Beestin looks to bounce back against Maidstone

Iron midfielder Alfie Beestin has looked ahead to Saturday's game, where the Iron will host Maidstone United at Glanford Park (3pm kick-off).

Firstly, he reflected on Wednesday night's battling midweek defeat to Wrexham: “It was disappointing to get beat but they’re a good team and top of the league for a reason. They have good players in that team and they showed that.

“I felt like it wasn’t a bad performance from us, we created chances, but they have that quality to punish you when you make mistakes. Hopefully, we can push on to Saturday and bring some of Wednesday's performance to get the win.”

He continued: “Like I say we created the chances and could have scored a few more, but it just wasn’t our day. They’re probably the best team in the league so they will punish you when you make mistakes."

Looking onto the next fixture and starting a new run of form, Alfie said: “I feel like we’re a lot better at home. We have to be stronger defensively and if we can keep the clean sheet then I’m sure the goals will come and we’ll get the win.” 

The midfielder elaborated on the attacking threat that this side bring, adding: “I feel like we’re always a threat at home, especially when the fans are behind us as that gives us a massive lift. If we do get that first goal then I feel like we can go on to get a couple more.

“We’ve conceded a lot of goals as well though so we’ve got to try and sort that out as well. We want to score as many goals as we can, but in the back of our minds is the fact that we haven’t kept a clean sheet in a while so that would be a massive plus for us.” 

Recently, Alfie has been deployed in a more defensive role in the midfield, and he spoke about how he’s been finding it: “Personally, I like playing further up the pitch, but right now the formation requires me to be a bit more defensive, and if that means I’ll start, then I’m happy to do my bit defensively for the team.

“It’s a new challenge for me as I’ve not really played it that much. I used to be a striker and now I’m a CDM [central defensive midfielder] so it’s a bit of a challenge but when Butts [Butterfield] is beside you, I feel like he really helps you through the game.” 

Finally, the midfielder spoke about the importance of the fans and their support, adding: “I feel like the fans can be our 12th man, especially at home. They’re a massive plus for us and can definitely get us through the game when we’re not playing as well. I feel like they can certainly help us get the win on Saturday.”