Petersfield Town manager Connor Hoare and assistant manager Callum Glen were delighted with their side’s solidity in Saturday’s 1-0 win at home to Sherborne Town in the Wessex League Premier Division.
Oli Davies scored the only goal of the game with a superb shot into the top right-hand corner of the net in first-half stoppage time.
The Rams were solid throughout and kept a second successive clean sheet to make a welcome return to winning ways.
"I thought we looked really defensively solid,” said Hoare. “I can't really remember a time when it looked like we were actually going to concede.
“Sherborne chucked the kitchen sink at it at the end but even then I felt it was quite comfortable. We defended the box really well. The goal from Oli is excellent and on the balance of the game we definitely deserved the result."
"We sat down and had a talk about where we're at and what we need to do better, and we realised we’ve not had enough clean sheets,” added Glen.
“That’s two clean sheets in a row. We've changed a little bit how we are defending. In the early part of the season we were a little bit unlucky with a few things but we potentially were a little bit expansive out of possession, which meant that when we gave it away we were a little bit too open. We've changed that a little bit, and we look really solid.
“The lads have put in more of a shift – they're working harder off the ball than they were, which is important at any level. We're really pleased with the way we're defending. Going forward we're a little bit less threatening than we probably have been since the start of the season, however it's about getting results.
“It wasn't a pretty game in the end. I thought we controlled and dominated the first half, but the second half was a bit more of a 45 minutes of digging in, especially with the pitch deteriorating. Overall we look like a much more solid outfit, which is really pleasing."