Emley AFC manager Richard Tracey believes his side have shown they can compete at Northern Premier League Premier Division level after a demanding opening month of the season.

The Pewits have experienced a relentless August following promotion to Step 3, playing eight league matches in just 24 days.

Emley picked up ten points during that period, with victories against Curzon Ashton and Leek Town accompanied by draws against Hyde United, Ashton United, Redcar Athletic and Warrington Town. Their only defeats came against Ilkeston Town and, most recently, Guiseley, who ran out 4-0 winners at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground on Bank Holiday Monday.

Despite the disappointing end to August, Tracey is pleased with how his newly promoted squad have adapted to the demands of the division.

He said: “It’s been a busy and really difficult month. We’ve had Joe Stacey and Alex Kiwomya both carrying knocks throughout the month, and I think we’ve played around 20 per cent of our league games already. That’s a really tough task for a team with a relatively small squad. It’s been challenging, but what we’ve found is that we’ve got really good togetherness and there’s lots of hard work. We’re still trying to find that fluency and consistency in what we’re doing with each other as we look to build on what we feel has been a positive start.

“I think the first month has gone really well, although obviously it could have been better. I felt we should have beaten Ilkeston. We probably didn’t deserve to win at Leek, but maybe deserved a point, and there have been a couple of other opportunities at home where we could have won games but ended up drawing.

“What we have found is that we’re in games, we can compete and we belong at this level.”
Guiseley defeat brings unbeaten run to an end
Emley went into the Bank Holiday Monday clash with Guiseley unbeaten in five matches following their defeat against Ilkeston earlier in August.

However, the Lions produced an impressive performance in front of 804 supporters at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground.

Jordan Thewlis opened the scoring after 20 minutes before Guiseley doubled their advantage six minutes later. Cam Wilson made it 3-0 shortly after the interval before Harrison Hopper completed the scoring in the 74th minute.

Emley did have opportunities through Gabriel Johnson and Alex Kiwomya during the second half, but Tracey admitted the visitors were deserved winners.

He said: “I was really disappointed with the outcome. I said to the players after the game that one game doesn’t define us. I think the reality of that result was that it was a product of the effort that had gone into the previous seven games. Guiseley had an extra day’s rest after playing on the Friday night, while we’d travelled to Redcar in midweek the previous week, travelled to Leek in midweek and then obviously travelled to Warrington on the Saturday. It’s very demanding on the lads and we haven’t had the depth to rotate too much at the moment. I think the schedule just caught up with us.

“I felt Guiseley controlled the game from start to finish. We had a moment here and a moment there, but they thoroughly deserved to win. I don’t think we can allow that result to affect us in any way because of the effort the lads have put into those previous seven games. The lack of recovery before the Monday meant we were mentally and physically fatigued and didn’t put in the level of performance we all wanted.”

Tracey was particularly disappointed that his side were unable to produce their best football in front of one of the biggest crowds seen at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground in recent times.
He added: “It was disappointing because when you’re playing in front of a crowd of 800, you want to put on a performance. It wasn’t a game where nobody tried or where there were particular problems with individuals not performing. I just think physically we were a yard off the sharpness that Guiseley produced on the day. When you can leave Aaron Martin out of the squad and bring in someone of Murphy’s quality at centre-forward, it shows the quality and depth they’ve got.

“They’re certainly going to be competing towards the top end of the table. Ian has done a good job there since going in from Stocksbridge last year. Other than when they’re playing us, we wish him all the best. They deserved the win and we were left disappointed on the day.”

While the Guiseley result was a setback, Emley’s opening month has given Tracey plenty of encouragement about his squad. The Pewits have already demonstrated their ability to compete with established Step 3 sides, including taking four points from difficult away trips to Redcar Athletic and Warrington Town. Tracey has also been encouraged by the spread of goals throughout his attacking options.

He said: “It has been a tough start and we’ve learned a lot about both the new squad and the division. In terms of the league, everyone can beat everyone. We’re already seeing those results. Everyone has had to get eight fixtures into 28 days and I think that contributed to some really high scoring games over the Bank Holiday weekend. Even beyond those results, the games are really tight and everyone is taking points off each other. It shows that it’s going to be a really competitive league this year.

“In terms of ourselves, the new signings are fitting in well. We’ve had Diego, Gabs and Bales on the scoresheet, and Loz obviously got himself on the scoresheet on Saturday as well. All four forwards in the squad have managed to score, which is really positive.

“Aaron has come in and got himself involved too. He’s helping us out and doing a role that we perhaps didn’t necessarily expect him to be doing. Overall, we’ve settled quite well. We’ve managed to keep a couple of clean sheets and we’re scoring goals, so hopefully we can build on that start and become a little more progressive as we tackle our forthcoming opponents over the next eight or ten months.”

Emley now have an opportunity to respond to Monday’s defeat when Bishop Auckland visit the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round on Sunday.
On paper, the fixture pits Step 3 Emley against opposition currently playing two levels below them.

Tracey, however, has warned that the league positions of the two clubs do not tell the full story. Bishop Auckland were competing at Step 4 last season and Tracey believes the quality within Martin Gray’s squad means Emley face another significant test.

He said: “Anyone looking at it and thinking Emley are Step 3 and Bishop Auckland are Step 5, so we should be delighted with the draw, needs to understand the quality they have. Bishop Auckland have Martin Gray in charge, who is a very experienced manager. He managed Darlington up to Conference North level and made really good strides with them.

“He came into Bishop Auckland last year when they had a big budget in our league. They didn’t quite manage to turn around what had been a poor start under the previous management and were relegated, but they’ve gone into Step 5 and signed the top scorer from Step 3. They’ve also brought in another four or five players who have dropped down from Step 3.

“Bishop Auckland offer a good product at their stadium and they’re a financially viable and well-resourced club, with Middlesbrough Under-21s playing there as well.

“We know it’s going to be a real challenge. We’ll have to perform at the level required in our own league because they have some real threats and it’s going to be a tough game.

“Hopefully we can make use of the home advantage, get a really positive result in the FA Cup and potentially set ourselves up for a good run.”

Tracey is therefore taking nothing for granted as Emley look to put the disappointment of the Guiseley result behind them.

He added: “For anyone who thinks it’s simply a Step 3 side against a Step 5 side, there’s a huge reality check. The quality and depth of their squad is phenomenal.

“I’d say at least five or six of their players were playing at our level last year, including two who played for Redcar when they went on to win the league.

“We know plenty about Bishop Auckland and we know they have a lot of quality. Hopefully we can bounce back from the Guiseley result and get a good result in the FA Cup.”