After back-to-back losses for the first time this season, Gloucester City coach John Brough knows how important it is to get back to winning ways as soon as possible.
The Tigers were hoping to bounce back from the late collapse to Walton & Hersham with a better result away to Hungerford Town, but couldn’t stop Bradley Hooper from sealing the win for the Crusaders.
Hear from Mike Cook after a frustrating showing in Hungerford this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/72DOshnb7h
— Gloucester City AFC (@GCAFCofficial) March 8, 2025
Reflecting on the performance, Brough said: “We just didn’t get going, we knew the way we played, we knew the slope of the pitch, we knew the quality of the pitch, which is no excuses.
“We didn’t cope with their style of play which was quite direct, and then we couldn’t get our passing game going, not necessarily because of the bad pitch, we just weren’t on form.
“When the goalkeeper is the man of the match, it paints the picture, we’ve not had too many like that this season, so we have to draw a line under it and say it was a bad day.”
Leading up to the Hanwell Town fixture tomorrow, City have been hard at work to improve upon their prior performances.
With players coming back to full fitness and the Tigers back in front of a home crowd, there is bound to be a much better showing this time around.
🗣️We caught up with defender Dan Ball ahead of this Saturday’s home game against Hanwell Town 🐯⚽️
— Gloucester City AFC (@GCAFCofficial) March 13, 2025
Dan is sponsored by Zesta Planning pic.twitter.com/ivA33asMqT
Brough was pleased with how training has been going leading up to the game, but knows there are no easy matches, and his side have much to work on.
He said: “The side need a reminder about when you’re going up against teams that are physical and direct, we’ve got to match up to that.
“We can’t really question the players’ attitudes; it’s only their fifth loss all season in the league.
“If I’m totally honest, I don’t think there’s one easy game in the division, they’ll be coming to us and trying to put a performance on.”
As the season comes to an end, the playoff places are almost a certainty for City.
Now, with the attendances rising week on week, there isn’t a better time for the Tigers to turn things around and get a strong finish to the season.
🚨CITY NEXT UP
— Gloucester City AFC (@GCAFCofficial) March 11, 2025
🐯We welcome @hanwelltownfc to the TigerTurf Stadium, as we look to get back to winning ways!
🔜CITY UPCOMING
⚡️'Friday Night Lights' are nearly upon us, with a great atmosphere expected, live music, and hopefully a good result on the pitch! Get your tickets… pic.twitter.com/AzZRVVibbF
Brough knows just how important it is to not let their drop in form become a regular occurrence, he said: “It can become a habit just like winning can, so first and foremost, we need to stop the little run we are on in front of our own fans, which have been fantastic.
“Where we are as a club, we’ve got to be beating clubs like Hanwell at home, and if that puts a bit of pressure on everybody so be it.
“We want to be in the playoffs, we want to finish as high as we can, we’ve still got eight games to go, but I’d rather have a little blip now and finish the season strong.”
Keep up to date with the rest of today’s sporting news, including Gold Cup Day at the Cheltenham Festival on our live blog.
