MALVERN TOWN'S 2-0 loss against Melksham Town on Tuesday (November 5) put an end to their 7-game unbeaten streak. However, Lee Hooper and Stephen Cleal's side still remain confident ahead of their next fixture.
The game saw Melksham take the lead 20 minutes in, capitalising on a Malvern mistake.
It then remained fairly even from that point on, with Melksham only doubling their lead in the last minutes.
"It's a difficult one," said co-manager Lee Hooper. "On another day we could get something out the game quite easily. We made a couple of mistakes that lead to their goals but apart from that it was quite an even game.
"We had a few chances saved on the line, so on another day we should get something out of the game."
Town had been riding high on an unbeaten streak that saw them beat playoff-placed sides such as Evesham United and Helston Athletic. Despite losing for the first time in over a month, Hooper still remains confident that the side can get a result on Saturday (November 9).
"We have got a difficult challenge in Exmouth away, who are sat second in the league. They're going to be a decent outfit," said Hooper. "But we believe in ourselves with the results we've had leading up before Tuesday.
"We've played teams around those positions and got results on the road as well. There is no reason why we don't go there still with confidence.
"That result on Tuesday, we treat that as a bit of a blip. Hopefully we learn from that and we put that right on Saturday, and get something out of the game."
It's fair to say that Malvern have had their fair share of bad luck this season. With a run of unfortunate results at the start of the season coming about as a result of an injury crisis, and their recent matches seeing them plagued with injuries again.
"It's just this injury crisis we've got, we picked up another injury on Tuesday so that's a tough one to take, but that's the nature of what we're dealing with at the moment," said Hooper. "But the lads that are stepping in are doing the business, so its good that we've got strength in depth."
Playing on the road, against second in the league will provide stern opposition for Malvern. But Hooper and Cleal believe they can set their side up to get something from the game.
"There will be a game plan in place," said Hooper. "Maybe slightly different to how we set up at home. But we approach the game like we do any game, prepping off our previous performances and the opposition we're coming up against.
"The prep and the way we set up will be to try and get something out of the game. Without giving too much away, there will be a game plan for Exmouth."
Malvern play Exmouth at 3pm this Saturday (November 9).
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