The University of East London Men’s 1st XI are looking to pick up their first points of the season today, when they face Reading University 1st XI at home.
The East Londoners go into the game with a fully fit squad, with coach Gordon looking to overturn their bad start to the season.
‘Fresh Start’
The match follows UEL’s narrow 2-1 away defeat at the hands of rivals Hertfordshire on the opening day, and UEL coach Ryan Gordon is looking to make amends.
“Last week I was really pleased with our performance, but the result wasn’t what we wanted,” said Gordon, “We was unlucky in two areas, we missed a penalty early on. If we’d have scored I think the momentum would have carried us through to get a good result.”
Gordon then cited some poor defending for the loss, as he added “I know we’re a lot stronger defensively, and more organised from set pieces, so that’s an area we’ll have to look at.”
‘Team Spirit’
Despite the loss, Gordon has seen a positive reaction from the players in training, leading him to feel optimistic about their clash with Reading.
“The boys’ response since last week’s defeat has been superb. In training we had a terrific turnout, and the boys are really buying into the ethos and philosophy of the university and the football club aswell.”
Asked about potentially key players for the match, Gordon quickly looked to highlight the overall effort of the group. “I really want to emphasise a team ethic. The key players will be the squad as a whole,” Gordon claimed, before mentioning the squad’s impressive commitment levels and strength in depth.
Reading come into the match off the back of a 1-1 draw with Imperial College London, so the game offers a lot of promise, with both sides searching for their first win of the campaign.