Tomkinson Rallies Central to be ‘Ruthless’ Against Cavaliers After Cup Defeat

Central were prevented from reaching the third round of the Murray Trophy by a strong Altrincham Hale side on the 9th of April. Chris Tomkinson has demanded that his team instantly rebound from the set-back to keep the chances of promotion this season alive against Cavaliers.

After beating Hollinwood 6-1 midweek, Central had rediscovered their swagger after their heart-wrenching loss to league-leaders Bolton United the week before. However, despite their returning confidence, they were unable to progress into the third round of the Murray Trophy as they lost to Division One side Altrincham Hale.

In response, Tomkinson will once again have to rally his troops after what he described as an “uncharacteristic” loss against Altrincham. He will be looking to motivate the team to pick themselves up off the floor for a “difficult” fixture against Cavaliers in the mid-week. With Central just three points behind 5th-placed Leigh Genesis, with three games in hand, only a win will suffice to keep promotion hopes alive.

Central have not faced Cavaliers since the third game of the season in August, when Tomkinson’s then green-faced side earned their first win of the season by a 3-1 scoreline. Thus, little is known of what to expect from the opposition, who Tomkinson maintains have improved since the start of the season.

It has been a difficult season for Cavaliers so far, who sit bottom of the Manchester Football League Division Two, with just four points after 22 games. Cavalier’s win and draw have both come since the new year, with a 2-1 win against second-bottom Breightmet United in late January and a 3-3 draw to 9th placed AFC Burnley showing how far the side has come this season, which has also seen losses of 26-0 to Avenue FC, 16-0 to both AFC Monton and Avro Reserves as well as 15-0 to both Bolton Borough and Govan Athletic.

Central will be hoping that they can take advantage of Cavalier’s defence and that the shooting boots of Fuhad Kasali and Gabriel Wiwoloku, in particular, are tightly laced on Tuesday evening. The lightening quick duo, who have scored 26 and 19 goals respectively this season will be key to Central’s hopes for all three points, as well as to catch up to 6th-placed Avro Reserves’ +47 goal difference to maintain the best possible chance for promotion in the season run-in.

Cavaliers currently sit at the bottom of the table, level on points with Breightmet United but are 76 goals behind on goal difference due to the heavy losses incurred throughout the season. However, this does not mean that it will be a simple win for the home side, as the opposition have shown they are capable of scoring and challenging teams even in defeat.

Despite having scored only 17 goals this season, which have been shared throughout the team between 10 different goalscorers, some of these have come in close losses, including a 2-1 loss away to Hollinwood and a narrow 3-1 loss to league-leaders Bolton United. Central will be wary of three individuals in particular. Kevel Blake is the side’s leading scorer with 5 goals in 5 appearances, whilst Ruben Toyne and Errol Turgutalp have both scored 3 goals in 9 and 7 games respectively this season.

Tomkinson will be hoping that his 5-2-3 system will be able to outnumber and silence the opposition’s attack, whilst the wing-backs will look to overlap Central’s fast wingers and feed the goalscoring machines of Kasali and Wiwoloku. This will be key to the home side’s hopes for the game.

For the fixture, Tomkinson will have a strong squad to choose from with only Paul Shalobi absent from the game due to injury as Dennis Jerome and Kieran Taylor both returning from the physio room. Tomkinson has stated that this should heighten the excitement for the fixture, with two key players returning to the side to rectify the mistakes which ended the cup run, saying:

“Altrincham Hale was a very disappointing result. We had more than enough chances to win the game, especially when they were only one goal up. The goals we conceded were disappointing and we have to do better. It was a bit uncharacteristic of how we have played as of late but having off days can happen in football.”

“We tested ourselves against a strong side in the division above and we found that we will have to be a lot better in the final three games of this season, with work to do both defensively and in the forward positions.”

“The game against Cavaliers will be difficult, like any game in this league. They look like they have improved over the course of the last six months and have had some positive performances of late. We haven’t played them since the third game of the season, so we aren’t quite sure what to expect! We will have to be ruthless, aggressive and take our chances. If we can do that, we will have every chance of winning the game. The attitude will be the same as in any other game we play.”

“Earlier this week, a points adjustment was made to the league following the folding of one of the clubs earlier in the season. This adjustment hasn’t done too much for us other than confirm that we have one less game to play. So, we will have to win all of our remaining fixtures and hope that the teams above us drop points along the way.”

“We need to concentrate on playing well and winning our games like we have been before seeing where we end up. Whatever happens at the end of this season, I cannot fault this group of players, they have been brilliant all year round and have really come together as a group. Hopefully we can carry on the good form for the run-in and finish on a positive note.”

Central will be looking for an all-important win in the mid-week against Cavaliers to keep their promotion hopes alive before they look towards their last two games, which includes a season-ending showdown against Avro Reserves which could determine which of the two will be playing Division One football in 2022/23.