Injury forces boss Golby into changes

Barking will be forced to reshuffle their line-up as they head to Bostik North rivals Haringey Borough tonight (Monday).

The Blues go to north London on the back of a tightly contested 3-2 home loss to Waltham Abbey on their return to the eighth tier of English football, but injury issues mean they will have to make changes.

After a decade in the Essex Senior League, promoted Barking were brought back down to earth following a very positive pre-season campaign which saw them remain unbeaten in 11 games and notch 48 goals.

And joint manager Glen Golby said: “Of course we were disappointed not to get a result as we felt we had done enough to get at least a point.

“The first half was disappointing and we noticed their midfield three was overrunning our midfield three. I communicated this to the boys at half time and feel that they took it on board in the second half and played very well.”

But after one of the Barking starters suffered a fractured foot, forced tactical changes could cause some disruption to the team.

However Golby revealed he was already contemplating tactical changes, adding: “We will make one or two tactical changes as we know that Haringey are a physical side who like to play it direct into the strikers or capable wingers, that they like to get the ball to.

“The team need to defend well and we know from playing them in the Essex Senior League that their defence can be breached, so will be hoping to make plenty of chances.”

Assured defensive performances from the likes of Steve Willis were highlighted by the boss after the first game and the Barking manager will be hoping to see a similar performance tonight.

Haringey go into the fixture after taking all three points in their first game thanks to a 2-0 victory against Norwich United, a performance which delighted their staff and players and was viewed as a tough test.

Barking’s Golby went into the season knowing it would be difficult compared to their last, adding: “With the team having one of the lowest budgets in the league, we always knew that we were going to come up against it.

“The league will be different to last year as we will go into some games knowing that we aren’t expected to gain points, but the losses will come as a learning curve as long as I can notice some positives.”

This is exactly how Golby saw the first game, picking out many positives from a pleasing performance, and he will be hoping to build on their previous display and show the league that they are here to stay.