DROITWICH Spa joint-boss Wayne Oliver says he was left frustrated by a ‘lacklustre’ and ‘complacent’ performance over the weekend which saw the Saltmen succumb to their first Midland League Division Two defeat.
Despite seeing the lion’s share of the possession and carving out numerous goal-scoring opportunities, Spa saw their five-game unbeaten run come to a crashing end on Saturday (September 17) afternoon at the King George Playing Fields as Ashley Southall’s 54th-minute strike gifted visitors Bloxwich Town their first three points of the season.
And it’s the second time in the space of three weeks the Black Country-based side have got one over on their Worcestershire counterparts after dumping Oliver’s and Mark Owen’s men of the Les James Challenge Cup at the end of August.
Oliver bemoaned a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal for the defeat and insists the Saltmen are yet to fire on all cylinders.
“The performance was lacklustre and it’s how we have been performing all season despite sitting at the top of the table,” he said.
“Defensively we cannot moan but our attacking side of the game was there for everyone to see.
“Maybe it was a bit of complacency but it was more about not taking our chances.
“We’re not firing on all cylinders and there will be more times this season where teams come and score with practically their first shot on goal.”
There’s no time for Spa to rest on their laurels however as they begin the defence of their Worcestershire FA Junior Cup on Saturday when they take on local rivals Fairfield Villa.
The two sides met in the league on Bank Holiday Monday when Spa came from 2-0 down at half-time to win 3-2 courtesy of a last gasp strike from James Ward.
“We got lucky against Fairfield last time out so I’ll be wanting the players to put in a full 90 minutes of hard graft and come away with a performance we will not regret,” Oliver added.
Jamie Smith (back) and James Halsall (knee) will miss the game while Aston Gunter and Joshua Szikora-Warmington are also unavailable due to other commitments.
