Skipper Delighted With Win

Margate Captain Liam Friend savoured three hard fought points on Saturday afternoon; points he hope will serve as a springboard as The Gate enter a busy period in the Bostik League.

It’s a jam-packed October for Friend and his team-mates, in a tight league where no result seems predictable.

Speaking after the weekend’s 2-1 victory over a previously unbeaten Enfield Town side, Friend said:

“Very fine margins have decided our results in recent weeks. Last week against Harlow we were rarely troubled. So, it’s sometimes a case of that one chance, one shot, rub of the green and you’ve got the win and it goes like that. But that’s football and we’re happy with today.”

Reflecting on the 90 minutes as a whole, Friend felt Margate’s defensive dominance alongside some clinical attacking merited three points.

“I don’t think people realise how strong the wind was. First half we managed to keep them in and in the second they didn’t quite keep us in the same way. Other than their goal there was not many times they got into our half in that manner.”

“We had to deal with some pressure but that’s what you’ve got to do to deserve three points.”

Leading the side this season, Friend hopes Saturday’s victory can give the squad a boost as he revealed aims are set high between the players themselves.

“I think we have to be aiming for the play-offs with the players we have in the changing room. If we aimed anywhere else, we’d be aiming too low.”

“It can be hard to call where we are at and you have to wait for the league to settle down a bit. For the first few games, teams have a bigger budget looking for runs in the FA Cup and other competitions, teams then cut budgets, so this time of year is a little bit hit and miss.”

Friend added, “There are lots of players fighting for positions and there’s bigger squads at this time of year. We are in a good place and we’re around where we want to be. Hopefully over the next few weeks we can push on and maintain it and nail down a play-off position.”

More news