Matlock boss hails clean sheet in cup win

Just three days earlier Matlock had played poorly at Bamber Bridge to lose their opening day league fixture by the only goal of the game, not extending the home goalkeeper until the game had entered stoppage time.

It was a defeat which Phillips admitted was down to him as much as the players.

“The players can’t shoulder all the blame for the performance,” he said. “I have to take responsibility for some of it.

“We had no-one around Liam Hughes having lost Callum Chippendale in the pre-season games and what we did plainly didn’t work on Saturday, so we altered our shape for the Quorn game, we had more pace going forward.

"If I’ve got a gripe we should have taken more of our chances but at least we were creating them.

"But it’s a new group of players and I’ve got to be pleased by another clean sheet, that’s six in eleven games now. I think it’s important we build from the back, last season no disrespect to the players that were here, but I don’t think we kept six clean sheets all season!”

Phillips had particular praise for goalkeeper Shaun Rowley and Liam Hughes, who scored his first competitive goals in a Matlock shirt against Quorn.

“Shaun’s been excellent, he’s come in and taken to it like a duck to water,” he added.

"We should count our blessings that we have such a competent lad to come in and push Jon Stewart who’ll have a fight on his hands to get his place back.

"I’m totally made up for Hughesy, he’s been brilliant in what he’s done, a breath of fresh air both on and off the pitch. His second goal was superb, first touch off his chest, rolled his man and put it in the bottom corner.

We’ve got to play to his strengths, on Saturday we didn’t do that. He was top draw and set the platform for the whole team.”

“We’ve got to play with two forwards and I still think we need that man who’s going to contribute twenty goals but I’m not rushing into this. The opportunity’s there for those already at the club.”