MANAGER: Moving the ball is one of his strengths

The second half of the Tuesday night game against Harrogate brought the welcome return of Joe Riley, following a five-week absence, as he slotted back into a familiar midfield role as part of a second half reshuffle.

“Joe’s a good footballer,” manager Keith Millen said. “I felt we needed another footballer on there with the way the game was going to go after half time.

“We weren’t just going to bulldoze through them. They had two big centre-halves that were competitive.

“We didn’t need that type of game, we needed to move the ball quicker, and that’s one of Joe’s strengths.”

“It was great to get Joel [Senior] on for his debut as well,” he continued. “I was really pleased, it was great to give him some minutes, he’ll be better for that.

“I think there’s a lot more to come from him. There’s still a lot of work for him to do, he needs to understand a lot of things about how I want to defend, but he showed signs that he can get forward with pace, he can see a pass and deliver a pass.

“They’re the things I want from my full-backs. Kelvin Mellor’s done well, and he looked like he tired a little bit because I was demanding of him to get up and down.

“It’s hard work, so it’s nice to be able to have a few options if I need to change it.”

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