Dave Cooke says he is delighted with the way his side is coming together as he prepares Nantwich Town for a bank holiday double-header.
The Dabbers earned their first win of the campaign when they beat Workington 2-0 at the Weaver Stadium on Saturday and earned a creditable 1-1 draw at leaders Stourbridge on Monday.
That means they have taken five points from four very challenging opening fixtures, and will go to Mickleover Sports full of confidence on Saturday (3pm) before hosting Barwell on Monday (3pm).
While Cooke admitted Nantwich could have bagged more points, he is happy with the haul – and even more pleased with the way the squad is gelling.
“The lads have done excellent,’ he said.
“We were the better side against Workington, and we battered Stourbridge in the second half on Monday.
“Both of them are good sides, they finished fourth and second last season, and we more than held our own.
“And that’s with two 19-year-olds and a 20-year-old in the back four and plenty of lads really stepping up to the mark at this level.
“They all want to listen and learn, they are a really good bunch and a decent team. Now we really have to push on and get more points on the board.”
Harry Clayton and Jordan Davies opened their accounts for the season to net the points against Workington, while keeper Krystian Burzynski made three brilliant saves late on to preserve his clean sheet.
At Stourbridge, midfielder Matt Bell converted a Caspar Hughes cross to level on 50 minutes, after Jordan Archer gave the hosts a first-half lead.
Nantwich, who have taken 20-year-old former Shrewsbury striker Kaiman Anderson on a month’s loan from Southport, had strong penalty appeals for handball waved away and striker Steve Jones missed a sitter as they pressed for the victory, but Stourbidge survived.
Cooke singled out young defenders Jamie Morgan, Troy Bourne and Toby Mullarkey out for the way they have started the Evo-Stik Premier campaign.
Morgan was plucked from Sandbach United in the summer, while Bourne was brought back into the first-team fold after spending some of last term on loan at Alsager. Ex-Crewe professional Mullarkey came in from Leek Town.
Cooke explained: “I’m pleased with all the lads, but those three have done exceptionally well.
“Jamie has surprised me, I didn’t think we’d see that form from him until after Christmas but he’s been excellent.
“Troy has done brilliantly too, while Toby is looking the part in the heart of defence.
“They’ve all had setbacks at in their careers when they were younger, but why shouldn’t them come back?
“Sometimes it’s about giving lads a chance, showing faith and making them feel at home. That’s massive to footballers.”
The Dabbers have been boosted by the news that keeper Fabien Spiess does not need surgery to fix his dislocated shoulder. He will be out for another four-six weeks.
