrive, provided by Davies after his deflected effort dumbfounded Joel Irvine, followed by Lemon’s first of the afternoon before the break.
The visitors remained in control after the restart and prevented Dudley from troubling Matt Oliver’s goal, instead adding to their lead when Cox took the ball past three players before finding the far corner of the net.
Irvine was responsible for keeping the scoreline down as chances continued to come and go for the insatiable visitors, forever on the hunt for more goals.
The hosts pulled a goal back through Jack Bailey, followed by a second 20 minutes from time from Beckham Brazier.
Lemon finished off the scoring with a header that was flicked inside the near post late on, sealing a sixth maximum-points haul this term.
Incidentally, Droitwich head to leaders Allscott Heath on Saturday (2pm) and could potentially go top of the pile come 4pm – depending on results elsewhere.
Despite having plenty of incentive to claim all three points, and with a full-strength side at his disposal, the Spa manager is nevertheless wary of the challenges posed by their promotion rivals.
“It’s a tough place to go, but we went there last year and got three points,” Owen said.
“Despite the result, they did dominate the first half, so we must go there with the same want as we have in recent weeks.”
Allscott will have been without a competitive fixture in the league for three weeks come Saturday’s match-up, although Owen doesn’t see any particular advantage, adding: “You could look at it both ways, they could be fresh from their break.
“But from our point of view, we’ve been playing consistently, so it’ll be a toss of the coin how it goes.”
