TALKING POINTS

Chris Wade – @tufcchris

Chris looks ahead to the NLS game

KEEP ON WINNING

One game at a time, focus on ourselves, keep winning. There we are. I wrote the preview! That is all that matters at the moment and will be the focus of the squad as we move towards the next cup final at Plainmoor on Saturday. A surge of five wins out of six matches has come at just the right time, and that run needs to continue to get us where we want to be by the end of the season. Tight, tough and physical games with fine margins have very much been the nature of recent games at home, and the stats would suggest that this weekend will be no different. But as you will have heard various people say in recent weeks, points over performances is all that matters at this moment in time.

SUPER SUB?

Cody Cooke has been an absolute warrior all season, and his recent slight knock and injury lay off has refreshed him at the perfect moment. Two goals in two games off the bench have proved to be two winners in two games, and the question for Paul Wotton this week will be where to restore him to the starting eleven or not. Ozzy Zanzala has offered something a bit different in recent matches, but Cody will have been frustrated to have been on the bench last week. I would start him at the weekend, as the physical element now is key. Ozzy could then come on and add pace and movement later in games when the opposition are starting to tire.

CLEAN SHEETS

Keeping the back door shut is massive to any successful team, and the recent run of four clean sheets in the last five games has shown that perfectly. Finlay Craske and Jay Foulston have solidified the back line alongside the ever-dependable Sam Dreyer and Jordan Dyer, and them staying fit for whatever is left of the season is going to be key. There is greater emphasis in games that follow at Plainmoor to get forward and create chances, and that is a balance that will need to be struck in the next week or so at home. But if you have a clean sheet, you always have a better chance of winning, as one goal is all it takes, and I have fallen in love with that.

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POINTS TALLY

There has been a lot of discussion about how many points is enough, but I am no closer to knowing now than ever, given the congested upper section of the National League table at this crucial stage. Torquay can still get to 92 points, and that would surely be enough to be crowned champions, but there is a long way to go until that point. With other teams in the top eight facing each in the next two weekends, these two home games present an opportunity to steal a march on anybody that drops points in those games. Weston hosting Maidstone this weekend could also throw the play off race wide open too.

THE OPPOSITION

How long ago does it feel since Brad Ash stole a 93rd minute winner at Chesham. I was in Spain on last year’s summer holiday no less, shouting and dancing in a water park. But Saturday will be another tough game, with players playing for contracts, and there are no easy games at this stage of the season. Their recent record kind of sums up the league: lost 3 won 2 and drawn 1. So who knows which team will turn up at the weekend. But it’s all about how we can control the game now and impose ourselves on the tempo and pace of the game. Let’s go again for three more big points. Bring the noise, and let’s have the points.