Emley AFC manager Richard Tracey has urged his side to show more cutting edge in front of goal as they prepare to host an improving Bishop Auckland at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground this weekend.

The Pewits sit fifth in the Northern Premier League Division One East, boasting one of the best defensive records in the division but Tracey insists it’s time his team’s dominance started turning into victories.

“We’ve got the best defensive record across Step 4 with nine clean sheets, yet we sit fifth,” said Tracey. “That tells me we’ve got more work to do at the top end of the pitch.”

Emley’s most recent league outing a goalless draw away at Blyth Spartans highlighted the ongoing issue.

“It’s always difficult going up to the North East, another half hour north of Newcastle makes it a long trip,” Tracey said. “I was disappointed because we started really brightly. The goalkeeper made a good save from a free kick, then we had two golden opportunities first with Manasse Mampala through on goal and then Jaanai Gordon in the six-yard box and we blazed both over.

“We had five good chances in the first half and didn’t take any. You could see their confidence growing, and by the second half we were under pressure. Fair play to Blyth, they came out on the front foot and made us defend. We still had chances to win it, but didn’t take them.”

Despite the frustration, the boss kept perspective: “When you look at it, Blyth went on to beat Matlock a few days later,” he said. “So a point away up there isn’t a bad result. Nobody’s running away with it but we need to improve our end product.”

Tracey was candid when asked why his team hadn't scored more: “If I could answer that properly, I’d be worth my weight in gold,” he admitted. “It’s confidence, ruthlessness, technique, sometimes a concentration, it can be any of those things.

“We need willing runners off the ball to create space, and we’ve got to run in behind more to stretch the game. When we score early, we relax. When we miss chances, we tighten up and miss more and that’s frustrating.”

He also made it clear that improvements must come from within before any squad changes are considered: “I said to the lads after the game: you need to start doing what we ask you. If not, we’ll have to look at bringing someone in who’ll add that ruthlessness or movement we’re missing. But the first opportunity to fix it lies with the players already here.”

If the Blyth draw was a missed opportunity, the midweek Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup tie at Kinsley Boys was a near miss that ended with relief. Facing opponents three divisions below, Emley trailed 2–0 at half time after a flat performance.

Looking back Tracey said: “It was a frustrating night. The level of performance wasn’t good enough. Every player who started was a senior player for this club, and it wasn’t acceptable. We controlled most of the first half but conceded two poor goals through bad decisions.”

The comeback began when Charlie Barks pulled one back midway through the second half, before Kieron Ceesay headed in a dramatic equaliser deep into stoppage time. In the shoot out, goalkeeper James Randall was the hero, saving twice as Emley won 4–3 on penalties.

“I was delighted for Randa,” Tracey said. “He felt he should have done better for their first goal, but then saved two penalties to help us through. Before the shoot out I didn’t put any pressure on them, just asked who wanted one. Four out of four scored, and that showed great composure.”

Still, the manager knows his side can’t rely on late rallies: “It’s alright having possession, but you’ve got to use it to hurt the other team. We didn’t impose ourselves until late, and that’s not good enough. But at least we showed character to come back.”

The heavy recent schedule has stretched Emley’s squad: “Ellis Farrar and Lawrence Sorhaindo both picked up injuries, and Joe Clegg got a knock. Dec Lambton has had a sore hamstring. So, we’re potentially a few bodies down which is frustrating.”

There was at least some good news: “Carlos Rodrigues has had his pot removed and got minutes in midweek, he looked a bit rusty but that’s natural after four weeks out.”

Tracey confirmed that midfielder Sonny Whittingham is considering his options elsewhere: “Sonny’s still registered with us, but he has said he might be looking to get more minutes elsewhere.”

Saturday’s visitors arrive in good form after seven points from their last three games. Once struggling near the bottom, Bishop Auckland are unbeaten in that run and have been transformed since a recent change in management.

Looking ahead Tracey said: “If we’d been playing Bishop three weeks ago, I’d have been more comfortable,” Tracey said. “They’ve had a management change and everyone’s trying to impress. They’ve had a phenomenal turnaround in results.”

The visitors are scoring freely, with Liam Jarvie and Mikey Roberts both on six league goals apiece, but Tracey wants Emley to focus on their own performance.

“At home we worry more about ourselves,” he said. “We’ve got to be on the front foot and make sure we earn the victory because there are no easy games in this league. As we’ve seen, anyone can beat anyone.”

After a demanding spell of fixtures, Emley will finally get some downtime following Saturday’s clash: “After playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday for a few months now it'll be good to get some proper recovery time into the lads.”

With a quarter of the season gone, Emley remain in the promotion mix despite not hitting top gear. The defence continues to impress, but Tracey’s focus now is converting control into goals.

“We’ve been nowhere near our best,” he said. “But we’re working hard to get there. The players know what’s expected and if we start taking our chances, we’ll be a real force in this league.”