Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Richard Tracey says Emley AFC’s recent performances have warranted more points than they have accumulated.
Fourth-bottom Emley have picked up heavily since the difficult start to life at Step 5.
The last four games read as one win (against Handsworth), one draw (2-2 at Garforth Town), and two defeats (to Staveley Miners Welfare and Eccleshill United) but Tracey believes his side deserved more and are getting stronger.
“The table doesn’t make for good reading but you know something, our last seven or eight performances have been really good, including thumping Handsworth 7-0,” Tracey told Non League Yorkshire.
“We should have beat Garforth – not in the context of the game.
“I would say it was an even game but we had a chance to go 3-1 up – we were three-or-four yards out and we put it over.
“I was absent for the Staveley game but apparently we controlled the whole game, we just didn’t create enough.
“Staveley packed the defence and did a fantastic job seeing the game out.
“Performances have been a lot better.
“Some of the new recruits have made a massive contribution in Joe Kenny and Joe Jagger who is scoring goals for us.
“More importantly some of the big players who have been missing are coming back.
“Eccleshill was Jimmy Eyles’ first game back where he has been pain free.
“James Knowles is training again and he’ll be a big plus to the squad and Aiden Savory will be back in the next week or so.
“They are three players who were key to our success last year who have been missing nearly all season.
“Aiden has played three, Knowlesy has played two and Jimmy has played about ten out of the 20.
“We’re not panicking and not overly worried (about the league table) but we know we are in transition and in planning for next year.
“We know we’ll get points on the board that will help and we also know we have got to turn the performances into results – starting with Athersley on Tuesday next week.”
Emley lost 2-1 at Eccleshill United last Saturday and Tracey said how they lost the game was hard to take as he claims they were cruising at one stage.
“We should be 5-0 up at half-time if we had taken our chances which were good chances,” he said.
“Obviously Joe Jagger got us 1-0 up with a good goal.
“We worked another opportunity and it was going in until it unfortunately hit Jimmy Eyles and deflected wide.
“We had a free header put over, Jimmy hit the bar and Joe Kenny hit the bar – all in the first half.
“We were in complete control and it is just frustrating.
“Because of your league position you start to see what’s coming and you think ‘we haven’t put them to bed when we have had the chances’ and you know they are near the top of the league for a reason.
“I was really disappointed with the penalty which was given.
“(Sumalli) Cissa does a step over and throws his leg into our player and goes down and the ref buys it.
“That gets them back into the game but straight after at the other end Jags wins a flick-on and Jimmy went through.
“He squared it to (Alex Metcalfe) Metty and he was one-on-one with the ‘keeper but he mis-hit it.
“Ninety seconds later we’re 2-1 down and you are kind of scratching your head saying ‘how did that happen’?
“We still had three good chances to get an equaliser and I felt we could had two penalties.
“We didn’t get the rub of the green but that happens when you’re near the bottom.
“Last year when we were at the top of the table we would argue we got the rub of the green.
“It was a tough one to take but our finishing is the only reason we didn’t win the game.”
Emley now head into a crunch trip at basement side Athersley Rec on December 28th and Tracey knows his men cannot afford to lose.
“It is a huge game and if we don’t win the game they’ll obviously be more scrutiny attached to us,” he said.
“That’s just common sense.
“I genuinely feel we have the full support of everyone at Emley.
“It is just consistency.
“When you can turn up and beat Bottesford 6-1 and Handsworth 7-0 and go and draw at Garforth and out-play Eccleshill, you start questioning why we are where we are.
“We are a mile ahead of where we were at the start of the season in terms of level of performance.
“We’re hopeful everyone can see we are going in the right direction.”
Regardless of how the season pans out, Tracey knows there is a lot to be positive about.
Emley have continually blooded youngsters from Sam Sutton’s under 23s and Tracey cites the player development as a huge success story.
“Jack (Bennett), George (Doyle), Lennon (O’Grady) have all played ten plus games for us but there’s more,” he said.
“Young Frenchy (Lewis French) the goalkeeper is out at Glasshoughton on loan and he’s a talented young goalkeeper.
“Josh Calvert joined us from Guiseley academy last year has made two or three appearances in the cups and has been outstanding so he is one to keep an eye on.
“Kenan Davis-Mosley is a young defender who has potential and Hayden Webster has been with us a few times.
“These are lads who haven’t been nailed in each week.
“Owen Thomas, a young left-back as well so there’s some great kids coming through and Sam (Sutton) has done a great job in finding and educating these young lads and getting them ready for the first team.
“That’s been a plus for this year.
“However, stepping up from under 23s football to the rough and tumble on mass hasn’t supported all of them coming through (at once).
“When we played at Maltby and got beat 3-0 I think we had six of the 23s on the pitch it makes it tough because you’re asking them all to step up and be at the top of their games.
“But they have been a credit to the under 23s and long may it continue that they keep feeding players into the first team squad.
“We know full well that the future is there for Emley to be producing players with the systems we have got in.
“When we reflect back on this season, the experience and opportunities some of the young lads got is only going to be a massive plus for the future.”