We need to be harder to beat, says Common boss

Russell Eldridge says his Little Common Football Club team must become harder to beat as it prepares for two more away games over the coming week.
Little Common Football Club player-manager Russell Eldridge.Little Common Football Club player-manager Russell Eldridge.
Little Common Football Club player-manager Russell Eldridge.

The Commoners will head to Saltdean United in the Southern Combination League Premier Division this coming Saturday and Peacehaven & Telscombe on Tuesday night still smarting from a 7-0 midweek Peter Bentley Challenge Cup defeat at Newhaven.

Common player-manager Eldridge said: “We can’t continue to concede the amount of chances we are. I think we’ve got to be more compact and harder to beat. We might have to sit a bit deeper to deny a bit of space and play on the counter.

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See also: * Common edge past Croydon in FA Vase* Common back on track with Bank Holiday draw* Winning start ends as Common suffer first loss“We need to be concentrated all over the pitch and all work as hard as we possibly can to deny them opportunities.

“We’re fighters and we will come back. It wasn’t acceptable and the boys know that. If as a group we can’t perform then we’ll need to look at different options and different ways, but we’ve got a solid group and I’m pretty sure they’ll come back in a positive manner come the weekend.”

Common did at least win 3-2 away to Croydon in the Buildbase FA Vase last weekend, with Eldridge scoring two of the goals.

“I guess we’re a bit Jekyll and Hyde at the moment,” added Eldridge. “I don’t really know what we’re going to get from the group.

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“We went from producing a great result to probably one of our poorest performances in a very, very long time, which was extremely disappointing.

“I take the majority of the responsibility, but we asked the boys to take a little look at themselves after Tuesday night and we’ll be looking for a positive reaction on Saturday.”

Matt Cruttwell should return in goal, Lewis Parsons is 50-50, Ryan Paul is still away and Adam Smith is facing 2-3 weeks out injured.