Castle blasts Royston commitment in derby draw with Hitchin
Royston Town V Beaconsfield - Steve Castle , Manager Royston Town. Picture: Karyn Haddon - Credit: Archant
Royston Town boss Steve Castle believes his side lacked commitment in their 1-1 draw with local rivals Hitchin Town at Garden Walk on Tuesday night.
The Canaries looked set to take all three points in the feisty Southern League Premier Division Central clash thanks to Lewis Ferrell's 27th minute goal.
But, despite a poor Crows performance, Adam Murray's gamble to chase down a bouncing ball paid off as he headed home an equaliser with five minutes to go.
The point wasn't enough to please boss Castle, who told CrowSport that he could count the number of committed players 'on one finger'.
"From our point of view we never really got to the performance levels that we want to," he said.
"Fair play to Hitchin, they quite rightly went in front and showed calmer heads.
"To a player, I could probably count on one finger the amount of lads that were as committed as I wanted them to be.
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"It wasn't the best of nights for Royston Town. We were poor tonight."
The Crows' cause wasn't helped by a 79th minute red card for midfielder Scott Bridges, while assistant manager Chris Watters was also sent off for remonstrating with the referee.
Castle was keen to stay quiet on the decisions and keep out of trouble, saying: "I'd rather not comment.
"I have been to see the referee, he's given me reasons, I've shook his hand and I'll probably just leave it at that to not get myself in too much aggravation.
"Scott is quite proud of his recent disciplinary record so that's a blot on the copy book.
"I've never known Chris - it's usually me - get in trouble verbally.
"It was an issue with the referee that I also agreed with, but that's just one I can keep to myself."
The draw means Royston sit 13th in the league, five points off a play-off place.
