Swaffham Town boss Hunt believes youngsters came of age in Ridgeons League win over Long Melford

Story by: GAVIN CANEY, Reporter Wednesday, February 1, 2012
6:20 PM

Pedlars boss Paul Hunt believes his young squad has come of age after Swaffham Town shook off another injury crisis to beat Long Melford 4-3 on Saturday.

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Hunt’s depleted outfit were 3-1 down before a stunning second-half fightback earned them three vital Ridgeons First Division points at Shoemakers Lane.

With a host of key players still sidelined, Hunt admitted he was as delighted with his young stars’ continued improvement as he was by his side’s win.

Hunt said: “I’ve never known a season like it, but every time there’s been an injury crisis a young lad has been given a shirt. We take a lot of pride as a club in how we bring youngsters through.

“The Ridgeons League is a good level of senior football, it’s very competitive and physical and different to what they’re used to. Some lads aren’t quite ready but some are already not that far away.

“It’s a lot of players first or second season stepping up to this level and they’ve given it a good go. We haven’t felt sorry for ourselves.

“To say it was total domination for the last 30 minutes against Melford would be an understatement. Across the pitch, to a man, we were absolutely superb. The lads have come of age.”

A brace from Aaron Clifford and goals from Joe Jackson and Matt Parkinson secured the victory which saw Swaffham leapfrog Melford in the table.

The eleventh-placed Pedlars are without a game this weekend. They return to league action on Saturday February 11 when they host Ipswich Wanderers.

Hunt said: “We won’t do extra training, or have a friendly, because knowing our luck we’d get more injuries. I don’t want to tempt fate.”

Jack Redhead (groin) is close to a return but Richard Cornwall (hamstring), Luke Fell (foot) and Scott Voutt (knee ligaments) are all sidelined for at least a month.