For the first time since last October, Gloucester City kept a clean sheet at home, following their 0-0 draw with Boston United on Tuesday night.
The Tigers last game without conceding on their own patch came in the 1-0 victory over Bradford Park-Avenue on the 19, October 2019, thanks to a goal from former midfielder Joe Hanks.
Gloucester made a rampaging start to the season, and sat seven points clear at the top of the National League North until manager James Rowe left the club to join Chesterfield, taking lethal striker Akwasi Asante with him.
Following his departure, City lost their unbeaten streak in a limp 1-0 defeat away to Gateshead and then were beaten comfortably by Farsley Celtic at Meadow Park.
Despite those two defeats, Gloucester remained at the top of the league and showed no signs of weakness against Boston United putting in a solid defensive display.
Kevin Dawson returned to the starting team following a suspension, partnering man of the match Tommy O’Sullivan in midfield, with their energy epitomising an impressive Gloucester performance.
“I think we were solid defensively, they didn’t create much at all and it just goes to show we’re hard to break down and hard to beat,” said O’Sullivan post-match.
In recent games, Gloucester have been the masters of their own downfall, with goals conceded against AFC Telford, Bradford Park-Avenue & Farsley Celtic all coming from individual errors.
However, The Tigers defence, marshalled by experienced skipper Liam Daly, showed no signs of any faults.
Boys showed some great character tonight we have some young boys in the group and they stood up to it like men tonight ?? , on a personal note more happy about that result than any other this season it’s been a mad week and we dug in and got a solid clean sheet ??????
— Liam Daly (@LiamDaly1704151) December 1, 2020
Injured striker Matt McClure, who is assisting interim manager Jake Cole from the sidelines, noticed the heavy improvement.
“Most goals we’ve conceded have been from our own mistakes so we’re just trying keep them down to the minimum.
“We tried to work hard on the pressing side so we didn’t let them play or give them time to breathe, every pass was rushed and they were kicking it off the pitch quite a bit,” said McClure.
Following the well-earned point, Gloucester move three points clear at the top of the table and now face an 11-day break before their next game against Curzon Ashton.
With the timeline set out by the club to have a new manager in place by next Wednesday, interviews are being completed by the club this week and many names have been rumoured to be in the running for the job.
The clear improvement in the defence will be a boost for Gloucester and the arrival of Tahvon Campbell on-loan from Cheltenham Town could some goals, after the departure of Asante and the injury-absence of McClure.
Either way it is a welcome break for The Tigers, who endured a draining few weeks both on and off the pitch and the hard-earned stalemate against Boston United is a huge boost ahead of a new manager arriving at Meadow Park.
