More clinical finishing needed for Gladiators

Matlock boss Mark Atkins says his side must be more clinical in front of goal if they are to return to winning ways.

Missed chances saw them throw away the Derbyshire Senior Cup tie at New Mills in the game before their Boxing Day home derby with Buxton, when again, after Lee Morris equalised in the 59th minute, the Gladiators failed to make their superiority count against Buxton's ten men.

The Gladiators had to settle for a 1-1 draw, their eleventh league draw of the campaign out of twenty four domestic games played. It was their third on the trot and it's November 2nd since they last picked up maximum points, when Stocksbridge Park Steels were thrashed 4-0.

Buxton were there for the taking but a poor start to the game also hampered the Gladiators in their bid to end their wnless streak in the league at the seventh time of asking.

"The instructions to the lads were to start well and to try and put Buxton on the back foot but that didn't materialise. We were very poor in the first fifteen minutes and even though we went one down to a very lucky goal we could have no complaints" said Atkins.

"Lee Morris came on for Chris Bettney who could be out for a week or two with a rib injury. We went 4-3-3 and looked far more potent in attack. We looked more like I wanted us to be, there was more energy, more desire. We ought to have equalised from a very good chance just before half time. I got the lads in at half time and told them a few home truths. There was a lot more effort and determination in the second half. Their lad's got sent off for a bad tackle and we're pleased to score to get us level.

"We then had two or three very good opportunities that we didn't make good use of, and with them down to ten men we didn't push hard enough to break them down towards the end. We need to start taking our chances, we need to start winning instead of drawing so many, it's a fine line between one and three points, but the onus is on us to take those chances. If the lads we have at present can't do that then I'll need to look elsewhere."

A new forward did sign on at the Reynolds Stadium as Doncaster based Scott Bibby made his debut as a late substitute against Buxton having been playing with University Rio Grande in America.

"He showed up well in training and did well in the five or ten minutes he had against Buxton. He;s lively, got good pace and hopefully he can offer us something different." Atkins continued.

After 2-1 and 4-1 home wins in the league and League Cup against Monday's opponents Mickleover Sports, Atkins will be wanting his troops to make it a hat-trick of wins and finally get that elusive victory at Station Road. His selection problems are easing slightly as both Oscar Radford and Micky Harcourt returned to the back four on Boxing Day, while on Monday skipper James Lukic will be back after missing out on Boxing Day due to a one game ban.

"Having James back will be a bonus and we've missed both Oscar and Micky. Lee Morris also did very well when he camed on so perhaps there's some light at the end of the tunnel" said Atkins.