“All over the pitch we had a good night”

Mick Mulhern was clearly delighted and relieved to get his first win as Bay manager in the League Cup tie at Ryhope CW. Speaking this afternoon, he explained “Last night was very pleasing. I changed the style of play and the formation and made a couple of changes to the team. The changes weren’t necessarily due to what happened on Saturday but the formation was. I thought if we stayed the same they’d probably do to us what they did on Saturday. I want the team to have a Plan B and a Plan C. It’s nothing we haven’t tried before but I thought it was the right time to try it after Saturday.”
He agreed that the strike partnership of Stephen Ramsey and Andrei Ardelean had been a success. “Yes, they worked well together. But to be fair, the pairs and units around the park all worked well, all over the pitch we had a good night. They took their chances really well and could have added to what we had as well, more so in the second half, especially ‘Ramma’; so we could have finished stronger than 3-1 and we probably deserved to as well but it didn’t really matter. I’m happy if they can share the goals out over a period of games.
“I couldn’t praise everybody highly enough, everybody went about their jobs very well, everything that was discussed came together on the pitch and that’s pleasing. Kevin(Carr) has obviously been chomping at the bit and waiting to have his chance. We had a chat about what was expected, likewise Kevin said how he’d felt over recent months. It was a positive conversation and his response last night was magnificent. Yes, he had a little bit of cramp in the last five minutes but that’s because he hasn’t been playing except for short sessions.”
Pointing out that addressing Saturday’s problem with set pieces was an important aspect of the game, he continued “It was pleasing; it was nice we had the desire to get on the ball, get the ball in the box. That’s something we’ve talked about needing to do in both boxes really, the desire to be the one who makes the first contact. That was the big disappointment on Saturday when we conceded the three goals, all avoidable, but I didn’t focus on that last night when I spoke to the players. They were all aware of what happened on Saturday and there were just positives about how we were going to go about our job last night really. It’s pleasing when everyone focuses on what’s been asked of them and required and they actually do it and carry it out. That was pleasing to say the least.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s local derby at home to North Shields he added “There are obviously one or two people who’ll come back into the group but I laid down the marker last night with the eleven that went out and they performed, so we’ll see how training goes tomorrow night and what changes are needed for Saturday.”