Blueboys boss not upset after Challenge Trophy exit

LONDON Colney boss Ryan Thompson admitted he wasn’t too disappointed to see his side exit the Challenge Trophy after a 2-0 defeat to local rivals Colney Heath, saying it allows his squad to concentrate on their number one priority this season – promotion back into the Premier Division.

“The league is the priority so I wasn’t overly fussed about it really,” Thompson told the Herts Advertiser afterwards.

“It would be very hard for us to win that cup. We’re still in another three cups and you don’t want to get to the end of the season where you’re playing three games a week especially as the season ends early this year.”

The Blueboys opened up a five point gap at the top of Division One following Saturday’s 1-0 win over St Albans City Reserves and Thompson was delighted with the result.

“That was a big game and we had eight lads out, all key players,” he explained.

“We knew it wouldn’t be pretty but we defended well as a team and hit them on the break. It wasn’t a game for the purist that’s for sure but the effort you couldn’t fault; they ran their socks off. We would have settled for a draw before the game so to get a win is more than I could have asked for and that is down to the spirit of the lads and their effort and desire not to lose the game.”

Thompson says he is enjoying the challenge at Cotlandswick following his summer switch from Harpenden. He said: “I’m loving it here. It’s a great club and a great set up and everyone cares. They’ve got people who look after all the jobs and the surface is great.

“There’s obviously the added pressure of the level of expectation to get out of this division but that makes it a challenge.”