Following Johnston's 2nds Team clinching promotion, we took the time to sit down with Johnston manager Daniel Metcalf who funnily enough wasn't that hard to get hold of...
It was a great season for the club, the first team winning the Second Division Cup and getting the Second team promoted. The club is on the up and there are promising young players making an impact at senior level. Another aspect that will please the club is the growth and strength of their junior section which is a credit to everyone involved. Dan was obviously delighted as he shares his thoughts with us below.
Congratulations Dan, you must be delighted with your achievement?
Absolutely, it feels amazing to finally get over the line after all our hard work over the last few years. We have a great group of players not only in the Seconds but across the club which is evident in the Division Two Cup win too. Our target was to go up at the start of the season but it’s never that straightforward and we’ve certainly had our ups and downs, so to seal it with a win in our last game of the season is a great feeling.
At which point this season did you as a group realise "we can go up here"?
It was always our target from the start of the season after how strongly we finished last year. We only lost four games last campaign and went on a winning streak of twelve games I think at the end of the season but it wasn’t enough.
At the start of the season I was optimistic but it soon became clear that there would be a number of challenges, we had games at the start of the season with so many injuries and players away across the squad that we were left with really thin squads for key games. We had a 5-9 hiding at home against Pembroke Boro 2nds where I really felt like packing it in.
We beat Boro 3-1 in the reverse game but then followed it up with a 1-1 draw against Broad Haven 2nds which I thought was the end of our chances, we had another draw a couple of weeks later against Manorbier which they players were frustrated with at the time but turned out to be a key result.
Our next fixture was league leaders Hundleton, we knew we had to win that to have any chance of going up and that we had tough fixtures left such as Cricket Club 2nds, Narberth 2nds and St Clears 2nds who we had lost to in the first half of the season.
After we beat Hundleton 3-1 it was a great feeling but I was more impressed with our 2-0 win over Cricket Club 2nds the week after where we restricted them to no shots on target. A real professional performance, after that game I believed we were going to do it and we ended up winning every game since.
How important is it for the clubs second team to be playing at a standard closer to the first eleven?
I hope it will be great for the club overall and hopefully help us attract even more quality players and push on. Some players can be hesitant to play in Division Five because of its reputation for physicality and scrappy football, but if you look at the teams in Division Four there is real quality there.
One of the things I have been most pleased with since being seconds manager is how well players have done moving up to the first team. Some of our strongest players from last season like Geno Cleal and Josh Knapp have been key players for the firsts, then this year we’ve had youngsters come through like Alfie Crawford who has moved between the team seamlessly and played a key part for both teams. Having a strong Seconds helps the Firsts and you can see that in the Division Two Cup win where we had players like Billy Davies and Josh Farrar play key parts too.
Who were your stand out players from the season?
It’s been an excellent team effort from everyone involved with quality across the squad but I’ll give a shout out to a couple of key players.
Billy Davies who joined the team this year has been excellent at centre-back, great at not just defending but on the ball too and also from set-pieces. He’s scored four goals direct from free-kicks such as his opener in our win against Hundleton and also racked up plenty of assists from dead balls such as his excellent cross to Robbie Corner for the opener in our winner against Cricket Club 2nds. A real leader but having that quality to, to be a match-winner, is a great asset to have for a centre-back.
On the other end of the pitch we have James Rees who has led the line superbly. He’s scored over 20 goals but if you watch him play his best quality is his unselfishness and how he brings others in to play. Players love playing with him and he makes our attack tick.
Another one I’ll mention because it’s his first season in senior football is Logan Scutt who is a young winger/forward for us, he’s been superb all season but especially recently, putting in top performances in all of our vital games.
I bet you’ve got a lot of fond memories but what’s been your favourite game this year?
Probably the 2-0 win over Cricket Club that I’ve already mentioned. We’ve had lots of games that have been quite frenzied and end-to-end but this was a real professional performance where we really exerted control and restricted what they could do. I don’t recall a shot on target from them and Robbie Corner who had just returned to the team scored two great goals to give us the victory.
Another one was a recent 8-4 win against Herbrandston, we were 1-4 down in the first half and 2-4 at half-time. A big crowd in attendance too, lots of noise, lots of shouting. I’m not always the loudest of managers, I try and stay quite calm and considered, and not panic - in the changing room I gave a half-time team talk which I think was fair in that it was critical but encouraging and I knew we had the quality to turn it around. To go out and win 6-0 and score some of the goals we did was amazing to watch.
And finally.. next season. What’s the plan?
Division Four is going to be filled with quality next season and be a really competitive league. You have the likes of Tenby 2nds, Angle, Newport and Pennar Robins 2nds who have come down, Hundleton who have gone up. That’s not to mention the 2nds teams like Milford United 2nds and St Ishmaels 2nds who can be strong on their day.
I’m looking forward to pre-season and I’m hoping that our success across both teams will attract new players to come and join the Tigers. We could certainly strengthen in some areas and we have seen this year the importance of having a large squad as no matter how many players you have registered, you never know how many will be out on any given weekend.
My plan this pre-season has been to put more focus in to training, I don’t think I missed a session the season before last, but it was a difficult one for me this year with a lot going on such as the birth of my son and growing this business.
One of my key players from last season, Ashley Bevans, has come on board to co-manage the team with me and has been taking training so far this pre-season. His hands on approach and attention to detail in setting up drills and organising the team has already been impressive and appreciated by the group of players who want to go to the next level. We are great friends outside of football and are constantly in communication bouncing ideas back and forth of each other, so I think our different styles will compliment each other in the season ahead.
Ashley replaces Brian Kelly who has been my assistant manager in the last couple of seasons and I would like to thank him for his contribution in the team's success too - it's been a real group effort across the club. Brian and his wife Emily, who is assistant club secretary, put a lot of work in to make sure things run smoothly at the club.
If we want to continue improving and do well in a tough division we will have to put the work in off the field. It would be great to see the club attract some quality players capable of playing for the First Team to take them to the next level too, they have shown that when they are at full strength they are capable of beating anyone in Division Two so with the right additions and a consistent team with good fortune for things like injuries, it would be great to see them have a go at promotion.
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