8:00am Tuesday 27th July 2010
FRANK Gray was delighted with his side’s passing as Basingstoke Town continued their pre-season campaign in Kent on Saturday.
However, the Town boss was less pleased to see his defence give away a pair of bad goals as the Camrose club lost 2-0 to Kent Premier League outfit Deal Town.
Basingstoke were without left-back Matt Finlay and striker Jahson Downes due to illness but a strong team lined up in a 4-5-1 formation, with Matt Warner filling in at full-back and Gary Frewen on the left wing.
The home side took the lead in the early stages through Sean Armstrong after a long ball over the top caught the Town defence napping.
Deal doubled their lead after the break with a similar goal, Mo Takaloo finding the net after centre-back pairing Sean Hankin and Lewis Christon, who had just entered the fray, failed to deal with another long ball.
Despite the final score, Gray felt his side got plenty out of the game and was pleased with the way they kept the ball.
“We knocked the ball about really well and had possession for most of the game,” he said.
“Everyone had a good touch of the ball and we passed it as well as we have in a long time, which was good to see.
“We just made one mistake in the first half and one in the second half, which cost us the goals. They were two bad goals as far as we were concerned.
“We created a few chances and could have had a few goals ourselves but it was a good work-out because it was like a cup final for them and they were fairly physical.
“Obviously I would like a few more goals but the most important things at the moment are getting fit and getting used to playing in different ways.
“The players seem to be coping well with changing positions and formations and we just need to find a bit more in the final third.”
Gray will be hoping his side start to find the net tonight, when they travel to play Wessex League side Alton Town (kick-off 7.45pm) in their next pre-season game.
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