“THAT’S the best attacking side we’ve come up against this season, so we’ll take the point.”
IJʿ Bulls boss Elliot Powell was in pragmatic mood after seeing his side held to a 2-2 draw at Sheerwater on Tuesday night, as Karl Hinds’ late equaliser rescued a point for the Islanders.
Lorne Bickley rifled home the game’s opening goal, but the Surrey-based outfit always carried a threat going forward, with Powell pleased to come through the contest with something to take home.
“That first 30 minutes we were excellent, and we’ve had plenty of moments to put the game to bed.
“I can’t say that’s not frustrating, because it is, but what I – and the rest of the coaching team – are learning, is that this is a hugely competitive division,” he said.
“There is quality in every side and you have to give Sheerwater a lot of credit. Once they got through that opening patch they adapted and that posed questions of us which we didn’t have answers to.
“And, if you then look at the first 20 minutes of the second half, we were under the cosh. At that point we were just asking the boys to stay in the fight, and they did to be fair to them.
“Sheerwater are excellent in those forward areas, so it was no surprise to us that they’d keep coming.
“But, at any level, you’ll always get certain moments and even though Lorne couldn’t quite convert the penalty, we were alive enough to get the equaliser. A draw was a fair outcome.”
The Eastwood Centre has been a happy hunting ground for the Bulls over recent years, though this new-look Sheerwater side – under manager TJ Barbato – was arguably the most competitive IJʿ have faced to date.
George Sellick drew an excellent save from Euan van der Vliet early on and, even though Sheerwater’s early zest was somewhat dulled by Bickley’s goal, they continued to take the fight to their visitors.
Powell was already struggling to name a recognisable back four before the tie and his cause was further hampered when he lost Jonny Le Quesne to injury.
With Harry Curtis likely to be out for a minimum of six weeks with a fractured fibula, Luke Campbell continuing to nurse a heavily swollen knee and Jay Giles also on the treatment table, it leaves Powell increasingly short ahead of a busy September.
It eventually led to Fraser Barlow – a mainstay of the Bulls attacking mechanism since their inception – to drop into a full-back role, playing into Sheerwater’s hands.
Chris York deservedly drew his side level before the break and it was the impetus for the Sheers to go through the gears, which they duly did.
Nathan Pooley struck them into a lead at a moment the Bulls were struggling for any sort of foothold in the tie, and they were certainly indebted – again – to James Sunley, who earned his third man-of-the-match award in succession.
He’s been at the heart of the vast majority of Bulls’ attacking work this season and he was at it again, winning a penalty with ten minutes to play.
Chris Adams saved smartly from Bickley but Sunley had the sharpest of minds to pounce on the loose ball and get it back into the six-yard box, from where Hinds did the rest.
A point on the road, still unbeaten, and with two consecutive home games to come for Powell and the Bulls, there remains plenty of positivity around the Islanders – but you sense the big ‘kick on’ needs to arrive sooner rather than later.
