THE MONTH of December was a brief but eventful one in footballing terms.
Inclement weather meant Boro were restricted to just two games, the first of which was a 1-1 draw with a Solihull Moors which was just about to embark on a strong run as they threatened the playoff places.
Skipper for the day Kyle Storer was in the thick of the action as he scored Boro’s goal and then got sent off.
If that was not bad enough he proceeded to spit on a Solihull fan as he went towards the tunnel.
Manager Kevin Wilkin said: “It’s getting to be a broken record with Kyle. It’s part of his game.
Whether you’ll ever drum it out of him will be tough.
“We keep trying to drum it out of him. Lots of players have got bits in their game that you would like to take out but that doesn’t happen over night.
“In a few more years he might understand.
“Kyle takes it upon his shoulders because he has a lot of games under his belt for a young man.
From that point of view I would expect him to react in a better manner.
“He’s a passionate bloke but maybe that will be a factor in holding him back from moving up the levels.
“As a footballer he’s a quality player with a good understanding of the game. He needs to harness that passion and channel it into what he does with the ball.
“When he gets involved in trouble he needs to know he can’t. I’m looking at all avenues to get him to focus.” To Storer’s credit, he did appear to address his problems, only getting booked once in the next 18 games.
The other game that month saw Boro thrash struggling Redditch United 5-0 as with Simon Forsdick, Stuart Pierpoint, Danny Spencer and Chris Dillon getting the goals.
That proved to be Dillon’s last goal for the club after netting 23 the previous season. The club was caused some embarassment when it was wrongly reported Dillon had been released. He would eventually depart in February.
December Solihull Moors 1, Nuneaton 1 (Storer) Redditch 0, Nuneaton 5 (Own goal, Forsick, Spencer, Dillon, Pierpoint) End of month position: 5th (P15, W10, D3, L2. Points: 33) THE month of January was where it all right — but then started to go so wrong.
There was a mixed day at Corby Town as Boro battled back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 on New Year’s Day.
However, Stuart Pierpoint and Eddie Nisevic both picked injuries and on their return neither was as effective for the rest of the season after being in good form to that point.
An entertaining 0-0 with Telford followed before another epic 2-0 down, 3-2 win, this time against Blyth as Lee Moore grabbed a late winner.
The Telford game was the true low point of the season as visiting fans were subjected to a vicious assault by a number of home fans.
The shocking scenes prompted the club to hold a full review of their security operations as they attracted unwelcome attention for the wrong reasons.
Boro then went on a great run that took them to the top of the league as they beat Stalybridge, Harrogate and Gainsborough.
After going top, Wilkin said: “It goes without saying we would like to stay top, but we realise there is another half a season to play still.
“We’ve got to stay lucky injury and suspension wise. We want to be in big games that mean something against big teams.
“Where we are now means we are there to be shot at. It provides another challenge for us.
That great achievement could have been added to as Boro had games to come against struggling Hyde (twice), Redditch and Stafford.
With Alfreton not in action in that spell, Boro could even have gone 15 points clear. However, that was the pinnacle of the season as Nuneaton went on a long slump that would almost see them miss out on the play-offs.
They played well but drew their next game with Vauxhall Motors and then failed to beat Hyde and Redditch at home to round off the month.
January Corby 2, Nuneaton 3 (Walker, Spencer, Hadland) Nuneaton 0, Telford 0 Nuneaton 3, Blyth 2 (Spencer, Storer, Moore) Stalybridge 0, Nuneaton 2 (Storer, Marsden) Harrogate 1, Nuneaton 2 (Noon, Storer) Gainsborough 1, Nuneaton 2 (Walker, Noon) Vauxhall 1, Nuneaton (Storer) Nuneaton 1, Hyde 2 (Armson) Nuneaton 1, Redditch 1 (Moore) End of month position: 1st (P24, W15, D6, L3. Points: 51) See tomorrows Nuneaton News for a review of February and March.
