Croydon Athletic Secure First Win Under Keith Millen with 5-1 Triumph Over Phoenix Sports
Croydon Athletic claimed their first victory under new manager Keith Millen with an emphatic 5-1 win over Phoenix Sports. The result marked a significant milestone for Millen, who expressed his delight in a post-match interview.
“Well, delighted obviously,” Millen said. “When you come into a club, you want to get off to a winning start. We’ve had a couple of games where we probably should have won but didn’t, so it was important that we got off the mark – which we’ve done.”
Millen was particularly pleased with the team’s first-half performance, highlighting their high-intensity pressing and tactical adjustments.
“I thought first half we really set the tone,” he explained. “We pressed aggressively, didn’t give them any time on the ball, and when we did win it, we changed the shape slightly. We went with a front two – Jahmari and Soul – and they were such a handful. Before we scored, we had probably three other really good chances, which has been our problem in recent games. But today, we created a lot of chances and, with a bit of quality, managed to take five of them.”
Looking Ahead to Saturday
The win has bolstered confidence in the squad ahead of Saturday’s clash against one of the league’s top teams. Millen acknowledged the challenge but is optimistic about his side’s chances.
“A win gives you confidence, of course it does,” Millen said. “We know we’re going to probably one of the best, if not the best, team in the league. They’ve got a nice astroturf pitch which I think will suit us.”
With just a couple of days between matches, Millen emphasised the importance of recovery and squad rotation.
“It’s a case of looking after the players, seeing who’s got their legs back after the game,” he explained. “The good thing about being 4-0 up at halftime was that we were able to make some changes quite early, which hopefully helps. We’ll have to see if we’ve avoided any injuries because we’ve got a few already, and we’re going to need the squad fully fit to cope with the number of games we have.”
Croydon Athletic fans will be hoping the momentum continues into Saturday’s game as Millen’s side look to build on this promising performance.
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