Hawks boss eyes home comforts

Lee Bradbury insists it is vital the Hawks start winning again at home, beginning with tomorrow's Ryman League premier division visit of Burgess Hill Town (3pm).
Hawks defender Rory Williams, centre, has been in impressive form    Picture: Mick YoungHawks defender Rory Williams, centre, has been in impressive form    Picture: Mick Young
Hawks defender Rory Williams, centre, has been in impressive form Picture: Mick Young

Third-placed Hawks have drawn their last two games at Westleigh Park and dropped valuable points in the process.

They have been far from convincing in successive 1-1 draws against Kingstonian and Wingate & Finchley.

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Against the former, the hosts needed a Matt Paterson goal deep into stoppage-time to salvage the draw.

Wingate and Finchley, meanwhile, were down to 10 men when they grabbed a late equaliser courtesy of a sloppy finish by the Hawks.

In both games the home side created more than enough chances to win and paid the price for poor finishing.

The Hawks got back to winning ways with a dominant 2-0 win at Lowestoft in their last game.

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Bradbury knows, however, if his side are to stay in title contention they must also start to do the business in front of their own fans.

‘Our home form is something we need to change,’ said Bradbury.

‘At the moment we are more consistent away from home than we are at Westleigh Park.

‘The priority is to make sure that we collect all three points from this game.

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‘We know that teams come to us and sit in with a game plan to frustrate us.

‘Time and time again that has happened this season.

‘It has been frustrating at times and we need to remain patient.

‘The challenge for us is to find ways of breaking them down and making it count.

‘It is not a question of having to be more creative because in our last home game we created 11 chances.

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‘If we create the same number against Burgess Hill, I will be happy.

‘We just have to make sure that we take more of them.’

Bradbury is hoping is team can carry on where they left off at Lowestoft where they dominated the game from start to finish.

One of the reasons for that was the outstanding contribution from wing-backs Rory Williams and Bradley Tarbuck.

Williams has proved to be a real revelation since joining from Gosport Borough in the summer.

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His ability to get up and down the flanks and deliver balls into the area has been a weapon in the Hawks’ armoury.

Tarbuck has slipped in well to cover for the injured Dan Strugnell – quickly thriving in the role.

Strugnell’s hamstring problem will almost certainly rule him out again this weekend.

Bradbury, however, is boosted by the news that striker Jason Prior is back in contention after injury.

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He may have to settle for a place on the substitutes bench after the performances of Paterson and Alfie Rutherford at Lowestoft.

Hawks: Young, Harris, Woodford, Molyneaux, Williams, Tarbuck, Stock, Lewis, Paterson, Rutherford, Fogden, Hayter, Robinson, Prior, Swallow, Barker

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