Swindon Town U18s fullback Harry Chard admitted “it’s going to be another tough game” against Forest Green Rovers U18s in the Youth Alliance League.
Town will travel to Hartpury University on Saturday morning in search of all three points as they look to climb up the table.
“I think it’s going to be another tough game as we faced them last week, but the whole team is ready for it and preparing well,” said Chard.
“This week’s been the same, going into it like it’s another game. It’s a bit weird as we’re playing the same team twice, but we’re all preparing the same.”
The two sides faced off last time out, with Town coming out on top after a well-fought 3-1 victory in the cup. The young defender reflected on his individual and the overall team display.
Chard said: “For me personally, I thought I played well, I was getting up and down my side. I could have had two goals, but unfortunately, I didn’t.
“In the first half, we played well as a team, but the second half was a little bit off.”
Despite not scoring in the game, Chard was heavily involved in the first goal after combining well with Dani Gonzalez and delivering the ball into Miles Obodo, who slotted into the net.
Both he and fellow fullback Liam Hutt enjoy getting up and down the pitch, being heavily involved in both a defensive and an attacking manner.
“It’s just something we work on in training a lot, like patterns and pitches, getting around our wingers, and being the second winger,” revealed Chard.
Swindon have had a difficult start to the league campaign, going winless in their opening four matches, but momentum has switched in recent weeks with them picking up two victories.
Chard acknowledged Town’s positive form and how it has affected the team’s mentality.
“We have found our feet now, it was a struggle at the start, but the team has bonded together, and we’re all ready,” he said.
“It brings the morale up a lot, and everyone’s happy around the camp.”
It has been over two months since their 3-3 draw with Stevenage in the season opener. Chard assessed his individual performance in the early stages of the campaign.
“I’ve been playing well this year. I need to try and work on getting the ball a bit more and trying to impact the game in the final third.
“I’ll try and score as many goals as I can, but being a full-back is quite difficult. I’ll give it my best shot.”
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