Striker is the Tuttle package for Ryman North play-off chasing Dereham Town
Luke Tuttle shows AFC Sudbury why he is so hard to deal with on a football pitch. Picture: SIMON FINLAY - Credit: Archant Norfolk
Striker Luke Tuttle continues to prove his worth to Dereham Town following his comeback from injury, writes Ed Colman.
Striker Luke Tuttle continues to prove his worth to Dereham Town following his comeback from injury.
The Magpies' hitman has missed a large chunk of the season with a serious ankle injury but continued his return to action with a goalscoring appearance during Saturday's 3-1 victory over AFC Sudbury in Ryman North.
Tuttle's boss Matt Henman said: 'Luke has come back and showed everyone what we missed while he was away, not only in terms of his goals but off the pitch as well and that you can't underestimate him as a player.
'With the exceptions of Jay Eastoe-Smith and Craig Bussens, we have a strong squad for our run-in with Adam Smith and Matt Hockley expected to return this week.
'Next weekend is a big one for us, with what is really a must-win game at home on Saturday against Waltham Abbey before a trip to Needham Market on Easter Monday and we need to look at taking points from all of our remaining fixtures to give us a chance of breaking into the play-offs.
'What we have shown this season, and we showed it again on Saturday, is that we are very good at taking points off the top sides in this league who are in and around the play-off. We need to look to maintain that level of performance over the next few weeks, and if we do I'm confident we can finish the season really strongly.'
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Henman labelled his side's triumph over third-placed Sudbury as vital with the result leaving the Aldiss Park outfit, sixth, just three points off fifth-placed Wroxham who currently occupy the final play-off slot.
'From our point of view, Saturday's result was vital for us,' the Magpies' manager added.
'Because it keeps us in contention for a play-off spot, whereas had we have lost it would have detached us from the chasing pack.
'The first half was a bit of a non event really, we played into a strong wind and were happy to break up play and stop them getting any sort of momentum, which I thought we did really well in testing conditions.
'It was disappointing to go behind, but it was a very good reaction from the lads to get back level so quickly and from then on I thought we controlled the game very well and deserved our victory.'
