Crows boss delighted with 1-0 victory on Tuesday night

THERE were still 10 minutes left on the clock when Crows boss Paul Attfield suddenly clenched his fists in delight in the dugout at Hertford Town on Tuesday night.

No, not a sign of premature happiness in anticipation of a 1-0 victory for his side at Hertingfordbury Park, but rather one of joy, and perhaps disbelief, upon hearing news of Peter Crouch’s 80th minute winner for Spurs against AC Milan in the San Siro.

There was still work for his side to do, though, but they didn’t disappoint as they sealed an impressive victory over the Blues courtesy of Glen Lamacraft’s first half strike and Attfield was clearly delighted with their efforts after the final whistle.

“It was a double whammy with Spurs winning so I’m happy,” said Attfield.

“First half we played some really good football – some of the best I’ve seen this season – and when you’re on top like we were you always think that if you don’t kill the game off they can come back and bite you. Fair play to Hertford, though, because they’re the best Hertford Town side I’ve seen and they really gave it a go.

“You have to give Hertford credit because they came at us and played three up top and looked lively and very quick. You look at their results lately – 4-1 against Dunstable and 4-1 against Holmer Green as well as winning at Hanwell Town – we had to give them a little bit of respect as they play with pace and skill and we had to defend really, really well and we did that.”

It was surprising the match got underway in the first place on what was a horrendous playing surface at Hertingfordbury Park due to heavy rain before kick-off. The entire match was accompanied by the eerie sound of squelching from 22 pairs of boots.

However, the conditions did little to affect the quality of the match as both teams got the ball down well and played some excellent attacking football.

Attfield’s side had to withstand plenty of pressure in the second half after dominating for large spells before the break but in the end they got the result they deserved.

“Our decision making on the ball in the second half probably wasn’t as good as the first,” added Attfield.

“As well as a little bit of tiredness because we haven’t had many matches lately and maybe that created a bit of pressure, but I think we weathered the initial storm for the first 20 minutes of the second half.

“We always looked likely to probably pick them off on the counter attack but perhaps we couldn’t find that final ball and final finish.

“They’re the sort of games we would have lost last season. I wouldn’t even consider it to be a ground-out result as both sides played some excellent football on what was a cow field of a pitch. It was a good game and I really enjoyed it.”

This was Royston’s eighth win in their last nine games and they look in good shape going into the latter stages of the season.