Stansfield to make changes after loss

Paul Stansfield is ringing the changes for Knaresborough Town’s Toolstation NCEL Division One clash with Yorkshire Amateur at Manse Lane tomorrow.

Stansfield was unhappy with his side’s performance in the 1-0 defeat to Hall Road Rangers in midweek which ended a run of three straight victories.

He said: “We said we would put Tuesday night to bed because we don’t sulk and moan.

“We move on and try and win tomorrow. We do need to remember why we lost the Hall Road game. We lost because there were 45 minutes where we didn’t compete.

“It was frustrating because it wasn’t us. If we had got at them from the start like we did for the last 30 minutes then we probably would have scored a couple.

“I’m a bit disappointed we couldn’t score in the last half hour because we had some great chances. It would have painted over the cracks because I don’t think we were good enough.

“Making changes is a safe bet. Maybe we need to look a having more physicality in the team for tomorrow.

“There’s also a couple of players who are pushing for a place.”

As Stansfield said, Knaresborough did have some golden opportunities near the end.

Referee Colin Bailey also failed to help them after missing a blatant foul on Graeme Whitehead in the penalty area. Instead of awarding a spot kick, Bailey awarded a corner.

Stansfield said: “I didn’t have a clear view from where I was, but it did look pretty clearcut that it was a penalty.

“It looked like a stonewaller for me.”

Stansfield has also offered an update on his injured captain Matt Duerden, who broke his arm at Teversal last week.

He added: “Matt is a difficult one because he has more important things to worry about like his wedding in December when he has a big operation coming up in the next couple of weeks.

“We’ll assess him at some point, but I just want him to get right.

“I don’t want to put a timeframe on it. Let him have his operation and see what happens.”