Redditch United boss, Paul Davis, believes scoring the first goal was crucial during his side’s victory over St. Ives Town – the first of the season for The Reds.

Goals from Stefan Moore and debutant Liam Francis secured the three points, and Davis, who made several changes from the 4-2 defeat to Barwell was delighted with his side’s response after a tough opening week to the season:

“I am very happy with the three points and clean sheet. We started the game well and were clinical; we also defended well, threw bodies in the front of the ball, and restricted the opposition to few chances.

“I always thought that if we scored the first goal, then we would gain confidence and cause problems. While we lost both opening games, we showed an attacking threat in both, so I always thought scoring the first goal would settle us. We continued to play with intent, but we were organised at the back as well, so it was the perfect outcome for us.”

Heavy defeats in the opening games, along with injury concerns and players unavailable, forced Davis into making several personnel changes, including a debut for Liam Francis, who managed to get himself on the scoresheet via a deflection from an effort by Shaquille Whittingham – Davis said the depth of his squad has already been proven this season:

“We’ve got a good group here; I have confidence in them. The first two fixtures were tough to take, but the players have worked hard in training and those that came into the side on Saturday justified their selection.

“We had several players missing – Tom Winters (hamstring), Will Davidson (groin) and Leam Howards (unavailable) – and now I have a hard task in selecting a team and squad for the next game. It’s a nice dilemma to have, though, because there is motivation and competition for players.”

The Reds will train on Tuesday and Thursday, when they will prepare for trips to Hitchin Town and Alvechurch on Saturday (3pm KO) and Bank Holiday Monday (3pm KO) respectively. Davis revealed the players will be receiving a little treat after making a promise to them prior to kick-off on Saturday:

“It’ll be great to go into this week’s training after recording our first win and clean sheet. We’ll work hard because we’ve now set a standard that I want us to improve on further, and we have two tough games in three days coming up.

“However, we’ll have some fun as well – it’s important that the players enjoy themselves – and my coaching staff and I will stick to our promise of delivering pizza after the players earned our first clean sheet of the season – perhaps it’ll have to become the norm if we continue to win and register clean sheets!”

Ticket details for both Hitchin Town and Alvechurch matches will be released shortly.

Supporters can stay up-to-date with the latest news at The TRICO Stadium by either checking the website or social media channels: Twitter: @RedditchUtd or Facebook: Redditch United FC – Official.

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