Malvern Town have received an early Christmas present with the safe return of influential midfielder, Joe Bullock, following a seven-week trip of a lifetime to Australia.
The 25 year-old has returned refreshed and ready to tackle the busy festive schedule of matches that lies ahead.
Bullock made his return to action in the recent 5-1 victory over Cribbs before helping The Hillsiders secure a point from their trip to Bashley at the weekend, in the only Pitching In Southern League Division One South fixture that survived Storm Darragh.
“Australia has always been a place that I wanted to visit,” he told us. “I had heard so many stories about how good life is out there and I wanted to see it for myself.
“This trip has been in the planning for a long time; I headed out with a travel group to the east coast of Australia where we visited places like Sydney, Byron Bay, Brisbane and Cairns.
“I’ve done snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef, a skydive and visited so many landmarks, just a few of the highlights from the best experience I’ve ever had.
“It was a short trip, but one that I will remember for the rest of my life.
“I did miss playing football and the buzz of a matchday. I kept up-to-date with how the lads were getting on whilst I was away.
“The reception that I received from everyone upon my return was so warming. It’s good to be back involved again and now I can’t wait to get stuck into the busy run of games that lies ahead.
“Being back out on the pitch over the last two games and helping the team pick up a couple of positive results has been fantastic.
“The 5-1 victory over Cribbs was a really good team performance from start to finish. Then travelling down to Bashley to come away with a point in difficult conditions against opponents who are in amongst the leading pack, was good.
“It felt good to get minutes under my belt in these games and it feels as though my match fitness levels are getting back to where they need to be.
“We’re looking forward to the games ahead and hopefully we can continue adding to our points tally and end the year strongly to give us a solid foundation on which to build going into the New Year and second half of the season.
“Hopefully we can stay in and around the top half of the table. It’s important that we just take it game-by-game and don’t get too far ahead of ourselves.
“We need to focus on doing the right things week in, week out and if we can do that, the results will continue to come and the table will form itself over time.
“It’s a similar outlook for my own performances where I just want to keep working hard and doing what I am good at to help the team move forward and get to where we want to be.
“The trip to Australia has certainly put a spring in my step.”
A home game against Larkhall Athletic awaits on Saturday.
IMAGE: Cliff Williams
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