Nantwich Town boss Phil Parkinson said his second win in charge was thanks to “the best football” he had seen in a long time, writes Richard Scott.
A solitary goal from Max Harrop saw the Dabbers make it six points from six since Parkinson took over at the Weaver Stadium.
But the margin of victory did not do the home team justice, the new boss believes.
Parkinson said: “As I said to the boys, with me coming in it’s a new broom, a clean slate.
“They are loving life at the moment – and they should.
“If they can’t enjoy playing football like that they shouldn’t be playing football.
“That is what it’s all about.
“It’s about giving everything, leaving everything out there on the pitch for your friends, your team mates, the club and the fans.”
Harrop’s 12th minute strike came during a dominant spell for Nantwich Town.
The Dabbers found particular success down the flanks in the first half, terrorising the Yeltz midfield and defence.
“We knew Halesowen would line up 3-5-2,” explained Parkinson.
“We had them watched by two people who know football inside out.
“Their feedback was spot on and it helped me massively.
“Training was fantastic and the players put into practice everything I asked them to do.
“We got it down and we really exposed them, because they gambled with their wing backs.
“With Cliff [Moyo] and Andy [White] being brave enough to get past them and to join in, linking play, they couldn’t handle us.
“We should have taken the chances we had, which evidently led to the amount of pressure we had to take in the second half.
“Obviously we had something to hold onto, and they really, really pressed us. They didn’t let us play.
“But the fans down here demand heart. And I went in there and said, ‘that’s what I saw out there in the second half’.”
Not only was it a comfortable victory for the Dabbers, but a well deserved clean sheet.
And Parkinson was full of praise for every player who graced the pitch.
He said: “Terry [Smith] in goal… what a world class save he made at the end there. I thought he’d sent him one way, but he recovered – great save.
“You look at that defence – Cliff [Moyo] was a bit of an unknown for me, but if I’m a winger I don’t want to play against him, because he’s an absolute beast at the back. Nobody’s getting past him.
“Andy White has probably been, from what everyone has been telling me, the best player – Mr Consistency.
“Mat Bailey, who was in and out of the team, should be the best centre half in this league. And on the evidence of that, is.
“Ben Harrison isn’t far behind him. But you can’t tell the difference between the two – they’re absolute colossuses.
“The two boys holding in there for me – Nicky [Platt] and [Mark] Jones – just put an absolute shift in.
“Nicky more so in terms of getting on the ball and Jones defensively – he’s an absolute colossus in terms of fitness.”
And Parkinson still has no doubts about what he expects from his players, despite his two wins in charge.
He said: “If you play for Nantwich Town, you must play well.
“But you must win and that’s what I’m demanding from the players.”
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