Hungerford make it two wins in a row ahead of Austin reunion
Hungerford Town made it two wins in a row on Saturday as they dispatched visitors Taunton Town.
Having fallen to a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Chertsey on the opening day, manager Danny Robinson made changes to his midfield which saw Sam De St Croix and Alefe Santos make way for Joe Shepherd and Brad Hooper.
This appeared to add balance to the midfield three and set the platform for a much improved performance on Tuesday against Gosport Borough.
A fantastic 5-2 win saw goals from a returning Louis McGrory, Welsh winger Elis Watts, Matt Berry-Hargreaves, new arrival James Dobson and wide-man Zidan Akers, as the Crusaders dismantled Gosport at Bulpit Lane.
There was only one change to that side on Saturday as Zidan Akers was rewarded with a start at centre-forward, coming in for James Harding as Robinson experimented with replacements for the injured Conor McDonagh.
Ryan Clarke was between the sticks, pulling off a number of impressive saves and taking a fair few knocks against a physical Taunton side, leading Robinson to remark, “he’s made of granite!” after he was awarded man of the match.
The back four of captain Rhys Tyler, Baboucarr Jarra, Matt Berry-Hargreaves and Ramarni Medford-Smith appears to be a favoured one, keeping Town’s first clean sheet of the season.
That balanced midfield remained, with Player of the Season Shepherd and seasoned pro Hooper allowing Louis McGrory to do what he does best.
It was exactly that which led to the winning goal, as McGrory picked out Elis Watts in the 48th minute with an incisive through ball.
The Welshman finished with ease, bagging his third goal in as many games to continue his excellent start to the season.
That was enough to secure a 1-0 win, but it could have easily been more, with the opposition crossbar struck twice and Hungerford always looking threatening, whilst Taunton were reduced to long balls, long throws and ultimately a long trip back home to Somerset.
Questions remain over the makeup of the Crusaders attack going forward.
Elis Watts is certain of his place, whilst the highly-experienced James Dobson has shown his class with some excellent work on the left-flank.
But with Conor McDonagh out for the season after ACL surgery, Robinson is actively looking for a new recruit to compete with James Harding, who is now Town’s only natural number nine.
Hungerford travel to AFC Totton this Saturday, where they’ll face a reunion with former striker Charlie Austin, who was born in the town and played for the club between 2007 and 2008.
