15 October 2020
@chaguejones
Midfielder and goal scorer in the 1-0 away win at Pershore in the FA Vase last weekend, Jake Walton, gives his thoughts heading into the Meadowmen’s encounter in the WMRL as they welcome Bilston Town to the Crown Meadow on Saturday.
Walton has been struggling to cope with injury problems, which saw him make three appearances off the bench so far this season. He started for the first time at the club and instantly made his mark with an admirable display against Pershore Town in the FA Vase, the 1-0 win progressed Ward’s side to the first round proper for the first time since 2015/16.
On the return to football after injury woes:
“It felt great to get back out there and especially to score the goal, which turned out to be the winner. I want to play as much as I can and when you struggle with Injury, which can become a challenge. Graham (Ward) brought me in and he, if anyone, knows how much I just want to get out there and play.
“To score the important goal, at a time when the morale around the club can be quite low because we’ve suffered some tough results, felt really good. I just want to help the team progress and get to where we want to be.”
On the opponents and returning to the Crown Meadow:
“We know the opponents and we are aware they’ve had the sort of start to the season that we would’ve preferred to have. Every opposition side in this league is a tough team to play and we’ve found that out the hard way. We have been cursed with playing the big teams straight away put hopefully results can start to go our way and it turns out to be a blessing. We are prepared for Bilston and we won’t back down from another challenge.
“I think everyone knows how much of an advantage playing at your home ground is. The support from the fans is very good, even if they aren’t back to normal, non-league is a great place at the moment, for all supporters. We are all looking forward to playing back at home and hope it can encourage us to get the three points.”
On the season goals:
“I think our goals as a team and a club haven’t changed. We have had some bad luck to start with, injuries and getting drawn up against some of the toughest opponents early on hasn’t helped us.
“There’s always a grey area for those sides and hopefully whilst they are going through a blip, we can focus and creep up the table by overcoming opposition with consistently good performances. We’re a new group, I think the main goal, short term would be to make sure we start producing good performances every week and not lose focus during a game.”