GOAL-shy Worcester City have been urged to do more in the final third and put an end to their current scoring drought.
That was the opinion of assistant manager Matt Gardiner after he watched his side slip to their first league defeat at Aggborough this season when they went down 1-0 against Bradford Park Avenue on Sunday.
City’s latest blank against their relegation-threatened rivals means they have now gone more than 450 minutes, including the abandoned match with Hednesford, since Mike Symons last found the back of the net for them.
And, despite creating a host of chances against the Avenue, including hitting the woodwork twice in ten minutes, Gardiner still believed they could do more.
“When you haven’t scored for five games in a row, including Hednesford, is it unlucky, or is it systematic of what we have to be looking at?” he said.
“We have got to do more in the final third, it is clear to see when you play against a team in the bottom three fighting for their lives the longer they stay in the game their belief grows and they were given a goal to hold on to.”
Lone striker Symons has only bagged four goals so far this campaign while the team as a whole are ranked as the joint second lowest scorers in Conference North.
And, with prolific striker Connor Collins yet to make his debut for the Blue and Whites and on-loan winger Jordan Murphy recalled by parent club Walsall, Gardiner did not rule out dipping back into the market for another frontman.
“If you look at the goals for column, it speaks for itself,” he added.
“We have got to do more as a team. We created more opportunities against Bradford than we have in the previous games.
“But we haven’t scored for five games now, so we will see what happens in the next few weeks and take it from there.”