Emley maintained their unbeaten start to the Northern Premier League East season, with a 2-0 away victory at Redcar Athletic, before securing a point in a 1-1 draw with Garforth Town at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground over the bank holiday weekend.

Emley Manager Richard Tracey was delighted with the account his side gave of themselves in the North East, with the hosts having been previously unbeaten this calendar year. 

“Redcar are a very good side. In the first half I think they had three really good chances, we had two or three good chances, we took two and they didn’t take theirs. 

“They had a chance quite early, first minute, and a chance late on where Jack Cowgill was fouled and the Lino didn’t give it, he’s gone clean through and Declan Lambton has made a really good save. 

“I think they are going to be a strong side, I don’t think many sides will go to Redcar and beat them, so I think it was an incredibly good performance. 

“In the second half we did what we needed to do, which was to not let them have sustained pressure, we broke the game down into short spells and killed the game off. We made it really difficult for them to get any momentum and obviously came away with a brilliant 2-0 win.”

After that excellent away win, the Pewits were back at home two days later as they faced Garforth Town on Bank Holiday Monday. Despite a strong first half, they were pegged back and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

“When you go away to a very good side, and you work as hard and play at the intensity that we played at, that meant Monday had to be reviewed. 

“Jack Cowgill, Chris Dawson and Laurence Sorhaindo who have all featured heavily for us so far were struggling physically from that game; not in terms of fatigue but with knocks and niggles from that match. 

“We had to reflect that on Monday and ultimately I think the hard work that we put in on Saturday probably took its toll on us in the second half on Monday. 

“To be fair to Garforth, second half, they were a much better side than us. 

“Having gone 1-0 up we did have two or three chances to stretch that lead, but we didn’t take them on the day. 

“It is disappointing not to take six points from the weekend but I’ll take the point against Garforth because they finished really strong. 
“We are unbeaten in four and that’s a solid start to the season so I am pleased on that front.”

Connor O’Grady capped his Emley debut on Monday against Garforth with a goal, having joined on loan from Cleethorpes Town last week. Tracey was very pleased with his new defender’s first showing in Claret and Blue.

“Connor has come on a month’s loan initially. Obviously we know Jack (Cowgill) isn’t at his peak physically at the moment, he’s feeling sore after a game for a prolonged period. 
“We also had Charlie Barks suspension looming, although Connor wasn’t available on Saturday when Barksy was suspended. 

“We’ve got him for a month initially, that’s an open conversation at the end of it with Cleethorpes, he’s their player. They’ve been great in helping us out with him.
“He’s a good lad and I thought he was exceptional on Saturday so hopefully he can certainly help us out over this period.”

Tracey gave an update on the squad overall, and is hopeful of having a near full-strength squad to choose from for upcoming matches.

“Joe Clegg is still out with his shoulder. We are just assessing Alex Metcalfe this week, after he came off injured on Saturday. 

“Obviously Jack Cowgill and Chris Dawson are getting their bodies moving again, ready for Saturday. 

“Sonny Whittingham is back available, having been at a wedding over the weekend in Oxford for his brother, so obviously he went with our blessings. 

“Alfie Dean is out at Tadcaster on dual registration, just getting some match sharpness. He has done brilliantly so far, scoring three in three. 

“You can see he has got ability, but obviously Belchior Rodrigues started well and got his goal against Silsden and they kind of play similar roles. 

“With Alfie, the best thing for him was not to sit on our bench but to go somewhere and get sharper, and he has gone there and done really, really well.  “Hopefully that will stand him in good stead with a view to coming back to us and him taking a shirt. 

“We’ve got players out there who are trying to get up to speed for us as well, so we are looking OK at the moment.”

Tracey’s side face a tricky trip to North Ferriby on Saturday, and the Emley manager knows his side won’t have it easy when they visit the Dransfield Stadium.

“They will be big, strong and organised. Chris (Bolder; North Ferriby’s manager) is a football man, he likes to play football. 
"He has got a good team, knowing Chris he would probably want a bit more depth to the squad, but we took no points off them last year, they beat us on both occasions. 

“I think it is about time we went and got a result against them, I think we have got the personnel to go and do that on Saturday and we will be looking to back up our four away points that we’ve got so far and add to that tally, ideally with three points. 

“Ferriby isn’t going to be an easy game, there’s no two ways about that. They’re going to be good at set plays, they will work hard, and they’ll ask questions of you both by playing football and by turning you around. 

“We know we are going to be in for a challenge, but it’s one we believe, as we always do, if we perform well and at the levels that we can, we can cause any team problems and that is what we will be going there with the intention of doing.”

The Pewits then face their second consecutive away match with a Friday night trip to Heaton Stannington’s Grounsell Park as they open their campaign in the FA Trophy.

“Going up to Newcastle on a Friday night is never the dream. 

“However, it is an opportunity for us to get up there and get a little bit of a run going in the FA Trophy, having exited the FA Cup early. 

“It might also be an opportunity for us to change things around a little bit as well and utilise the squad possibly. 

“Heaton are a difficult team to play against, in particular at their own pitch. It is not an easy draw, I would much rather them be coming to us, but that’s not the case. 

“We will be going there, and be trying to get through to the next round.”

The Pewits return to the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground on Friday 12 September, when they face Grimsby Borough.