Ben out to break his duck
Saturday, 29th Aug 2015Next goal will be a first for Richards-Everton.
"We are feeling good from Tuesday, obviously it was a good result for the lads. You could see the effort that the boys put in and they are probably a bit tired. We just had a little recovery session on Thursday."
The 23 year old central defender feels that the good results have made his settling in process at East End Park so much easier:-
"I think it was the right decision for me to come here and try and get as much game time as possible. It is important for me to be in a winning team and winning environment. I am surrounded by guys in similar positions to me; lads who have come from higher divisions and want to give 100% every game."
'Big Ben' as he is referred to shares accommodation with fellow Englishman Josh Falkingham and our French Moroccan Faissal El Bakhtaoui.
"They are easy lads to get on with. Josh has been here three or four years and he is well settled in. He has been here through the rough times and hopefully the good times now."
Ben played against Saturday's opponents, Stranraer, on two occasions last season while he was on loan at Airdrieonians and predicts another difficult game.
"Every team is going to look at the start we have had and come here to their biggest game of the season. Fans, stadium, it is a nice place to come. They are going to be up for it probably a bit more than they are going to be for a normal game.
"We have just got to concentrate on ourselves and try and carry on what we have been doing into every game. We need to put in 100% effort, try and get clean sheets and a win."
Clean sheets number only one from seven competitive games. Ben commented:-
"The odd late goal keeps going in for some reason. We are working hard in training on these things. It is important to keep clean sheets because clean sheets can win you games. When we won 7-1, the goal Cowdenbeath scored was a cracker. It is disappointing but we are working on getting even better than we are at the minute."
The defeat at Peterhead was termed a blip by the former Tamworth Town man:-
"We had a brilliant start to the season - 4-1, 5-1, 6-1, 7-1. When we faced Peterhead there was a lot of expectation but it is a long journey up there. We left at nine o'clock in the morning; we can't use it as an excuse because we should have done better. We were very disappointed with the performance but good teams bounce back and we did by beating a top Premiership team. That just shows what we are capable of and how good we are."
Ben Richards-Everton has enjoyed forming a central defence partnership with Callum Fordyce. He acknowledged that is always hard finding the right partner.
"We have clicked really well despite not playing many games together. We are doing well and hopefully that will continue. I am a different kind of centre half to him in that I like to go up and win headers. We complement one another.
"The injury to Ryan Williamson is disappointing because he brought a lot to the team, especially going forward. In the last couple of weeks his defensive side was beginning to show a lot of improvement. He was as good in defence as going forward and so that is a big blow for us. Hopefully he makes a quick recovery."
Ben has been told that he should be using his height and presence in the opposition box at setpieces to score some goals. The next time he nets one however will be his first in senior football!
"I'm six foot four and should be a threat every time but it has just not happened for me yet going forward. Once I get one I will get a couple more, who knows. I am working on setpieces and corners attacking them and trying to score. I am looking to add goals to my game especially for someone my size., I should be getting at least five goals a season."
John Potter and Sandy Clark have been coaching him with positional play. He contrasted that with his luck at the other end of the park:-
"It is strange because defensively I rarely lose a header but going forward I seem to find it hard to get it in the net."
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