ROGER HERRIDGE insists Binfield will still have a big say in the Hellenic Premier Division title race despite failing to win either of their matches this week.
The injury-hit Moles drafted in Bracknell Town duo Carl Davies and Sean Moore to help bolster their squad for Monday night’s clash against Ascot United, which ended 1-1 as Jemel Johnson’s goal cancelled out a Harry Laflin penalty.
That followed on from Saturday’s 4-1 loss at Shrivenham which has seen Binfield lose ground on the chasing pack.
Herridge’s men still have games in hand on every other side in the division, but have now finally reached the halfway mark. They sit 10th in the table, 20 points off the top two with four games in hand they have also played four games fewer than fourth-placed Wantage Town, who are 15 points ahead of the Moles.
The picture should look a lot clearer in February with Binfield scheduled to play eight matches in the next month as they work through their fixture backlog.
“All in all it was a disappointing weekend,” Herridge told The Wokingham Paper.
“We’d have certainly liked four or six points from the two games and we ended up with one.
“There’s a lot more points to be won and lost before the end of the season so I don’t think our race is run yet.
“With the amount of games we’ve got left to play, one way or the other we’re still going to have a big say in who wins this league, that’s for sure.”
READ: Herridge rues missed chances as Binfield draw with Ascot
He added: “We’ve only got to win a few games and all of a sudden you’re sixth or seventh and you win a few more and you’re fourth or fifth.
“Brackley Town Saints are in the driving seat at the minute, a team that we beat comfortably at home. Wantage and Bishop’s Cleeve, like us, have got some games in hand so they’re going to have a say in it and I think we’re in that little group behind.
“We’re certainly not out the running yet but obviously we need to be winning the games in hand rather than losing or drawing them.”
Binfield’s busy schedule continues with a trip to Wantage in the Hellenic League Cup on Saturday (3pm) before travelling to take on struggling Abingdon United in the league on Tuesday night (7.45pm), a side winless in seven.
But Herridge is set for some more selection headaches with Jack Thomson-Wheeler, Khalid Senussi and Carlo Santoro all among those still sidelined through injury while Gary Smith is set for a three game league ban after getting sent off against Ascot. Davies and Moore are also unlikely to be available on a regular basis with their parent club Bracknell also in action on Saturday.
“We’ve still got problems,” admitted the Binfield boss.
“Josh Howell will possibly be involved from the bench on Saturday but too many key players are missing at the minute, predominantly through injury.
“We’ll see what the next few days bring.
“We have got the links with our neighbours, but they’re only going to help you out if it suits them and they can afford to do so. They’ve got their own injury issues as well.
“We’ve got a little bit of work to do ahead of Saturday.
“I’ve got a couple of other players that are just coming back like Carl Withers so we might look to change it a little bit, but we’ll see what we’ve got.
“While we’ve still got hope in the league, you’re going to prioritise those games.”
One man Herridge will be able to call on is young striker Eddie Lee.
The teenager was an unused sub against Ascot having played a full part in the Berks and Bucks FA Under-18s victory the previous afternoon and he wasn’t risked for the Moles.
“I had to leave Eddie on the bench because he had a good hour for us on Saturday and he played 90 minutes for the county on Sunday,” explained Herridge.
“You have a duty of care there. There’s no way in this world I could’ve played Eddie Lee on Monday night in a game I would’ve wanted him to play in.
“Aaron (Steadman) from Ascot, who I’ve got an awful of time for, manages the County side and in hindsight I should’ve possibly said I only want Eddie to have 45 minutes for them.
“But I obviously wasn’t thinking straight at the time.”
