Unbeaten Wrens keep Gee content

Rainworth Miners Welfare manager Kevin Gee saw his side held to a 2-2 draw on Tuesday but is still delighted that the Wrens extended their unbeaten run to five games, writes Gordon Foster.

Gee described the draw with Market Drayton as his side’s flattest showing of the season so far but is more than happy with their run, set at the highest level of football the Evo-Stik NPL First Division South has ever played.

The Wrens led 2-0 until just after half time before conceding two bad goals to set pieces but their manager is satisfied with the point gained ahead of two more challenging away fixtures, Leek Town on Saturday and Belper Town next Tuesday.

Gee said: "We’ve been on a fantastic run and you will always get the odd game where you are below par as we were but we’ve come out of it with another point. At this level you expect to win from a position of 2-0 up and it was disappointing that both of Market Drayton’s goals came from set plays.

"But we’ve now got 20 points on the board which is half way to retaining our Evo-Stik status and it’s still only October. It took us 10 games to attain our first 10 points but the second 10 have come in four matches and you can’t do it in less than that. Any club picking up points at that rate we will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season."

"A lot of clubs would dearly love to be where we are now but there is still a long way to go and the nature of the division is that a couple of wins can propel you well up the table while a couple of defeats can drop you back towards the foot. Expectations may have been high before the Market Drayton game, but five unbeaten is not a bad return."

Looking ahead to Leek and Belper, Gee added: "Both sides are in false positions in the league table. I’ve seen Belper this season and for me they are as good as anyone in the division while Leek are behind with their fixtures as a result of cup runs.

"It's not about them, though, it's about us. At this level, provided you prepare properly, it doesn’t matter that much whether you are at home or away. The result against Drayton will have brought the group back down to earth in terms of where we are in the league. The club may not yet be ready for a step up to the next level but our target for the end of October was to be in the top half of the table and we have achieved that."