Boss discusses 1-1 draw with Hawks
The first match of pre-season is not usually a reliable barometer for success in the forthcoming campaign.
But Paul Cook was still happy to see his charges secure a draw on a hot and sunny day at Westleigh Park.
Havant & Waterlooville opened the scoring in the first half thanks to a thumping header from Adrian Clifton.
But the visitors looked threatening after the interval and debutant Michael Doyle netted an equaliser.
And Cook was happy with a lot of what he saw from his charges in their first outing of the summer.
The Blues boss said: “It’s good to get the first game under our belts and it was pleasing not to get beaten after going one goal down.
“We want to represent our fans in a proper manner and at the moment we’re still a work in progress.
“But there was a period in the second half when we were quite exciting and I think that’s what the fans went home talking about.
“We opened them up a few times – although that’s what you’d expect us to do, so let’s not get carried away.
“But we showed those touches of quality and if we add some solidity to that then I think we’ll be fine.
“It was a day for us to learn and now we’ll move on to the next game and look for some improvements.
“We weren’t put under too much pressure defensively, so we’ll look forward to some more challenging matches ahead.
“There were some pleasing aspects in all areas and we’ll keep working hard as we build up to the Dagenham & Redbridge game.”
Cook has made nine summer signings, but admitted that he hopes to do some more transfer business before the season starts.
He said: “We’ve still got one eye on making ourselves stronger and repairing some of the cracks in the balance of our side.”