Written by: Oliver Heathcote
Following two away fixtures in two days, Tudors boss Bobby Wilkinson expressed his thoughts following his side's matchups against both Weymouth last Saturday afternoon, and Aveley yesterday evening.
Wilkinson’s Thoughts: Weymouth (A)
The Tudors continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 0-2 victory on the road against Weymouth. A towering header by Kyle Ajayi and a goal from substitute Joe Iaciofano proved to be the difference between the two teams, alongside a deserved clean sheet.
Having started slow in last week’s draw at home to newly promoted Salisbury, the Tudors were able to take control of proceedings, resulting in a towering header from Kyle Ajayi finding the back of the net in the 12th minute. When asked about the way Wilkinson set his team up to play, he said “I want the boys to be brave. I thought especially in the first half we were clinical”.
Despite the hosts applying pressure in the second half, the Tudors were able to withstand the threat of Weymouth, and were eventually rewarded with Iaciofano’s finish in the 78th minute, creating the important two goal cushion. A pleased Wilkinson mentioned “There’s some very good players here but I just knew we would know how to adapt to that”. From the goalkeeper to the strikers, the Tudors were able to remain focused, despite a long trip to the South of the country.
The Tudors boss highlighted the preparation prior to the encounter, admitting “We went the extra mile this week”, with the extra effort proving vital. He was also keen to credit the travelling support, saying “Their support was brilliant. They didn’t realise that they drove us on in the last 10/15 minutes”. The full time moment where the players came over to thank the fans really epitomised the bond that the manager is trying to build with the entire club.
Credit: Club Photographer, Jemma Sear
The Tudors now face a quick turnaround in fixtures, with a trip to Aveley on Monday night awaiting. With the National League South fixtures proving demanding at the start of the season, keeping players fit ensuring that the injury list is as little as possible is the priority for Bobby Wilkinson and his management team. He says “We go to a difficult ground again. You can see why I built a powerful squad because when you play Saturday then Monday, you might have to rotate it”.
With Aveley yet to win in the 2024/25 campaign, they will be looking to take down the Tudors for their first victory, currently sitting 17th in the table. Wilkinson and his management team will be looking to ensure that the team are prepared and produce another fantastic performance, to continue their unbeaten run to start the season. They currently sit in 4th position and look to better this with Monday’s fixture
Wilkinson’s Thoughts: Aveley FC (A)
The Tudors continued their unbeaten start to the season, after a 0-1 victory away at Aveley
marked 2 wins in just 3 days.
The game’s only goal came on the 20 minute mark as a well worked piece of play resulted in
a driven cross, finding the feet of prolific goalscorer Ricardo German, who tapped the ball
home. With 7 points from a possible 9, head coach Bobby Wilkinson was delighted with
Monday night’s victory.
With such a close turnaround in fixtures, Wilkinson was pleased with the mentality shown by
the team throughout the game, having to deal with spells of heavy pressure, especially in the
second half. He said: “I didn’t ask the boys to come here and win tonight, I challenged them
to come here and win tonight” with many players having played 180 minutes of football with
limited recovery time.
Despite having dominated proceedings in the first half, the Tudors were equal to the threat
that the hosts posed, having to focus on togetherness and character as they began to have
less possession in the second half. The boss admitted: “Second half we didn’t play the style
that we’ve played this season” but was proud of the togetherness and desire shown by the
team to protect the one goal advantage to achieve back to back clean sheets.
The encounter also saw two Aveley players sent off in the last period of the game.
Emmanuel Ogunrinde saw himself sent off in the 81st minute for a second bookable offence
before Garrett Kelly was given his marching orders in the 98th minute, just before the final
whistle. Despite this, Wilkinson was complimentary of Aveley, saying “There’s a brilliant
management team here and he (Danny Scopes) deserves a lot of credit for what he’s done
at this football club”.
Credit: Club Photographer, Jemma Sear
The Tudors were backed by a vociferous travelling support, who were able to urge the team
on to victory, and Wilkinson was impressed with the level of support shown on Monday night.
He said “Our extra man was our fans today” and is highly optimistic of what is to come in the
future.
Bobby Wilkinson is looking forward to another impressive turnout on Saturday afternoon, as
the Tudors return to the Focus Community Arena, to face a tough Worthing side who
narrowly missed out on promotion last season, losing 3-4 to Braintree Town in the Playoff
Final. After a dogged team performance, preparations will begin for Saturday as the Tudors
look to continue a fantastic start to the 2024/25 campaign.
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