Comeback can kick-start season

Matlock Town manager Mark Atkins and the Gladiators' fans are hoping their comeback at Belper Town on Bank Holiday Monday can kick-start their EVO-STIK League campaign, writes Ian Richardson.

The Gladiators clawed back a 3-1 deficit to earn a deserved point in the Premier Division clash at the Marstons Stadium after twice trailing by two goals thanks to a brace from Danny Holland and a late equaliser from Jason Stokes.

Atkins' side are still looking for their first win of the season after Monday's thriller followed a 1-1 draw against Blyth Spartans on Saturday. They are out of the bottom four though and their manager is now looking to forward to hosting Barwell on Friday night after their latest performance.

Atkins, pictured, said: "Let's hope it does for it was a big positive for us getting the draw from the position we were in. We spoke about it afterwards and the importance of showing the qualities in our recovery in the forthcoming games starting against Barwell on Friday night.

"We don't usually give goals away like we did on Monday through our middle, so obviously that's something we've got to stop doing and again we've spoken about how we can address that.

"Going forward I thought we started very well although that final ball let us down a little but Danny scored with two fantastic headers but would be disappointed not to score with the penalty.

"That can happen to anyone though and we could so easily have won the game as was the case on Saturday. This is such a tight league. We deserved to beat Blyth on Saturday, we had four good opportunities which we didn't take but I thought we showed a great reaction to going 1-0 down just before half time. It was a big plus for us in the way we attacked the game in the second half."

He added: "In my view the situation's not as bleak as our tally of league points suggests. But it would be nice to get that first win and we now face two tight games against Barwell at home and at Frickley on Tuesday against sides who have their own way of playing and can make life tough for you. But if we can get the ball down and play we're more than capable of coming out on top."