A SOLID defence laid the foundations for Jersey Bulls to record their third successive win in the league.
The Bulls were in complete control in their 2-0 win at Springfield against Epsom and Ewell but had to be patient and wait for their moments.
After a first-half in which the Bulls spurned a couple of gilt-edge chances, the home fans may have feared another sucker punch having already seen their side lose games this season when dominating possession.
But Adam Trotter’s deflected drive early in the second-half settled the nerves and the Bulls’ game management came to the fore as they wore the visitors down in the energy sapping heat.
It still took the Islanders until the closing minutes to wrap up the three points – substitute Jonny Le Quesne latched onto Jake Mulholland’s clever scooped ball over the top and knocked the ball past the onrushing ’keeper via a combination of his head and knee.
Manager Gary Freeman said: ‘I felt we controlled the whole game.
‘There was a little bit of frustration coming in at half-time – we had a couple of chances that we didn’t take but we know we have to be patient. We changed shape a little bit in the second-half and we dominated the game.
‘We were really solid in defence and had a lot of control in midfield. We have talked about being caught on the counter a couple of times in previous games – all teams in this league have some decent players that can hurt you on the counter – but I felt we dealt with that threat today and Euan didn’t have a lot to do.
‘Every game we go into we know that if we’re not at it we could drop points – that’s the reality of this league. We’ve had three clean sheets in a row now and we will continue to look to use that to set the foundation.’
The defence was superbly marshalled by Luke Campbell – standing in as captain for the injured James Quérée – who alongside Sammy Sutcliffe did not give Epsom & Ewell a sniff.
Campbell said: ‘It was absolutely roasting – it does sap the energy but I thought we managed the game well.
‘It’s another win and it is good to build a bit of momentum – it’s three clean sheets in a row as well so we have got the keep building on that.
‘We have got Croydon now coming up and we know that will be another tough game. We don’t want to be chasing [the teams at the top of the table] but that is the where we are in the league and that’s our own fault. We have the quality to make those points up and we know we can kick on from here.’
