We all know how it works in football. Every team is looking to top the league, own a title, or be close up every season. And most times, the feasibility of this, especially with NFL odds, is to reshuffle athletes.
On Saturday, 10th December 2022, the Robins signed a new midfielder, Jamario Belnavis. The Jamaican was formerly a player in the Solihull Moors squad.
The news was made public via the Twitter and Facebook handles of the Evesham United team. It goes thus on the former: “Jamario Belnavis signed today a promising midfielder. Welcome to the @SpiersHartwell”
While on Facebook, “Midfielder Jamario Belnavis has signed for the Robins. He has previously been in the books of Solihull Moors. Welcome to EUFC.”
A day before Belnavis’ signing, the team had been to Devon to face the Willand Rovers. Unfortunately, the game got rescheduled due to a frozen pitch. This would be their second trip to the said location in four days. And it follows a two-win streak against top teams on the Non-League Division One table, Tavistock and Frome Town.
These results have seen them up to the 6th position in the standings and 29 points—one point outside the playoffs with a total of 17 games played.
Could This Signing Be Another Revamp Attempt for the Squad After the FA Cup Campaign Knock Out?
Remember, in early August, Evesham’s United’s FA Cup run was brought to a close prematurely by Hinckley LR. After a 2-1 defeat, in what seemed like a punishment for the errors made. Immediately after the game ended, manager Mike Ford said his side was not good enough.
That, of course, doesn’t come off as shocking, especially since it was a low-level performance from his players. They only had a netted ball ruled out for a foul and made a couple of mistakes that cost them the match.
The Robins started on a quick note after Kyle Belmonte’s third-minute opener. However, the visitors leveled the scoreline when the home side’s keeper, Isaac Parry, made a cheap ball giveaway. This allowed Andre Williams to put an equalizer at the back of the net nine minutes after. Later that afternoon, Williams got his brace, mocking the slack in the Evesham’s backline.
While the Robins thought they could make something out of the game, Ben Whitehead’s goal got ruled out for a foul. This win gave the visiting side their headway to the preliminary round.
Further, in Mike Ford’s post-match interview, he admitted, “For long spells, we were second best; we could not keep the football.
“We seemed to lose it too much, and then they stuck it on us, and we could not cope with the long ball.”
He thought taking the lead early, as they did, was an excellent start. However, he dreaded them losing the game due to the players’ laxity.
And even though the squad came up with the energy to get back in the game in the late minutes, they couldn’t make out something. But since that was the season’s first game for them, the boss deemed it fit to analyze and work more on his defense and midfield.
Ford addressed the issue of his team not holding possession for too long. Hence making them fall victim to counterattacks. Outrightly, being out of the FA Cup was a bad outcome for the manager to get over easily.
The Latest with The Team
Since then, the club has played several matches. And among the teams in the NFL lines, they’ve managed to stay among the top 10 on the table. Of which, presently, they’re in the sixth position.
The team is pretty excited about their latest two straight wins against Tavistock and Frome Town. Apparently, the Evesham United fans and the management hope this goes on. Also they hope to be favorites in Vegas NFL odds.
The energy is palpable from the club’s official Twitter account. The pinned post reiterates the “Two-game win streak,” followed by a fire emoji. However, the players will be back in action this weekend against LarkhallAFC at the Spiers & Hartwell Stadium. Perhaps, this could be Belnavis’ debut game.
This is a submitted article
