Lance Key readies Histon for must-win clash with Petersfield

Battle of the bottom two awaits

Lance Key has billed Histon's home clash with Petersfield this Saturday as a"must-win game".

The two are level on points at the bottom of the Evo-Stik Southern League, Division One Central table, and are currently adrift of the teams outside the relegation places.

So the Histon boss knows the vital importance of getting victory this weekend, which would also require them to get their first points of the season at the Glass World Stadium.

Histon head into the game after a 5-2 defeat at Bedford Town on Bank Holiday Monday, a match which saw them battle back from 2-0 down thanks to goals from Ben Yeomans and Tommy Wright only for defensive errors to prove costly.

"In the next few days, we're going to try to get a few players in if we can,said Key.

"We have to be better defensively as mistakes cost us. It is a shame because we got back in the game so well.

"They got their third goal not long after we got back to 2-2 - it knocks the wind out of the sails. If we could have maintained that for 10 minutes then it would have kept the impetus.

"We conceded silly goals so it was a bad day at the office."

But Key is hoping for a repeat of the fighting spirit that they showed against Bedford, when Petersfield are in town this weekend.

"It's a massive game, a must-win game,he said."We must think we can get our first points at home.

"We have to win to give ourselves half a chance to have a chance of staying up. If we don't win then we're in big trouble.

"If we can show the fighting spirit that we did and not concede these silly goals and be a better unit as a team then we give ourselves a chance.

"We will score goals that's the thing. We're a threat going forward, we just have to be better defensively as a unit."

Key has made a change to his coaching staff after the departure of assistant manager Matt Clements, who has become manager of Premier Division side St Neots Town.

Mark Critoph has arrived as a coach to work alongside Simon Day in assisting Key.

"Those opportunities don't come up very often,said Key."When Matt asked me I said go for it, and I said if I was in his shoes I would go for it.

"It's a big club with superb facilities so it's a win win for me.

"Mark has a wealth of experience locally with the under-15 schoolboys' team for the last 10 years so hopefully we can tap into his contacts to try to keep us out of trouble.

"He has a great desire to help keep us up. Both Mark and Simon will now act alongside me to help build ?a squad."