HUNGERFORD TOWN | COMING OF AGE

Watts the story

Successive away wins have thrust Hungerford Town right back into the Pitching In Southern League Premier South play-off mix in what is developing into a fierce battle to make the top five.

Last weekend saw them hit Harrow Borough for six in a 6-1 triumph which was followed by a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Poole Town on Tuesday evening, with both goals coming in the final quarter-of-an-hour.

The victory at Harrow was extra sweet for talented wide-man, Elis Watts, as it brought his first senior hat-trick.

“I was absolutely buzzing to score a hat-trick,” Watts told us. “It had been coming for a while, to be honest, as I have scored quite a few braces this season where I was close to getting a third goal, so to finally get it was great and a big moment for me.

“More importantly, the last two away results have been massive for us. It was a clinical forward-flowing performance against Harrow, where I thought we were absolutely brilliant and definitely deserved all three points.

“The game against Poole on Tuesday evening was tougher; we really had to dig deep, show our togetherness against a good side whose recent form definitely doesn’t reflect them at all.

“It means that we’re now just a couple of points off the play-off places. The race to make the play-offs is certainly shaping up to be an exciting one. We’ve just got to focus on ourselves; there are some massive games coming up against teams who are in and around it, so we’ve got to take every game as it comes, enjoy it and see where we can end up.”

The former Newport County youngster has come of age this season after joining the Crusaders during the summer from Weston-super-Mare.

“I’ve had my best season in men’s football yet,” he said without hesitation. “With 19 goals in all competitions and a good few assists so far from a position out wide and none of them being penalties, I’m very pleased.

“I have to thank my team mates plus the Gaffer and his coaching staff for helping me to achieve this. For me I just want to create and score as much as I can to help the team. I’m loving it at Hungerford and think we’ve got an unbelievable team bond going on.

“This is a hard-working bunch of lads with added quality and we’ve picked up some great results in what is a really competitive League which I am thoroughly enjoying playing in.

“I’ve played in this League for a few years now. I have also been fortunate to win it, which was a great experience.”

So, what are the aims between now and the end of the season?

“From a team point of view, obviously it is to get into the play-off places," he added. "I know it’s a cliché but we really do have to take things one game at a time and focus on what we do.

“Individually I would like to get as close to 20 League goals as I can and also continue creating for others so that we can ultimately achieve our objectives.”

A big weekend awaits for Hungerford Town as they take on two play-off chasing rivals with a home encounter against Bracknell Town on Friday followed by a trip to Merthyr Town, who currently sit in the final play-off place, on Monday.

IMAGE: Hungerford Town FC

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