Salisbury City 3 -1 Wealdstone
Salisbury City
3 - 1
WealdstoneOn the last Saturday of the season, Stones were beaten 3-1 at Salisbury – despite a decent performance early on and forcing the home side to clear their lines. Defensive frailties conceded another goal on 9 minutes and a Jolly penalty miss somewhat knocked the heart out of the comeback.
With ten minutes or so to go, Robin Tucker scored from a Brian Jones free kick – perhaps the home keeper should have done better – but it turned out to be a very important goal, as had the score finished 3-0, Wealdstone would have been relegated and Cheshunt would have survived.
Points the same and goal difference the same, it came down to goals scored – Wealdstone had scored two more – ironically i suppose Tucks had scored the last two in similar style, both in defeats, but it was enough to see Stones stay up.
After a season of highs and lows, if we had been offered this finish at the start of the season with a limited budget we would have taken it, but I hope players and management look back at the season and ask themselves why a nine game winless run dragged us back into the mire – the team proved on a number of occasions that they were good enough to compete with the best, yet at other times they would have struggled in the local park.
There is no doubt that the ability is there in the squad and the side. Perhaps after a summer rest, players and management alike will come back refreshed and prove it.