HOLSWORTHY boss Ryan Hall admits he can’t wait to have more attacking options at his disposal when the Magpies welcome St Day to Upcott Field on Saturday (3pm).
The Devonians saw Saturday’s trip to Sticker called off due to Storm Darragh, but having won just one of their last 11 league games, three points against the promoted Yellows are of importance.
Holsworthy missed a plethora of chances in their last outing at Bodmin Town on November 30, but were beaten 2-1 despite Gavin Carter’s equaliser midway through the second half thanks to Callum McGhee’s brace of penalties.
However, Hall was delighted with the performance, if not the result.
He told the Post: “We played really well in spells against Bodmin and to be honest it was a complete smash and grab from their point of view.
“We should have been four or 5-0 up at half-time, which I don’t think would have been an unfair scoreline.
“Chances dried up a bit more in the second half due to the conditions, but we still had a couple of clear opportunities plus a stonewall penalty declined to go on and win the game.
“I couldn’t of faulted the guys’ effort and it was just one of those days. As I’ve mentioned previously, the luck is just against us at the moment and when your luck is out, it’s out!”
Holsworthy have a run of fixtures against sides around them at present either side of Christmas.
After tackling St Day, they welcome neighbours Bude Town on Boxing Day before heading down to Millbrook on January 4.
Hall isn’t putting any pressure on the players, but knows they need to make the most of home advantage in the next two games.
He said: “There’s no points target as such, we just go into every game with an open mind, with the basis of hard work at our core, both games we have at home, which does give us an advantage and one we need to take control of.
“A lot of our last few games have been away, so it will be nice to be back at Upcott Field and putting other teams on the back foot.”
But before the money-spinning Boxing Day bonanza against the Seasiders, of equal importance is seeing off a St Day side who have adapted well to life at Step Six since promotion.
They sit ninth with 18 points from 17 outings, but a home win would see them end the day as high as ninth such is the close nature of the division.
Hall said: “St Day are a good side, but I don’t know if I would say they're a target for points.
“We should of had something at their place (a 3-1 defeat back in September), but they have good quality all over the pitch and we can’t expect to go into games guaranteeing ourselves points.
“I think at points, we have probably been guilty of that, eyeing up games and expected points to come from them, which I think has an adverse effect on mindset and it’s an arrogance in which I don’t think we have earnt.”
However, Holsworthy’s poor form has coincided with a number of key players missing for various reasons, and Hall is delighted to have several back for the upcoming fixtures.
He said: “It is really exciting to welcome players back - Mark Horn, Toby Martyn, Jack Tribble and Aidan Slade should be back into the fold this coming weekend, which is really timely.
“They also add massive quality to the side and provide us with options to attack St Day with.
“We also have Dean Hutchings, our new signing from Torridgeside involved and he also adds an extra dimension to our forward line, which I am pleased about!”