KJM SPORT REPORT Shepton Mallet 3 Millbrook AFC 0

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Details: Created on Monday, 05 December 2022 09:11; Last Updated on Monday, 05 December 2022 09:39; Published on Monday, 05 December 2022 09:11; Written by KEVIN MARRIOTT

Millbrook suffered their 10th league defeat of the season on Saturday - but this was one where you needed to forget the scoreline and feel the quality of the performance.

Macca Brown’s side played far better than a three-goal margin of defeat suggests.

The Brook boss said: “Of course we aren’t pleased with the result because we lost the game, but I am absolutely pleased at the level of performance because I thought we played well and I’ve not always been able to say that away from home this season in terms of the whole package.

“We had all of the ingredients of an away performance apart from a bit of quality where it matters, but that’s where we are. We actually played much better than when we came up here last season and took a point here that day.

“The scoreline makes it look like one way traffic but it wasn’t like that at all, we had to ride our luck in the first 15 minutes or so but then we actually had some excellent openings.

“Thommo (Steve Thomson) put one over from six yards and then had a great strike tipped around the post, and it’s one of those games where the first goal is so key and like I’ve said a few times, if our opponents get those chances we are punished and that was the case.”

Shepton Mallet's Fin Haines broke the deadlock shortly before the break from a corner. Brown said: “The slope makes it a tough pitch, so it was disappointing to concede just before half-time when we knew we were attacking down the slope second half.

“We had several corners of our own in that first half and full credit to Shepton they defended them brilliantly, and then were sharper on the knockdown in our box to make it 1-0.”

Three minutes after the break Danny Constable made it 2-0 and Brown said: “It was an identical goal to the one we conceded against Keynsham in our last game, a rash clearance falls straight to them and one pass and they’re in.

“The timings of those two goals were a killer and that’s where you talk about the difference in quality in both boxes.

“The clearance has to be high and long and it’s those small details that cost you at this level.

“Woody (Jack Wood) hit the nail on the head afterwards when he said everyone associates quality with someone beating a couple of players and sticking it in the top corner.

“But actually real quality is about doing the very basics of the game really well, and that’s what Shepton were about and we have struggled with that at times this season.”

Millbrook responded positively to being two down but a spell of pressure came to nothing, before Shepton sealed the points with a superb third goal, a powerful Haines header.

Brown added: “I feel 3-0 is harsh on us to be honest as I feel if you turned up at any point to watch the game and didn’t know the score you wouldn’t be watching that kind of game, but in reality that’s what teams in the top three should be doing to teams like us at home if they are on their game.

“We were undercooked as a squad as is often the case away from home and we will take advantage of any team at the top not at it, but they are where they are for a reason and they showed that yesterday.

“They were clinical in their attacking play and aggressive in their own box. I was impressed with them but more importantly I was impressed with us and our approach and hopefully we can take it forward into the next few weeks.”

Despite the disappointing result, Brown paid a warm tribute to Shepton Mallet.

He said: “Mallet are a fantastic club, nearly 300 spectators at the game, a great atmosphere afterwards with a full clubhouse and they feel a long way away from us at the moment in that respect.

“That’s what we are trying to compete with, and that is exactly what the lads did yesterday so I can’t ask for much more from them other than that touch more quality in key moments.”

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