Longlevens midfielder Joe Westrip believes it was “impossible” for his side to avoid defeat to Bradford Town on Saturday following an early red card for right-back Martel Sutherland.
Westrip, 20, played the entire 90 minutes as Longlevens were dealt a 5-0 hammering by Bradford Town at Sawmills End, but admits the team can take positives from the performance.
The central midfielder told ParkLife Sport: “The early red card didn’t help us at all. But, even though that red card startled us for five or 10 minutes, I thought the team actually played well. Up until 2-0 down we were defending well, and we created a few chances, but when you’re playing with 10 men for so long, it’s impossible. Everyone was tired and everyone’s legs were gone which meant we never really had a chance.
“But, in recent weeks, even though we’ve been losing, the performances are starting to get how we want them to look. The effort and quality on the ball has been showing despite results not going our way.”
The loss ensured Levens are now on a run of four defeats on the bounce, something that Westrip revealed the team are desperate to rectify. “We’ve all said that we need to put in more effort,” he said. “At training or by themselves, everyone has agreed to try and put 10% more in to try and get some results on the board.”
After finishing in an impressive eighth place last campaign, Longlevens now find themselves down in 16th in the Hellenic League Premier Division, but Westrip offered a couple of reasons why they’ve not been able to match their levels from last season.
He revealed: “Over the summer we lost a fair few first-team players, all of whom joined higher clubs, and that hasn’t helped us this year. We’ve lost half our team, and while the players who have come in are good players, it’s the bond we’ve lost and getting to know a new group of players. We’ve lost a few characters in the changing room, and it’s taking a little bit of time to get to know the new boys both on and off the pitch.
“We also had a massive break where we didn’t really play in September and that hasn’t helped with fitness or consistency. It’s strange because usually we have at least two games a week, so hopefully at the end of the season we don’t have to play three games a week.”
Despite showing relegation form over the past few weeks, Levens remain outside the drop zone on nine points and Westrip is confident the team will avoid relegation. “Right now it’s been very hard with how things have panned out, but I think we’re still performing well and have everything it takes to stay up this year,” he admitted.
Alongside playing for Longlevens, Westrip is also a key member of the University of Gloucestershire’s (UOG) first-team, who have their first BUCS fixture of the 2022/23 campaign this Wednesday.
The UOG first-team face Southampton away from home, and Westrip has revealed he’s “quietly confident of getting a result.
He continued: “The new boys that have come in have really helped the squad and it feels like we’re stronger which is a good sign. The new manager Tom Speers has made an impact, he knows what he’s talking about and the new 4-3-3 formation he’s implemented really suits us as a team.”
