Streatham-Croydon coach philosophical in the face of "pretty rubbish" defeat (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Streatham coach Greenleaf has plenty to be pleased about during season of consolidation

4:00pm Wednesday 9th January 2013 in Sport

By Jan Kapcia

Streatham-Croydon head coach Jeff Greenleaf will not  let Saturday’s poor display against Old Emanuel ruin a thus far good season.

After a 25-38 defeat, Streatham lost ground on the leaders of Surrey Division Two, and they go to fourth-placed Old Tonbridgians this weekend.

He said: “It was pretty rubbish to be honest. It wasn’t necessarily rustiness, but more a lack of precision from us. But if we win all the rest of our games we can still get promotion.”

But the coach has been pleased with his side’s progress so far this season, winning Division Three last season and currently third in Division Two.

He said: “We’re not beyond expectations but we have taken a significant step forward and we’re happy to be competitive in this division.”

According to the coach, there are no real injury worries and there will be a backlash after last week’s below-par performance.

“The players themselves were enormously disappointed at the performance.

“As a result, this week there will be two extremely physical training sessions this week.”

With the focus on hard work after the defeat, the head coach acknowledged it’s not about punishing the players, but preparing for the next match.

“It’s a case of getting mentally attuned rather than physically attuned, as that’s where we fell down last Saturday,” he added.

Streatham-Croydon face fourth-placed Old Tonbridgians in a key match this Saturday.